It’s tempting to say “The Andromeda Strain” (1969) is Michael Crichton’s first great novel. Certainly, it’s the first techno-thriller, and the mimicked reportage style influenced
“The Moving Finger” (1943) is not the deepest Agatha Christie novel. But it might intrigue fans of more recent teen fare such as “She’s All
In “Jurassic Park” (1990), Michael Crichton shows that bringing back dinosaurs is a scary proposition. But how hard is that? Dinosaurs were already scary. “Prey”
Miss Marple goes a surprising 12 years between her first and second novels, returning in “The Body in the Library” (1942). I’m struck by how
In “Evil Under the Sun” (1941), Hercule Poirot takes a vacation to Smugglers’ Island, off the Southwest coast of England. Wouldn’t you know it, a
“The Mousetrap and Other Stories” (1950) kicks off with a trivia answer: The title novella is the only Agatha Christie story not published in the
Surprising for a science fiction author, Michael Crichton wrote about the past (“The Great Train Robbery,” “Eaters of the Dead,” “Pirate Latitudes,” “Dragon Teeth”) a
“The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories” (1948) collects 11 Agatha Christie short stories that were originally published in magazines from 1924-47. They were
While I don’t know why Agatha Christie goes with a Shakespeare phrase to title “Sad Cypress” (1940) – main character Elinor is sad, but she’s
“Murder is Easy” (1939), appropriately, is an easy-to-read Agatha Christie novel. It’s like a snack more than a full-course meal. Although it won’t rank on