Zorro by Isabel Allende

This one's another graphic novel--art by Wagner, Francavilla and Lucas. I liked it. It was a pretty typical Zorro novel--the story was generally familiar to me. I especially liked the story of Bernardo's muteness; Bernardo doesn't talk, you know, and Ms. Allende's explanation of why was interesting. Wonderful illustrations (naturally).

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

This is Miss Marple's FIRST mystery. A widely disliked man is murdered in the vicarage study. Several people confess. Miss Mahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrple figures out who really did it. I love Miss Marple, better even than Hercule Poirot, I think.

I read this mystery right after I read Sleeping Murder--Miss Marple's last mystery. I was a nice pairing. I can always highly recommend Agatha Christie. Who can't?

Catwoman by Joseph Loeb and Tim Sale

This is another graphic novel (I was visiting my sister and she and her kids LOVE them and had a bunch of them), comic book style. This was typical comic book stuff: voluptuous women, bloody battles, muscular men... etc etc. I liked it well enough. I've always liked comic books!

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

I've never read an Agatha Christie that I didn't like. This one is Miss. Marple's final case. Clever Miss Marple makes an extended stay in the village of Dillmouth in order to help a young couple who fear they have moved into a haunted house. When the young wife starts "remembering" a 20-year-old (or so) murder, she is advised to let sleeping murders lie, but she cannot. Miss Marple assists.

This is a good one.

The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds

I read The Odyssey by Homer many years ago when I was in high school... or maybe college... and I thought I got the gist of the story, all while telling myself how lovely the language is. This is the graphic novel and it was great! Odysseus and all his journeys and all his troubles. Offend the Gods and pay for YEARS. Anyway, I've never understood The Odyssey better than I did from this graphic novel. I love the great classics translated into graphic form! I highly recommend this one.

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

Well, I read a Nicholas Sparks book. I felt like such a cliche on the airplane, a plump matron reading a romance. Sigh.

The plot summary: volunteer firefighter Taylor McAden meets single mother Denise Holton when he comes to her rescue. He has some tragic issues from his past that keep him from maintaining permanent relationships with women. It takes his response to another tragic event for his eyes to open to what he must overcome to build a relationship with Denise.

There's nothing original about this story. It's engaging and sweet. It has a nice ending. The main characters do have a sexual relationship before marriage. Sigh. Not too many details. I won't read another Nicholas Sparks.

The Double Image by Helen MacInnes

This is a typical Helen MacInnes: a political thriller with a romantic element slipped in as well. This one takes place first in Paris and then on a little Greek island as well. It's all about beating the Communists again--it takes place in the late 1960s. The cold war is hot and heavy and Nazi criminals are still being hunted and tried. Innocent civilian John Craig gets involved with an episode of espionage. It's always the clever civilian who is the hero in Helen MacInnes' stories. He's also the one who gets the girl. :) I enjoyed meeting some of the characters I liked from another MacInnes--agents Frank Rosenfeld and Christopher Holland. That was fun.

This one is actually the least exciting one of Helen MacInnes' that I've read. I still really enjoyed it, but it didn't have the fast pace that some of the others I've reviewed on here did. Still, her writing is substantial, with well-researched settings. I love her characters and I get caught up in the suspense. I always enjoy her books.