The Alice Network

I really enjoyed The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. It was an engrossing read that sticks with you after it's over.

The Alice Network weaves narratives from WWI, WWII, and post-WWII France and England.

In 1947, Charlotte St. Clair (Charlie) is a wealthy but adrift American. At nineteen, she has flunked out of college and is pregnant. Her parents intend to have her Little Problem dealt with in Europe. Charlie, however, decides to track down the last person to have heard of her French cousin Rose, who disappeared in 1944. All Charlie has is a name, Eve Gardiner.

In 1915, Eve Gardiner was recruited to join a network of female spies operating in German-occupied France. Eve joins the Alice Network, which was run by the "Queen of Spies" Lili (Code name Alice Dubois). For two years, Eve (Code name: Marguerite Le Francois) works side by side with her fellow "fleurs du mal"* Lili and Violette. Eventually the Alice Network is discovered and Lili, Violette, and Eve are captured, tried, and imprisoned. *For those who enjoy it, Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal features in the novel.

Though she survives, Eve is haunted by the betrayal that led to the Alice Network's downfall. The brazen young Charlie helps Eve seek revenge and the two discover a link between Eve's spy work in WWI and her cousin Rose in WWII.

The Alice Network is based on true events and historical figures. The real "Queen of Spies", Louise de Bettignies took the code name Alice Dubois ran one of WWI's most successful spy rings in Lille and the surrounding area. Violette is based on Leonie Van Houtte who worked closely with Louise de Bettignies. Eve Gardiner is a fictional character, but her code name Marguerite Le Francois is based on an actual incident in Louise's life.

Her Royal Spyness

I finished book 79 a few days ago, but haven't had time to write about it until now.

Her Royal Spyness is the first in a series by Rhys Bowen. The series is set in the 1930s. Lady Georgiana Rannoch (Georgie) is a minor royal; her grandmother was one of Queen Victoria's daughters. Her family home is in Scotland and is under the control of her brother Binky, the Third Duke of Rannoch. Georgie's allowance has been cut off so she leaves her family home and decides to find work in London. She decides to work as a maid cleaning wealthy people's homes, one drawback is that she has little experience with cleaning. She is also tasked, by the Queen no less, with spying on a certain Mrs. Simpson.

Georgie and Binky learn that the Duc de Mauxville has laid a claim to their family home, apparently he won it gambling. One day Georgie returns to her family's home in London and finds the Duc de Mauxville dead in the bathtub and her brother has suddenly returned to Scotland. The police believe Binky is the murderer and Georgie begins her own investigation to clear her brother's name. As she investigates, Georgie is the victim of a series of accidents: falling off a boat, being pushed in front of a tube train, falling down the stairs, and almost being crushed by a statue. It seems that someone wants both Binky and Georgie out of the way.

I liked this book, but it took a while for me to get into it.

Death Comes As the End

#78 is Agatha Christie's Death Comes As The End. Professor Stephen R. K. Glanville suggested that Agatha Christie write a detective story that takes place in Ancient Egypt. Death Comes As The End is the result of that suggestion.

The story takes place in 2000 B. C. in Thebes. The auhtor's note explains that the characters and plot were partly inspired by letters from the XIth Dynasty found during the 1920-21 season by the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The family patriarch, Imhotep, is a ka-priest and is responsible for maintaining the local tomb. His family consists of his eldest son Yahmose, his wife Satipy and their children; his son Sobek, his wife Kait and their children; his widowed daughter Renisenb; and his youngest son Ipy. Also living in the house are: Imhotep's elderly and blind mother Esa; Hori, Imhotep's scribe and businessman; and Henet, the seemingly devoted housekeeper.

Imhotep decides to bring a concubine into his household. The young and beautiful Nofret stirs up trouble in the household. She is found dead at the bottom of a cliff one day. Her death is believed to be an accident, but Hori, Renisenb, and Esa suspect otherwise. Shortly after, several other family members die or fall ill. Imhotep believes Nofret has cursed his family, but our trio of detectives are now certain that a living person is causing the family's misfortunes. In all, six people die before the murderer is unmasked.

#76 Murder in Three Acts

September has been a slow month. I've been reading, but non-fiction takes a lot longer to get through. Hopefully I'll have one more post this month.

Book 76 was Agatha Christie's Murder in Three Acts (Three Act Tragedy). Given the title, it follows that this mystery is organized around the theater and uses theatrical vocabulary to describe events and the characters.

