Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Even though they still correspond by mail, Jane Marple hasn't seen her long-time friend, Carrie Louise in years. That changes, however, when Carrie Louise's sister, Ruth, suspects something is wrong and arranges for Miss Marple to stay at Carrie Louise's estate, Stonygates, under the pretense being a post-war charity case. Soon after arriving, Christian Gulbrandsen, Carrie Louise's stepson from a previous marriage and one of the overseers of the juvenile delinquent home located on the property, is murdered. During the course of the investigation, another sinister truth is revealed - Christian believed someone was trying to kill Carrie Louise. Review: Our library is officially closed for a month as of yesterday, but I made sure to be prepared by checking out a stack of books to hold me until it's re-opened. This included They Do it With Mirrors , which I finished reading early this morning. I think I can honestly say this was the best Miss Marple book I...

Synopsis: The residents of Chipping Cleghorn are amused by an announcement in the morning paper advertising a murder later that day at the Little Paddocks estate owned by Letty Blacklock and go to her house believing it is either a game or a prank. They are less amused, however, when someone turns off the lights at the advertised time and fires a revolver, striking Miss Blacklock in the ear before either accidentally or purposely killing himself. Local police, baffled by the motive, turn to Jane Marple and, with her insight, come to a terrifying conclusion. The dead man was nothing more than a ruse and one of the people closest to Miss Blacklock is trying to kill her. Review: Several years ago, I made reading all of Agatha Christie's mysteries one of my goals. However, I ended up taking a break from that after reading the first Miss Marple books and realizing I wasn't as big of a fan of her as I was of Christie's other detectives.  Since it had been a while, I decided to ...

Synopsis: The divorced and re-married Neville Strange is persuaded to attend a holiday at the estate of Lady Tressilian at the same time as his ex-wife Audrey, despite objections from his current wife, Kay. The summer trip results in Strange telling Audrey he made a mistake and wants to return to her and the predictable fight between him and Kay results in an argument with Lady Tressilian as well. When Lady Tressilian is found murdered the following morning, Strange becomes the primary suspect and it's up to Superintendent Battle to help unravel whether the evidence is real or staged. Review: Even though I have gotten through most of Agatha Christie 's novels, there are still some that I haven't yet read. Towards Zero was on that list even though I found it at a used book sale back in December and it's been on my bookshelf since. I finally got around to reading it this week and, for the most part, I thought it was an OK book. The book does take a little bit of time t...

Synopsis: When the wealthy Captain Joseph Trevelyan is murdered, his nephew, James Pearson is the obvious suspect. However, Emily Trefusis believes her fiancé is both too weak and too stupid to have committed the crime and, with the help of an ambitious journalist, Charles Enderby, searches for the real killer.  The book is also known as The Sittaford Mystery. Review: It had been a while since I last read an Agatha Christie book and, since I knew I would have some extra reading time the next couple of weeks, decided to check this one out from the library. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it, but it ended up being one of my favorites. I was a huge fan of this murder mystery. The victim was a guy who seemingly had no enemies and, while his estranged family, which was to inherit his money, had a motive, most of them didn't have an opportunity to commit it, especially since he lived in a community that was small enough to notice any strangers. The only exception was Jame...

Synopsis : Famed Belgium detective Hercule Poirot hunts down a London serial killer that selects his/her victims according to their intials. However, he must also avoid being apprehended by the local police, who don't want his help and want him to leave the country. Who's in it? The movie stars Tony Randall , Robert Morley , Anita Ekberg , Maurice Denham and Sheila Allen. Review: I came across this movie the other day and, after enjoying the Miss Marple films I've seen recently, decided to give a Hercule Poirot mystery a try as well. After all, he is my favorite Agatha Christie detective. I had a chance to watch the film yesterday evening and, unfortunately, it just wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. To be fair, the mystery itself wasn't too terrible. It has been more than three years since I read the book that inspired this film and, even though I kind of remembered the ending, the film had just enough going on to make me wonder if I was right about t...

