Review- Three Sisters by Helen Smith

Three Sisters on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

Three Sisters introduces twenty-six-year-old amateur sleuth Emily Castles in this popular new British mystery series.

Emily receives an invitation to a party in a large house at the end of her street, hosted by a mysterious troupe of circus performers. She accepts, despite her misgivings, because her dog has died and she needs cheering up. But when she witnesses a murder in the midst of the surreal entertainment, no one will believe what she has seen. Is Emily befuddled with grief at the loss of her pet? Or has something wicked happened in plain sight of all the party-goers? Emily and her eccentric neighbours attempt to discover the truth in a charming story that will have you giggling at every funny line.

Readers of M C Beaton or Alexander McCall Smith will enjoy discovering a new mystery author.

Chosen as a “Favorite Book of the Year” by Elizabeth at The Frugal Ereader.

This short mystery is a standalone story set in London. The Emily Castles mysteries can be read in any order, but if you’d like to read them in the order they were written and published, this is the chronology:

#1 Three Sisters (Emily Castles Short Mysteries)
#2 Showstoppers (Emily Castles Short Mysteries)
#3 Invitation to Die (Emily Castles Mysteries)
#4 Beyond Belief (Emily Castles Mysteries)



Release date: February 5th 2011
Published by: Tyger Books
Page numbers: 104

REVIEW: 

Previously, I have read a couple of short stories by Helen Smith, and they ended up being very interesting. Same goes for Three Sisters as well. It was a very interesting read that had a mysterious aura surrounding it since the first page and went on till the end of the story. Being a novella, the story was very well thought of and put down in a minimum number of pages. 

Three Sisters is a novella in the Emily Castles Mystery series. In this one, Emily has recently lost her dog. As she is still accepting the permanent absence of her feline half, she is invited to a communal party for which she makes a rather passable dish of potatoes. At this gathering, there is food, music, performances and art in all forms. 

Amongst these performers are twin sisters ZiZi and Zsa-Zsa who play with knifes and come from a Hungarian family that specialises in the same. There is also Emily's friend Midori who goes by the name Hana-bi as the DJ for the night. Just as Emily is cleaning up her plate after having food with a handsome guy named Joe, she sees Midori collapse. A series of unexpected and freaky events later, Emily is determined to find out the mystery behind all acts with the help of another neighbour, Dr. Muriel and Chirs, another bloke. 

Not the biggest fan of the novella, I still felt it was quite entertaining as it kept me wanting to know more in the tiny amount of time it took me to finish the story, which was very decent. The writing was nice as well, and the mysterious, almost alarming aura made it fun but gave me goosebumps as well. This is a really great novella for the occasional short length mystery read for when one is in the mood for that. 

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Review- Real Elves by Helen Smith

 Real Elves on Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

~ This is a short story ~

In a department store in London, a little girl called Sophie visits Santa’s magical forest with her grandfather. As they emerge from the forest, Sophie’s grandfather reports her missing… but the little girl’s right there. Is she a ghost, a twin, an alien abductee—or is there some simpler explanation? Twenty-six-year-old amateur sleuth Emily Castles has fifteen minutes to figure out the puzzle before the police are called and Christmas is ruined.

REAL ELVES is a standalone story set in London. It first appeared in the anthology Naughty or Nice in aid of Kids Need to Read. The Emily Castles mysteries can be read in any order.

Helen Smith has created a great little cozy series with the charming Emily Castles Criminal Element



Release date: September 16th 2014
Published by: Tyger Books
Page numbers: 35

REVIEW: 

This was the first Helen Smith book that I read. The story behind how I came across it is rather interesting, but it's telling could possibly wait. I feel like this book came to me at the perfect time since I had been looking for some cozy and enjoyable short stories.

Real Elves is a short story that can be read as a standalone or as part of the Emily Castles Mystery series of which it is the fifth book. I honestly don't see the point in summarising this short story, as the story in itself is barely a half and hour long read and the summary aptly describes what it is about anyway.

I absolutely enjoy short Christmas stories. I believe all of them are wonderful and warming, and the latter is a feat especially when the weather almost everywhere is cold. Real Elves was no different. Although what I found most interesting about this story was the kind of hazy and subtle mystery surrounding it.

For a few pages short story, Real Elves was very intriguing and quite an enjoyable read. Author Helen Smith's writing is very easy to follow and beautiful in its innocent and charming simplicity. I enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend it.

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