The curious incident of the dog in the night-time

Author: Mark Haddon

Such a long title for a book, and that for a book from the view point of a fifteen year old autistic kid. But the title epitomizes the entire book, the book is more about details and emotions than story.

This book is about Christopher John Francis Boone , a fifteen year old boy who when asked about his age replies that he's 15 years and 283 days old. He knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057, and even the chapters are arranged in the order of prime numbers since this is his notes on an investigation.

He attempts to investigate the murder of his neighbour's dog , but then he has a problem. And the problem is a hard one to tackle, he cannot talk to strangers nor is he allowed to travel alone. Strangers frighten him, and his medical condition stimulates and overwhelms him when there are too much details in front of him.

How does he go out to a world that he never knew? He questions everything, and his curiosity definitely leads us on to his world ,all new world, the world of a curious boy. And boy, he makes us think. Think hard.

Might as well learn more about prime numbers, and enjoy a wonderful character that will hang on to you days after you finish it. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a book that can keep you hooked until you finish it. Not just another book, but a book that will teach you something more than a page turner.

Flight 714 - THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Author: Herge

Flight 714, filled with a private plane hijack and lots of action, is one of the best comic in the The adventures of Tintin collection.

Tintin and his friends, at their transit at Jakarta are asked to accompany an eccentric millionaire Laszlo Carreidas in Flight 714 bound to Sydney. Flight 714 is hijacked by Rastapopoulos with an objective of getting hold of millionaire Carreidas' account number in the Swiss bank. He did not expect Tintin and his friends to accompany Carreidas but nonetheless is delighted at the opportunity of taking revenge.

Tintin and his friends are tied down in an island in the Pacific ocean, as expected they escape and somehow manage to overcome the evil Rastapopoulos plot to become instant millionaire.

A very funny book, I enjoyed reading this. This was my first Tintin comic.

Tintin and the Picaros- The adventures of Tintin

Author: Herge

Tintin and the Picaros , the last book in The adventures of Tintin is a comical take on international conspiracy, and describes a non-traditional non-violence coup carried out by Tintin in an effort to bring about peace in the world.

Tintin is shown practising yoga, and is less aggressive and reluctant to take up further missions. Tintin and the Picaros must be the only book in which Captain Haddock, an alcoholic, has some aversion to anything that has alcohol.The reason for his aversion plays an important role in the plot, and his reactions are as comical as usual.

This isn't a great Tintin comic, but worth reading once though.

The Calculus Affair-The adventures of Tintin

Author: Herge

"The Calculus Affair" is the eighteenth of The Adventures of Tintin series, written and illustrated by Herge,the famous Belgian cartoonist.Tintin, the boy detective along with his dog Snowy and Captain Haddock travel to Geneva and then to a fictional country of Eastern Europe in search of the absent minded Professor Calculus,who had somehow got into trouble due to his new invention.

Tintin is as calm and composed as usual, while Captain Haddock is as furious as always. An insurance agent occupies Captain Haddock’s residence, and Haddocks comment that “I’m insured against everything under the sun except insurance agents" is quite amusing and very true in the real world.

Professor Calculus, the foolish scientist makes one wonder how can someone be so absent-minded? As long he’s there in the scene, every object made of glass break in Captain Haddock’s house. He is kidnapped during his journey towards Geneva, Tin Tin and Haddock set to search Professor Calculus without even realizing that Calculus had left to Geneva. The rest of the story is about how they accomplish their mission, as every spy story in the world would vouch to; Tintin and company manage to escape unthinkable situations in unimaginable ways.

The ABC murders

Author: Agatha Christie

A serial killer is murdering people arbitrarily in the order of their names. The first victim is Alice Ascher of Andover, second Betty Barnard of Bexhill-on-Sea, third Sir Carmichael Clarke of Churston. i.e., the first victim is a person with his initial A from a place starting with A, the second victim is B, and so on.The victims are completely unrelated; of different financial backgrounds, and different age factions.

Before each murder Hercule Poirot receives a letter stating the time and place of the next murder, but by the time Poirot and the police reach the place, the murder would’ve already occurred. At each murder spot, the killer leaves an ABC Railway Guide next to the body of the victim with the open page facing the floor.

Some of the clues lead to a stocking salesman called Alexander Bonaparte Cust (ABC), an old, partially blind, epileptic man. His presence at each murder location is proved beyond doubt, and he surrenders stating that he could’ve done the murders as he is unaware of himself many a times in a day. All the letters were typed from his typewriter, but he denies typing any letter and claims that he had never heard of Poirot before meeting him at the investigation office. Though Cust surrenders, he could not be jailed for lack of evidence and loopholes in the evidences against him.