Synopsis: When former actress Margaret McGinty is murdered, her lodger, Harold Taylor appears to be guilty. However, Jane Marple is on the jury and, by being the lone holdout, causes a mistrial. Believing Taylor is innocent, Marple decides to investigate the murder herself and puts her life in danger by joining a theater company so she can search for the person she believes McGinty was blackmailing. Who's in it? The movie stars Margaret Rutherford , Ron Moody , Charles 'Bud' Tingwell , Ralph Michael and Francesca Annis . Review: I've had this movie in my library for a couple of weeks and, after enjoying both Murder Ahoy and Murder, She Said , decided to take the time to watch it. Overall, I have to say the film proved to be worth my time. Once again, while I'm not a fan of the literary version of Miss Marple, I do find the film version much more enjoyable. Part of this was because of Rutherford's outstanding performance, which had just the right mix of serio...

Synopsis: Siblings Jerry and Joanna Burton take residence in the small town of Lymstock while Jerry recovers from an accident. When they receive an anonymous letter accusing them of secretly being lovers, they laugh it off. However, they soon learn they aren't the only ones receiving accusation letters and, before too long, things take a dark turn when one of the recipients kills herself as a result of it. When the investigation seems to hit a dead end, the vicar's wife calls up her friend, Jane Marple , to help. Review: After reading another Miss Marple mystery a few days ago and enjoying it more than expected, I decided to check out this book from the library. Overall, I found I enjoyed it. I thought the mystery in this book was an intriguing one. At first, the letters the Burtons and others were receiving seemed relatively harmless becasue they were filled with unfounded accusations. However, after the suicide and, eventually, another murder, it became apparent there was ...

Synopsis: When the body of an unknown young blonde is found in the library of Colonel and Dolly Bantry's estate. Fearing the scandal it might cause, Dolly calls up her old friend, Jane Marple, to help with the investigation and, as more is discovered about the deceased, even the authorities are quick to rely on Miss Marple's deductive abilities. Review: Even though I did like The Murder at the Vicarage , that was the only Miss Marple mystery I've read until now (seeing a movie featuring the character renewed my interest). I finished this book early this morning and, overall, have to say I enjoyed it. The thing I found I liked best about this book was the murder mystery itself. As more is revealed about the victim, Ruby, the motive behind her murder seems to be somewhat clear and there are a few solid suspects. However, at the same time, none of the theories seem to add up when the location of the victim's body is taken into account. Since there was no evidence she e...

Synopsis: When charwoman Mrs. McGinty is murdered, her lodger, James Bentley is arrested for the crime. Even though Bentley was convicted by a jury, the soon-to-be-retired Superintendent Spence has doubts about his guilt and turns to Hercule Poirot for a second opinion. Poirot agrees to investigate but the only thing that points him in the direction of another killer is an inaccurate newspaper clipping referring to other crimes. Did Mrs. McGinty know somebody's secret? Review: I was under the impression I had read all of Christie's Hercule Poirot novels until I happened to come across this one at the library a couple weeks ago. I checked it out and wound up finishing it last night. Overall, I have to say I thought it was a decent book. There were a couple things I found I liked about this murder mystery. One of the main ones was the question about whether or not there really was another killer. Despite Spence's doubts, her lodger was found with money stolen from her flo...

Synopsis: While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones finds a stranger at the bottom of a cliff. It is too late to save the man's life but Bobby is with him when he mutters his last words, "why didn't they ask Evans?" The death is ruled accidental but when someone tries to poison Bobby, his friend Lady Frances Derwent, suspects the deceased man was pushed and the pair decide to investigate. Review: It had been a while since I took the time to read an Agatha Christie mystery so, while I was at the library last week, I picked up this book. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it but it turned out to be one of my favorites. I think the thing that intrigued me about this book was the way it seemed to have multiple storylines that may or may not be related to each other. Bobby and "Frankie" came across multiple possible suspects ranging from a man who was left alone with the body to a doctor that may or may not be planning to kill his wife but, ...

