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. 

Buy the book: AMAZON

Review- Purple, Silver, Olive, Orange: A Short Story by Helen Smith

Purple, Silver, Olive, Orange: A Short Story on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

An entertaining short story set in a futuristic England, Purple, Silver, Olive, Orange is a bite-sized introduction to Helen Smith’s writing. 

Sarah wanted a sensitive, poetic, romantic boyfriend who would bring her flowers. Ryan ticks all the boxes. So why isn’t Sarah happy? 

Recommended for readers who enjoyed Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith. 

This story is free to borrow with Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime.

Release date: December 26th 2014
Published by: Tyger Books Quick Reads
Page numbers: 50

REVIEW: 

Previously, I have read two of author Helen Smith's short stories, Real Elves: A Christmas Story and The Memory Man: A Short Story. While both stories were interesting, they weren't very captivating and being really short stories, there wasn't more when I really wanted it. When I picked up Purple, Silver, Olive, Orange: A Short Story, I didn't keep any expectations. It was an interesting read all right, but again, too short to get the whole point of it. 

From what I understood, Purple, Silver, Olive, Orange: A Short Story is set in the United Kingdom of the future where the person you need in your life is designed for you as per your requirements. So we have Sarah who wants a man who will bring her flowers and write poetry for her and whom she gets in the form of Ryan. One morning, just as Sarah is telling Ryan how his ways seem to smother her, an inspector comes to note down if everything is going well with the two. The hint of drama that happens then was okay, not too great.  

The story kicks off in Sarah and Ryan's little apartment which was a very cute start up and set up as well. Ryan's dialogues were supposed to be in verse, but I had to reread a few of his lines to get the poetry in it. When I did get it though, his lines started looking very beautiful. I didn't understand Sarah's character however; she seemed manipulative to me, and I'm sure there was more to her than what was portrayed. 

Overall, Purple, Silver, Olive, Orange: A Short Story could pass as a pointless story that easily can be skipped, but I really enjoyed reading about the brief descriptions that were shown in the beginning. I read this book when I hadn't read anything at all during the day, but I had to read something to make it seem like a productive day. Maybe you can too. 

Buy the book: AMAZON

Review- The Memory Man by Helen Smith

The Memory Man on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

The Memory Man is an intriguing new short story from bestselling British author Helen Smith. Two women become friends in an abandoned post-apocalyptic building. A psychic makes contact with a lost soul. His apprentice tries to find news of a man he has lost touch with. Fragments of memories are traded and twisted. Friendship provides comfort, but the recovery of memories brings torment rather than reassurance - until truth becomes secondary to survival.

Release date: November 12th 2014
Published by: Tyger Books
Page numbers: 50

REVIEW: 

The Memory Man by Helen Smith is quite an interesting read that I didn't quite get. Set in the backdrop of a dystopian situation (I suppose), this short story has Sarah and Valerie as the main characters around whom the story revolves and always comes back to. There were a few other side characters, all male, whose roles I didn't really understand.

Just like with her Emily Castle Mystery Christmas short story series, Helen manages to have that mysterious aura in her book throughout, which I highly appreciate. Even though I didn't get the story like I said, I still had this urge to know more, which, for me, is always a plus point as it keep readers on the edge on the seat.

While it does have a promising plot and an interesting storyline, The Memory Man didn't work that well for me, at least not as a short story. If this were a full length novel with more details about the happenings, I would have liked it better. Neither the setup, not the situation was very clear to me.

Nonetheless, in spite of what I have said, The Memory Man is still a well written story that oozes with awe and mystery.

Buy the book: AMAZON

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.

Buy the book: AMAZON