The Floating Admiral - The Detection Club

Inspector Rudge does not encounter many cases of murder in the sleepy seaside town of Whynmouth. 

But when an old sailor lands a rowing boat containing a fresh corpse with a stab wound to the chest, the Inspector's investigation immediately comes up against several obstacles. 

The vicar, whose boat the body was found in, is clearly withholding information, and the victim's niece has disappeared.

There is clearly more to this case than meets the eye even the identity of the victim is called into doubt. 

Inspector Rudge begins to wonder just how many people have contributed to this extraordinary crime and whether he will ever unravel it

In 1931, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and ten other crime writers from the newly-formed Detection Club’ collaborated in publishing a unique crime novel. 

In a literary game of consequences, each author would write one chapter, leaving G.K. Chesterton to write a typically paradoxical prologue and Anthony Berkeley to tie up all the loose ends.

In addition, each of the authors provided their own solution in a sealed envelope, all of which appeared at the end of the book, with Agatha Christie’s ingenious conclusion acknowledged at the time to be enough to make the book worth buying on its own’.
The authors of this novel are: G. K. Chesterton, Canon Victor Whitechurch, G. D. H. Cole and Margaret Cole, Henry Wade, Agatha Christie, John Rhode, Milward Kennedy, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Edgar Jepson, Clemence Dane and Anthony Berkeley.

[Book Description Source: www.flipkart.com ]
Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.86 out of 5 (3,765 Ratings ,184 Reviews -As on Feb 03 2018)
My Rating:   3 out of 5
My Comments:
They say too many cooks spoil the broth. 
This however is not the case here. But at the same time the book can't be compared to a gourmet dish, despite legends of detective fiction writing like Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, G.K. Chesterton and many more writers collaborating to write this book.
You may read it for its uniqueness of being the first collaborative novel by the greatest crime writers but don't have any great expectations..

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Sherlock Holmes FAQ by Dave Thompson

All That's Left to Know About the World's Greatest Private Detective 
The Sherlock Holmes FAQ is a one-stop guide to over a centurys worth of mystery, mayhem, and most of all, deduction. 
Digging deep inside the manifold worlds of Sherlock Holmes, the FAQ is a dramatic and detailed digest of the Baker Street sleuth in all of his many guises, as TV and radio star, movie phenomenon, and, of course, literary giant. 
Chapters investigate his predecessors and his successors, and discuss the influence that Holmes has had not only on other writers, but on real-life police procedures as well. 
The London that he perambulated in deerstalker and cloak is laid bare, plus the life and other fascinations of Holmes creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, are mapped out in all their foggy, darkened atmosphere. 
We meet giant hounds and fearful foes, common crooks and misdirected souls. 
Ghosts appear in these pages, and vampires, too and more puzzles, conundrums, and mysteries than any mortal detective could ever hope to solve. 
But Holmes, as we shall see, was no mere mortal. 
And Sherlock Holmes FAQ is the story of his immortality.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ]


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.46 out of 5 (28 Ratings , 7 Reviews  - As on Dec 6 2017)
My Rating:   3 out of 5
My Comments:
Will be a great addition in the library of a Sherlock Holmes fan. Lots of interesting trivia. Beware of the spoilers though if you have not read any of the 56 short stories and 4 novels featuring Sherlock Holmes.

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Barnabas - Bombay's First Private Detective by Sangeeta Nambiar

British India. 
The summer of 1942.
Bombay. 
From the leafy lanes of Wodehouse Road, a British woman goes missing from her home. 
Her husband Thomas Stanton, wants to keep the police out of the loop, and thus calls in Bombay's first Private Detective, Barnabas Mehta.

Barnabas, the son of a cook, has been brought up under the tutelage of his father's employer, Francis Curtis, and thus knows the ways of the British. But that isn't enough to solve the mystery for him. 
His search for Rose leads him to the by-lanes of Girgaum where he finds a murder to solve and webs of deceit to traverse. 
Who would murder Rose so brutally? 
Family secrets and the machinations of an evil mind they're all there for Barnabas Mehta to unveil! 
A gripping murder mystery, set against the events of the Indian freedom struggle.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.25 out of 5 (20 Ratings; 8 Reviews - As on April 14 2017)
My Rating:  3 out of 5
My Comments:   Well written enough to keep you engaged. The identity of the murderer is rather easy to guess for a seasoned detective fiction reader though.


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Agatha Christie's Poirot by Anne Hart

The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot 
 'My name is Hercule Poirot and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.' 
The dapper, moustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head, curious mannerisms and inordinate respect for his own 'little grey cells' has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century. 
Yet despite being familiar to millions, Poirot himself has remained an enigma -- until now. 
From his first appearance in 1920 to his last in 1975, from country-house drawing-rooms to opium dens in Limehouse, from Mayfair to the Mediterranean, Anne Hart stalks the legendary sleuth, unveiling the mysteries that surround him. 
Sifting through 33 novels and 56 short stories, she examines his origins, tastes, relationships and peculiarities, revealing a character as fascinating as the books themselves.

[Book Description Source: www.flipkart.com  ] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.78 out of 5 (192 Ratings; 13 Reviews - As on April 6 2017)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments:  A very informative biography of Hercule Poirot one of the most popular fictional detectives created by Agatha Christie. Very cleverly written without any spoilers. Kindles a desire for reading all the books he is featured in. A must read for all Poirot and Agatha Christie fans.
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The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith

Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestseller The Cuckoo's Calling.

When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. 

At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days--as he has done before--and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. 

The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows.

 If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives--meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...

A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, THE SILKWORM is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant, Robin Ellacott.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 



Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.02 out of 5 (122,451 Ratings; 12,225 Reviews - As on October 30 2016)
My Rating:  3 out of 5
My Comments:  Not as good as the first book in Coromoran Strike series "The Cuckoo's Calling".