Synopsis: While traveling by train, Jane Marple witnesses a woman being strangled to death in another train. Police are unable to find a body and assume the elderly Marple was just imagining things. Determined to prove she wasn't senile, she conducts her own investigation and, believing the woman's body is hidden on the grounds of Ackenthorpe Hall, gets herself hired as a maid. Who's in it? The movie stars Dame Margaret Rutherford , Arthur Kennedy , Muriel Pavlow , James Robertson Justice and Charles Tingwell . Review: The cats were making a ruckus early this morning and, realizing there was no point in me trying to go back to sleep, I wound up getting up 30 minutes earlier than usual. Since I had plenty of time before I had to wake my oldest daughter for school, I looked for a movie to watch and eventually picked this one out. While I am a big fan of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot , I only managed to read one Miss Marple mystery and, because of that, this film (...

Synopsis: A series of short story mysteries featuring fictional detective Hercule Poirot . Mysteries include The Adventure of the Cheap Flat , The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb and The Chocolate Box. Review: I found this book at a "little free library" a couple months ago and decided to hold onto it for a rainy day. I finally had an opportunity to read it and, overall, was happy with my decision to bring it home. When I first picked out this book, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. My biggest concern was it would end up being a book of cast-off mysteries that just weren't that good. However, I was pleasantly surprised. As is usually the case with books like this, some mysteries were more entertaining than others. But, there were just enough good stories to keep me interested in reading further. In particular, I found I especially liked The Adventure of the Cheap Flat (which had me baffled as to why Poirot even felt the mystery was worth his time) ...

Nearly two years ago, I decided I was going to make an effort to read more books and, as part of that goal, I decided I was going to attempt to read all of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot murder mysteries in order. It took me a year and 11 months (give or take) but, this morning, I finished reading Curtain and said goodbye to the Belgium detective. Image courtesy of Pixabay Normally, I would take the time to review the book. However, after realizing it was (while a bit sad) nothing that really stood out from her other novels (the mystery itself was somewhat interesting but other parts of the book were kind of predictable). I decided to, instead, think about the entire collection I have just completed and list my five favorite and five least favorite of his cases. My 5 Favorites 1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd This was one of the first books I read (back in November 2017) and remains, to this day, my favorite. This is mostly because it is one of the few murder myste...

Synopsis: Mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver is helping a friend prepare for a kids' Halloween party when 13-year-old Joyce Reynolds tells her she once witnessed a murder. Since Joyce is known to be a compulsive liar, nobody believes her. However, later that evening, someone drowns Joyce in the apple-bobbing tub. Disturbed by the incident and partially blaming herself, Ariadne reaches out to long-time friend Hercule Poirot for assistance. Review: My wife and I wound up spending a good chunk of last week binge watching the final season of Orange is the New Black and, because of that, it took me a bit longer to get through this book than I normally would have expected. I finally finished it yesterday and, overall, I was happy I read it. When I first started reading this book, I thought the mystery was going to be a little too easy to solve. After all, Joyce was apparently murdered because she witnessed a murder so, in theory at least, the only thing I needed to do was figur...

Synopsis: When typist Sheila Webb showed up for an appointment with the blind Miss Pebmarsh, the last thing she expected to find was the stabbed body of a mysterious, well-dressed man. In a panic, she flees the house and falls into the arms of a British secret agent, Colin Lamb, who calls his friend, Inspector Hardcastle, and ends up assisting with the investigation. The murder case proves to be a baffling one. Miss Pebmarsh, who has not been at home most of the day, swears she doesn't know the man and did not make a call to hire a typist. On top of it, four of six clocks found in the room with the dead man did not belong to her and were likely either brought into the house by the victim or the person who killed him. When interviews with the neighbors shed no additional light on the case, Colin turns to his former mentor, Hercule Poirot , for advise. Review:  When I checked out this book at our local library last week, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. The d...

