I’m in the middle of a new series of vampire books (Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead). This is definitely a new guilty pleasure. I read the first four books pretty quickly and was looking forward to the last two, which I had already obtained from the library.
Then the nightmares started.
I was standing on a half-submerged submarine in the middle of the ocean (???). I was on some sort of lookout patrol, when all of the sudden, I saw a Strigoi (evil vampire built like The Rock) crawling up out of the ocean and onto the sub. I yelled into my headpiece, and when I turned back around, there were Strigoi crawling up from all sides. It was similar to the scene in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse when the vampire army is marching out of the river to hunt Bella, but in my dream, they were ominously crawling, and they were all huge. [Shudder.] I woke up as they were approaching and longing for my neck, no life preserver or US Coast Guard in sight.
So.
I decided to take a break and read a classic mystery author. My mom gave me a few of her Agatha Christie books when we moved into the house, and honestly, that’s what I had in mind when I made the 29 list. I picked “Ten Little Indians” because it’s short and I recognized the title.
Around 8 p.m., I went into our bedroom, turned on the lamp on my nightstand, turned off the overhead light, and settled in under the covers ready to start the book. Around 10 p.m., four people were dead, and no one on the island, including me, had any idea who the killer was. I was completely entranced. I glanced around the room (stupid, stupid, stupid). The bathroom doors caught my eye as they were cracked open (we always keep them closed). Why were they open? They shouldn’t be open. And not even open enough that I could clearly see that there was no one in there waiting to bash my head in with the mantelpiece clock??
I closed the book, set it on the nightstand, and stared at the bathroom doors willing them to close and stop scaring me. I was in the midst of this when Dave walked in.
D: What’s wrong?
A: Nothing.
D: You look weird.
A: I’m fine.
D: You look like something is wrong.
A: This Agatha Christie book is totally freaking me out!! Is there someone in the bathroom?!?!?
Y’all, the book is so good. Suspenseful, a little gory, intelligent, mentally engaging. It’s really not that scary. Usually when I read or watch any kind of mystery, crime drama, etc., I don’t try to figure it out. I just wait and let it unfold, wait for the surprise twist ending. But with this book, I kept trying to figure it out, then the author would explain away exactly what I had been thinking. It was like I was having a conversation with Agatha Christie while I was reading! You have to read slowly and pay attention because there are lots of details and lots of characters.
Five stars. Miss Marple is next.