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Nano - Robin Cook

A lavishly funded, security-conscious nanotechnology institute in the foothills of the Rockies, Nano is ahead of the curve in the competitive world of molecular manufacturing, including the construction of microbivores, tiny nanorobots with the ability to gobble up viruses and bacteria.
But when Pia Grazdani takes a job there, she’s shocked by the secretive corporate culture.
She’s warned by her boss not to investigate the other work being done at the gigantic facility, nor to ask questions about the source of the seemingly endless capital that funds the institute’s research. 
And when Pia encounters a fellow employee on a corporate jogging path suffering the effects of a seizure, she soon realizes she may have literally stumbled upon Nano’s human guinea pigs. 
Is the tech giant on the cusp of one of the biggest medical discoveries of the twenty-first century—a treatment option for millions—or have they already sold out to the highest bidder?
[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.11 out of 5 (2437 Ratings; 440 Reviews)
My Rating:  3 out of 5
My Comments: As I was reading this book, I had almost made up my mind to give it a 4 star rating. But the abrupt and disappointing climax put me off and I ended up giving a 3 star instead.


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The Chase - Clive Cussler

In The Chase Clive Cussler introduces a historical hero- Isaac Bell.
1950: the rusting hulk of a steam locomotive is raised from the depths of a Montana lake.
Inside are three bodies, bloody clue to a fortune lost for over forty years . . .
1906: For two years banks across the western United States have been living in terror of the 'Butcher Bandit'. 
This cold-blooded bank robber empties safes and murders all witnesses, vanishing without trace. 
In desperation, the US Government calls in Isaac Bell, the best detective in the country. 
From Arizona to Colorado to the streets of San Francisco during the great quake, Bell uses all his guile and ingenuity to catch up with the murderous Bandit.
But when Bell has him almost cornered - the Bandit turns really nasty. 
And suddenly the stakes have changed. 
Bell isn't just battling to get his man. 
He's fighting for his very survival . . .
Bestseller Clive Cussler - author of the Dirk Pitt novels Arctic Drift and Crescent Dawn - sends hero Isaac Bell to solve a mysterious series of bank-robberies and murders in the first novel of historical thriller series The Isaac Bell Adventures.  
The Chase is followed by The Wrecker and The Spy.
[Book Description Source: www.amazon.in ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.9 out of 5 (10,744 Ratings; 796 Reviews)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments: A fast paced thriller ideal for light reading. Captures the wild west scenario of early 1900s very well. 

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The Steradian Trail by M.N. Krish

They don’t come better than Divya. 
‘Uber-smart’ does not even begin to describe it. 
And even a single-digit All-India rank in everything is nothing more than a left-handed demonstration of the kind of stuff she is made of. 
But the limits of her prowess are suddenly tested when her professor, Lakshman, springs a bizarre new assignment on her—helping out Joshua Ezekiel. 
A world - renowned computer scientist at MIT, Joshua is now in India and in deep, deep trouble. 
A criminal genius who happens to be his former student is brutally murdered, leaving Joshua trapped in the mess and mayhem that follow. 
With Lakshman and Divya firmly on his side, Joshua begins digging up his crooked proteges sinister trail of secrets - secrets which spiral out of an ancient Indian city and unleash shockwaves much, much beyond.... 
 [Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 

A mind blowing cocktail of science and religion, mythology and technology, history and human greed, The Steradian Trail fires the starting shot of an explosive new series in lifestyle.. 
It is a highly original mystery-thriller that unravels hidden connections between computers, technology, religion, culture and an intelligent crime that will wow readers.
When the MIT professor of computer science, Joshua Ezekiel comes down to India for an academic visit, little does he know that this particular trip is going to be memorable in more than one way.
Professor Lakshman, Joshua Ezekiel's long time friend and batch mate is going to be compelled to take on more than what he thought he was responsible for, when he got instated as Head of the Department of Computer Science of a prestigious technological institute of the nation. 
Divya, Professor Lakshman's brilliant protegé might have made a breakthrough, pleasantly surprising her mentor. 
But convincing her mother that she needs to concentrate on her work instead of learning how to cook or stringing together prayer notes is not going to be an easy task.
The Steradian Trail: Book #0 of The Infinity Cycle opens with a murder that sets everything into motion. 
The events lead Joshua, Lakshman and Divya through a confusing yet enthralling maze of secrets and revelations. 
This involves ancient temples and traditions, in a race against time to understand the trail of secrets left by a dead man whose actions might have an effect more profound than imaginable.

Key Features

• The book was flagged off in Chennai as part of an innovative radio show on Chennai Live 104.8 FM.
• Krish said that he wrote the first three books of the series over a ten-year period and there are more in the offing.
• Plot is made up of ancient history, traditions, mathematics and present day computer science.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.in ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.88 out of 5 (138 Ratings, 34 Reviews)

My Rating:  4 out of 5.  
My Comments:  A racy plot and a  gripping page turner.The fact that the story is set in IIT-Madras (my alma mater) made it more interesting. 

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The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

When a troubled supermodel falls to her death from the balcony of her London home, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. 

However, her brother has his doubts and calls in private detective Cormoran Strike to investigate.

Strike is a war veteran--wounded both physically and psychologically--and his private life is in disarray. 

The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's world, the darker things get and the closer he comes to terrible danger.

Published to huge acclaim from readers, reviewers, and writers everywhere, The Cuckoo's Calling is a compulsively readable crime novel, the first in a series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.81 out of 5 (247,289 Ratings, 22,706 Reviews)

My Rating:  4 out of 5.  

Buying Options 
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(Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the FREE Kindle app for smartphones and tablets.)