Sir Charles Cartwright, a middle-ages stage actor, hosts a dinner party at his house. In attendance are:
Mr. Satterthwaite: a socialite patron of the arts and drama
Dr. Bartholomew Strange: a nerve specialist
Miss Milray: Sir Charles' secretary/housekeeper
Angela Sutcliffe : an actress
Captain Dacres
Mrs. Dacres: dressmaker
Anthony Astor: Anthony Astor is her penname, playwright
Lady Mary Lytton Gore
Hermione Lytton Gore: known as Egg
Oliver Manders: young man in love with Egg
Reverend Babbington
Mrs. Babbington
Hercule Poirot

As they enjoy cocktails, Reverend Babbington suddenly falls ill and dies. His death is ruled an accident.

Several weeks later, Dr. Strange hosts a dinner party and dies after drinking a cocktail. An autopsy reveals that Dr. Strange died of nicotine poisoning. Many of the same invitees were present at both dinner parties.

Sir Charles, Mr. Satterhtwaite, Egg, and Hercule Poirot believe that the Reverend's death wasn't an accident. They work to solve these murders and prevent a third from occurring.

Recommendation: Notes on a Foreign Country

I have not yet read this, but when I finish one of the 6 books I'm currently reading I intend to check out Suzy Hansen's Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World.
Hansen is a contributor to the Times Magazine and after the attacks of September 11th, she moved to Istanbul. She travels to Egypt, Greece, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Mississippi Delta. Using the complex histories and current situations in these places, Hansen interrogates her native country, the United States.

One of the major questions of Hansen's book, is the ways in which the United States fails to interrogate itself and its role in shaping the Middle East. Notes on a Foreign Country is an act of self-questioning and of grappling with the ways in which the United States perceives itself and the way the country actually is. For example, the United States doesn't consider itself and empire, but Hansen argues that it is.

I stumbled across Hansen's book in the New York Times Book Review and I've included the link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/books/review/notes-on-a-foreign-country-suzy-hansen.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbook-review&action=click&contentCollection=review&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=13&pgtype=sectionfront

The Times Review' is much better than my brief synopsis.

Secret Journeys of a Lifetime

My latest book was a coffee table style travel book. National Geographic's Secret Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Best Hidden Travel Gems.

The 9 chapters are:

• The World At Your Feet: Stunning Views from the world's high points
• Last Wildernesses: Remote and wild places where nature exists in the raw
• Island Getaways: Idyllic hideaways, from the sunbathed tropics to the icebound poles.
• The Road Less Traveled: Classic road trips, quiet walks, and rugged overland expeditions.
• Secret History: Ancient sites off the beaten track
• Spiritual Havens: From Cathedrals, to mountaintop temples, to ancient tombs
• Hidden Treasures: Museums, houses, and castles tucked away in quiet corners
• Undiscovered Villages: Rural life, from the Indonesian jungle to the English countryside
• City Secrets: Hidden gardens and unspoiled quarters in the hearts of busy cities.

Each place is accompanied by a half or full page picture. There are also several Top-Ten lists (ex. Top Ten Markets, or Wildflower Displays, or Wine/Beer Festivals). 

Funerals Are Fatal

Funerals Are Fatal by Agatha Christie (1953)

The Abernathie family gathers at the family home, Enderby, for Richard Abernathie's funeral. Richard had died peacefully in his sleep. Flighty Aunt Cora remarked in her simple, childlike-way, that Richard had been murdered. The rest of the family laughed Cora's remark off; she often said outlandish things. But, Aunt Cora is found murdered several days later--stabbed in the back with hatchet while sleeping.

The family solicitor, Mr. Entwhistle, calls upon his longtime friend Hercule Poirot to investigate Richard's death and Cora's initial claim that he was murdered.

Poirot comes to Enderby pretending to be Mr. Pontelier, the head of U.N.A.R.C.O., an organization for refugees. Under this disguise he is able to study the members of the Abernathie family:

Mrs. Leo Abernathie (Helen): wife of Richard's deceased brother Leo.
Timothy Abernathie: Richard's invalid brother, who is not so helpless as one might think
Timothy's wife Maude: always there for Timothy, but absent on the day Cora died.
Richard's nieces and nephew:
George: loved horses and women and was unlucky with both. Also suspected of diverting company funds
Susan Banks: Richard's niece, the only one who inherited his brains. However, her chemist husband Gregory is not well-liked
Rosamund: Richard's other niece, an actress.
Michael Shane: Rosamund's husband: his adultery gave him an alibi.
Miss Gilchrist: Aunt Cora's companion and cook.