The Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark

The Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I picked this book because I like Muriel Spark and this book is short. This was not a good one. I'm not sure if I properly understood this book, but contrary to a lot of the other reviews I don't think Dougal Douglas is actually responsible for everything (anything?) that happens. It seems to me like the residents of Peckham are very deeply flawed all on their own and just blame the new Scottish guy in town. Granted Dougal is a jerk and "likes taking the piss" but this hardly seems to make him responsible for everyone else's choices. Note that at the very beginning of the book Dixie even blames Dougal for Humphrey not being a germaphobe, but in fact, Dougal hates sickness.

"I feel as if I've been married 20 years instead of 2 hours." - Dixie

Well, I feel like I've been reading this book for 20 years instead of 2 days, so I can relate.

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My version had all 12 stories from the original The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which is the third volume in the Sherlock Holmes series. The stories are all easy and fun and provide enough information that you can sometimes guess the conclusion, which makes them especially satisfying. You can fancy yourself as clever and crafty as Holmes himself. And yes, I just used the British expression "fancy" because of all this reading.

1. "A Scandal in Bohemia" A surprise! And a bit feminist.
2. "The Red-Headed League" - Somewhat obvious but fun.
3. "A Case of Identity" - So sad, and feels unresolved in a way.
4. "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" The mystery revolves around whether a son murdered his father. Interesting.
5. "The Five Orange Pips" - Anti-racism! 
6. "The Man with the Twisted Lip" - Kind of funny, but not a great story about poverty
7. "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" - Not my favorite.
8. "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" - Creepy story about the death of a sister.
9. "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" - Woah, intense! A little scary.
10. "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" Bride disappears! Okay story.
11. "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" - Good one about son accused of stealing a coronet.
12. "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" Great but somewhat predictable story. I love how Watson concludes this one.

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The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book makes no mystery of the fact that there will be four co-conspirators. The mystery isn't as interesting as in the first one, and the criminal's back story isn't either. This one is more of romance if anything.

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