My 2020 Reading Challenge is in 2 parts this year: Christie 100 and other novels so my brain doesn’t fall out from all the murder mystery.
I had originally set my Goodreads challenge at 50 books across the year, however since setting myself an Agatha Christie reading challenge of 66 books, I have adjusted my Goodreads challenge to something reasonable baring that in mind.
Read about my Christie 100 challenge here:
Follow all of my 2020 reads below:
2020 Books
I always love reading this book. The characters and the plot are all so complex. There is also a great classic Poirot reveal at the end, which is always enjoyable. Lots of twists and red herrings before we finally discover the culprit be…
Loved this book. Really great concept, and interesting MO of the murder and the previous attempted murder. Great characters and loved that little Bob got a happily ever after too.
4 Agatha Christie sleuths and 4 people who have got away with murder and all 8 of them are invited to a dinner party by a man who knows all of their secrets. Naturally he turns up dead, but which of them committed the crime? I loved this…
I enjoyed this book as it was different from a standard Poirot formula. It took quite a while for the murder to take place and even longer for Poirot to arrive. The narrator was Amy, a straight-talking intelligent nurse. Her perspective …
Excellent classic Christie. I always love reading this one as it’s very Torbay-centric (Agatha Christie’s and my home town). The premise is brilliant with a series of murders being completed in alphabetical order. I really enjoy that the…
Really enjoyed this. Murder on a plane is genius. This is classic Poirot using his little grey cells and I love it. Excellent plot with lots of elements including Poirot framed as a suspect! Very clever solution and this will definitely …
Nice quick read. Frankie and Bobby were a great pair of sleuths. The plot took lots of twists and turns with all sorts of identity swapping fun between the characters. The mystery had a satisfying conclusion as did the novel as a whole.
Another nice quick read. Really enjoyed the plot even if I was unsatisfied with the murderer (I don’t like the trope that Christie played into here). Poirot took a back foot in this book but swooped in to solve everything with his little…
Still not really a fan of this book, although this is the 3rd re-read in as many years.
As much as I like that the book is divided into very practical chapters that plot the investigation very logically, thats where my enjoyment stops. …
Another quick, clever Poirot read.
Japp and Hastings both assist in this novel which of course lent itself to plenty of entertaining quips and sarcastic comments. Featuring a cast of interesting characters and suspects including artists …
On The Come Up is set in Garden Heights, the same world as The Hate U Give, and follows teen rapper Bri trying to make it in the music industry. Bri has had a difficult start to life, losing her dad to gun violence when she was 4, being …
This is a new Christie for me and I absolutely loved it! Definitely an unexpected favourite. This book follows Poirot attempting to prevent a murder from occurring rather than starting with a body and hunting the murderer. This book was …
What a beautiful, wholesome read. This filled me up and was everything I needed to get me out of a reading slump.
Themes:
•Family in all its forms
•LGBT+ love
•Navigating friendships
•College dreams
•Music
Upsetting content warnings/p…
Excellent little book! Would happily read in a single sitting. Loved the characters, loved the mythology, loved the twist on the twists at the end! Cannot wait to get hold of book 2 soon.
Lovely wintery moors mystery. Perfect Christmassy murder mystery.
I love these stand alones from Christie as they often have a cutesy romance and this was no different.
Emily is an excellent amateur sleuth. I also loved the mode of trans…
Miss Marple’s first outing and an excellent introduction to everyone’s favourite nosey neighbour old lady sleuth. There are some excellent witicisms and quotable comments on men’s attitudes towards women and small town/village society. K…
After a slow start this book did a complete 180 and it has quickly climbed my list of favourite Christies! Bundle is already one of my favourite less-known Christie characters and she was equally brilliant in this book. She is plucky, ba…
Set in the same world as Solitaire, high-acheiving teen Frances tries to juggle her grades, friendship, and internet fame.