Who is the serial killer? What is his motive? Can an old,weak, epileptic man kill four people with different weapons and cleverly conceal the murder weapon? These are the questions Poirot asks himself. Read the book to find the culprit.

This is a detective fiction, and the easiest way to spoil your pleasure of reading is to reveal the climax.The ABC murder, written in a double point of view is worth your time any day.

Murder in Mesopotamia

Author : Agatha Christie

Genre : Detective fiction

Apart from painting a vivid picture on the archaeological fields of Mesopotamia, the author manages to bring about a story on human psychology. The narrator,nurse Amy Leatheran, is a part of the excavation at Tell Yarimjah.The murder takes place a week after her arrival, and she describes the events before the murder her investigations with Hercule Poirot in a very simple way.

A murder takes place in a dig of Tel Yarimjah at Hassanieh, and Poirot visits the place to investigate the murder. To reveal the victim would be to give away half the delight of reading this good novel.

Though the modus operandi of the killer intrigues the reader until it is disclosed, the answer is not satisfactory. Poirot's methods of deduction are superlative and well justified, the manner in which he questions the members of the expedition to figure out hidden facts about the victim reveals a lot of the methodical approach of Poirot. The novel appears to be dragged at the end, it could've been a better novel with thirty pages less.

They Came To Baghdad

Author : Agatha Christie

Genre : International conspiracy

Confirmation of the manufacture of a secret weapon has been obtained by a British agent.All the persons concerned were meeting in Baghdad and the code was " A white camel loaded with oats is coming over the pass."

This is not the kind of novel that one would expect from Agatha Christie , a truly memorable Agatha novel without Hercule Poirot. It's all about international conspiracy,and the author cleverly manages to keep the reader guessing on who the real manipulator is. Agatha Christie takes us to the enchanting land of ancient history, to the streets of busy Baghdad, to the ruins of Babylon and to the digs of archaeologists in the middle of the deserts.

PLOT:
Anna Scheele, a young secretary of an American Bank is being chased around in London. She came to London on the pretext of meeting her ailing sister Elsie, and suddenly she vanishes into thin air. Every body is searching her, and the reader is kept in dark about her whereabouts till the later part of the novel.

On the other hand, Victoria Jones, a typist in London falls in love with Edward;It was love at first sight.Edward takes her photo and soon leaves to Baghdad. Victoria being jobless and charmed by the good-looking Edward is keen to join him at Baghdad. Upon a bizarre coincidence, an old and sick Mrs. Clipp on her way to Kirkuk near Baghdad mentions a need for nurse to assist her on her flight journey to Baghdad. The penniless Victoria happily agrees and lands in Hotel Tio at Baghdad. She meets Edward, and joins Olive Branch upon Edwards advice.

Soon,Victoria gets mixed up in a murder and later kidnapped. She knows too much now. The bizarre coincidence is after all a planned one. Why did Baghdad need her? The climax unfolds all the mystery in a truly admirable way.

The Royal Bengal Mystery

Author : Satyajit Ray

Genre : Detective Fiction

An amazing detective fiction on par with Agatha Christie's master detective Hercule Poirot. This book is one among the twelve Feluda collection of Ray, and the most compelling of all the twelve. There is everything that the reader can ask for in a mystery novel, a puzzle, a murder, a mad-man,and more than everything the beauty of the place where the story unfolds slowly. Ray gives a deep view of the thick forest of Northern Bengal,and to stick to a Cliche, he literally transports the reader into the lonely palace amidst deep woods and dilapidated forests.

PLOT:
Feluda (The detective ) is called to a certain palace up in the northern forests of Bengal by a famous hunter turned writer. Feluda is accompanied by his cousin,Topshe,the narrator of the story and Lal Mohan aka Jadayu, a witty middle aged adventure writer.

The hunter turned writer shows them a big room filled with animal hides and weapons, and briefs about his ancestors. They all were famous hunters too, in fact , very famous. Feluda is asked to solve a puzzle left by the hunter's father, which he had recently come across while he was writing his new book.The brother of the hunter is a little out of mind,the friend of the hunter is intriguingly quiet,while his brilliant secretary is killed on the second day of Feluda's arrival.

The secretary was found to be half eaten by a tiger, with a deep metal made wound on his chest.
Later Feluda discovers that the secretary had already solved the puzzle, which was actually a map to ancestral property, and he had decided to take it as his payment for writing all those books about hunting which his boss had merrily published in his name. And , there is more and more startling twists as the story leads to its climax.

Just unputdownable, and a great page-turner!