Synopsis: Founded by Headmistress Honoria Bulstrode and teacher Miss Chadwick, Meadowbank School has become one of the most prestigious girls' prep schools in England. The school's reputation takes a hit, however, when some of its staff members are murdered and one of the students is apparently kidnapped with the motive possibly being related to valuable jewels that were smuggled out of a Middle Eastern kingdom days before a revolution broke out. At the request of one of the students, Hercule Poirot gets involved with the investigation. Review:  I started reading this book Sunday morning and, thanks mostly to waiting around at an ice rink for about 90 minutes, I was able to finish it yesterday evening. While the book started out OK and had a halfway decent plot, I honestly didn't like it as much as I thought I would. My biggest problem with this book is the motive behind at least two of the deaths isn't much of a mystery. Normally, motive is one of the toughes...

Synopsis: Hercule Poirot receives a surprise phone call from mystery writer Ariadne Oliver inviting him to Nasse House in Devon, the home of wealthy Sir George Stubbs. Officially, Poirot is there to attend a festival and award a prize to whoever solves a pretend murder mystery designed by Ariadne. Secretly, he was invited because his friend feels as though something is amiss and a real murder is being planned. When the 14-year-old village girl picked to play her pretend murder victim is found strangled, her suspicions are confirmed and Poirot must help the police figure out who killed the teenager and whether or not Sir George's much younger wife, Hattie, who disappeared at about the same time the murder was being committed, is also dead. Image Courtesy of Pixabay Review: I wound up reading back-to-back Hercule Poirot novels this week. The first one, Hickory Dickory Dock , was OK but not one of my favorites. This one, however, turned out to be one of those books I simply ...

Synopsis: Hercule Poirot 's secretary, Miss Lemon, is normally robot-like with her perfection. So, when she uncharacteristically makes three mistakes in a letter she has typed, he knows something is amiss. When she admits she is distracted by some strange happenings at a hostel run by her sister, Mrs. Hubbard, the detective agrees to hear the story and give consultation. However, when Mrs. Hubbard explains the series of strange events, ranging from stolen items of various values to a rucksack that had been cut to pieces, he suspects there might be something more sinister going on. Unfortunately for him, his suspicions are confirmed when one of the students she is housing is murdered. Image courtesy of Pixabay Review: The Hamish Macbeth book I had intended on checking out at the library was already gone so, since I wasn't really in the mood to pick a book at random this time, I ended up going with another detective series I've been reading frequently. I finished t...

Synopsis: Richard Abernethe had been in poor health so, even though he died suddenly, there was no reason to suspect foul play. That's why, when his sister, Cora, suggests he was murdered during the will reading, his remaining heirs, already counting their money, think she is a fool. However, when Cora herself is bludgeoned to death with a hatchet, Richard's lawyer, Mr. Entwhistle, begins to suspect there might be some truth to what she had suggested and ultimately reaches out to his old friend, Hercule Poirot. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/book-review-funerals-are-fatal-1953/

Synopsis: Eight guests and two servants are invited to an isolated island mansion and are targeted by a serial killer copying a grim nursery rhyme. Unable to leave and cut off from rescue by a storm, the guests must figure out which of them is the killer before there are no survivors. Review: I started reading this Agatha Christie novel some time ago. However, I had just finished watching a movie that was based off of the book and, since it wasn't as enjoyable when I already knew who the killer was, I gave up reading it after a couple chapters. However, while at the library a couple weeks ago, I came across the book again and, realizing I no longer remembered anything that happened in the film, decided to give it another try. This time, I finished the entire book and enjoyed every page of it. I've read quite a few Christie novels and this one is right at the top of my list of favorites. I can honestly say I think this is the perfect murder mystery. The thing that ...