At school she’s academic and heading for Cambridge Uni but at home she is a talented artist who is popular on tumb…
I have read this one a few times before and always enjoy it.
American heiress Ruth Kettering is found strangled to death on the Blue Train heading towards the French Riviera, and her famous ruby ‘the heart of fire’ is missing.
I love h…
I cannot believe this was Alice Oseman’s debut novel! And she was so young when it was published. It makes me feel woefully inadequate.
This book is the most honest portrayal of British secondary school life I’ve ever read (minus all th…
This book is, put simply, a warm hug.
After dealing with bullying and fake friends for her entire adolescence, 17 year old Peyton has had enough. She needs to get away. So she does just that. She books a one way ticket to Vancouver and …
Paige and Warden in their early days in Paris after the events of The Song Rising.
Trigger warning as Paige deals with psychological trauma following abuse and torture.
I loved this deep dive into Paige’s mind and how she is faring aft…
The laughter, love, triumphs, and tears of Georgia Warr’s life. This book is a coming out story about love in all its forms as Georgia moves to university and learns more about herself than she ever expected.
Loveless is beautifully wr…
Amelie is reeling from the breakup of her relationship with Reece, the boy who she believed was ‘the one’. She begins to retrace the relationship to see where things went wrong, starting with the places she cried in public. This isn’t a …
I found this book to be incredibly average for Christie. There was a great deal of quick narrative that felt mechanical and choppy to get through lots of incidents in a short novel. There also wasn’t a murder mystery to resolve, instead …
I’d like to apologise for this long overdue review. I was sent this e-ARC a while before lockdown began. A busy few weeks at work pre-lockdown and the initial lockdown blues of being unable to concentrate enough to read have prevented me…
Talented, artistic, oppressed. Sarah has been learning to survive in a world that has become dangerous for her, her mother, and all other Jewish citizens throughout Europe. So what is a girl to do when she becomes unexpectedly orphaned? …
10 teenagers lured to an abandoned carnival each with a secret to hide. They all start dying one by one, who will survive?
This book was almost a supernatural twist on And Then There Were None. I loved the premise and really enjoyed the…
Hold Back the Tide is a punchy, thrilling, and quite frankly terrifying little novel.
Set in the wilds of Scotland, we follow 16 year old Alva and her murderer father’s lives on the Loch. Just as Alva is ready to carve her own path, ever…
A story of political and international intrigue. Thoroughly entertaining partly because of cliches and the wit of the characters. Lord Caterham had some excellent one-liners. Occasionally found it difficult to follow as there were so man…
Part espionage, part mystery, part thriller, and a little romance thrown in. Starts in the London underground and ends up in the middle of a revolution in Africa. Another badass 1920s woman running around looking for an adventure. Thorou…
Cute, warm, wholesome chicflick. Gorgeous coming of age story about family, love, and a decent person navigating high school. Felt a little bit long considering the story arc didnt move too far, but looking forward to the rest of the ser…
Poirot’s second case, also accompanied by his liability of a friend: the narrator, Hastings. Very clever use of characters and a shocking twist at the end. And, it’s always fun to have the threat of the guillotine hanging over the murderer.
2 brilliant 20 somethings running around London and involving themselves in espionage in the 20s?! YES PLEASE. Tuppence is a total bad ass woman! Perfect book to bring a bit of the roaring 20s into the 2020s! Oh and a little love story o…
Easy to see why this is such a popular Poirot. Very clever, very quotable (use the little grey cells). Full on science from Christie clearly deploying her poison dispenser knowledge. Brilliant mystery.
INCREDIBLE. The ode to Maeve that un-sung side character of book 1 deserved. More likeable and ship-able characters! Thought I’d guessed the ending (only managed it a chapter before) but holy crap what happened amplified my theory x1000….
Excellent, entertaining read. Likeable (and shipable) characters. Found the murderer predictable however there was a shocking last minute twist that redeemed that tiny blip! Must read for YA thriller fans
