Guest Post/Virtual Tour with Giveaway ~ Helen Smith

Top 10 Favorite Books & Why

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Like most people who enjoy mysteries, I love Agatha Christie. I prefer Miss Marple to Poirot as a character but I love the solution to this particular Poirot mystery, which is very clever. I won’t spoil it for you if you don’t know it. It takes place on a luxurious train travelling across Europe, so the setting makes it special, too.

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Decline and Fall tells the story of a young man called Peter Pennyfather who disgraces himself at Oxford University by running through the grounds without his trousers, after getting mixed up with the awful, privileged members of the Bolinger Club.  The follows his further escapades after he has to leave University and find a job. He’s a hapless man who finds himself in an endless string of terrible situations, and the book is very funny.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Dodie Smith is perhaps best known as the author of A Hundred and One Dalmations. This charming book tells the story of the eccentric Mortmain family, narrated by adorable, clever seventeen-year-old Cassandra. Just looking at the opening line makes me want to read it again: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink."

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark

Muriel Spark’s a very clever writer, probably best known for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. This book is a mystery set in London in the 1950s, with my favourite kind of main character—an intelligent young woman, Fleur Talbot, who is a bit too clever for her own good. I like the first line in this one, too: “One day in the middle of the twentieth century I sat down in an old graveyard that had not yet been demolished, in the Kensington area of London, when a young policeman stepped off the path and came over to me.”

The Interrogative Mood. A novel? by Padgett Powell

I read this book last year and fell in love with it. It’s not really a novel. It’s a very strange book because every sentence in it is a question. At first I only downloaded a sample because that sounded so absurd, I couldn’t understand how it could work. But I soon bought the rest of the book and found myself moved by it, and sometimes laughing out loud. As the narrator of the book poses his questions, I found myself answering them in my head. He returns to some of the same questions over again—they vary from the profound to the absurd—and, in answering them, I got to know myself better, as well as getting to know this fictional narrator through.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

This is free to read if you have an ereader because it’s out of copyright. It’s one of the first detective stories and is told from multiple points of view. It’s amazing how fresh and fun the writing is, considering that it was written so long ago. There is an irreverence and verve to it and makes it a very enjoyable read.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

The book tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a man with a hidden past, and the tragedy that unfolds as he tries to connect with the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. I’m really looking forward to the Baz Luhrmann film that’s coming out in May this year. I have seen a trailer and it looks great. If you haven’t read the book and you’re planning on seeing the film, it’s worth picking up the book. It doesn’t take long to read and it’s a brilliant book.

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

Brighton Rock tells the story of seventeen-year-old Pinkie, the vicious leader of a gang of older men that operates in Brighton, and his pursuit by middle-aged Ida Arnold who is determined to see him brought to justice for a murder he has committed. It’s a brilliant, beautifully-written book with a chilling ending.

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

This cleverly-crafted book tells the story of two strangers who discuss how to commit the perfect crime, and propose carrying it out. A psychological thriller, it follows the consequences of this meeting, and the guilt that accompanies the way the two main characters act on the proposal to murder without discovery.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro’s book is set in England. It begins in a boarding school where three characters, Kathy, Tommy and Ruth, are friends. The story is told from the point of view of Kathy, using her slightly limited vocabulary and outlook – she’s quite a passive character. As adults, they are housed in cottages, and Kathy becomes a ‘carer’. It’s difficult to describe what happens in the book without giving away an important ‘reveal’ that will spoil the opening chapters of the book if you know what will happen while reading them. But this is a haunting, sad book, that came together for me when I read the last page, which made me cry.

Publisher: Tyger Books (December 5, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Emily Castle Mystery
ASIN: B006ITK0AW
Buy: Kindle

When twenty-six-year-old Emily Castles helps out at a local stage school in London, she's soon mixed up in murder. She teams up with eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel to solve the case.

Showstoppers is a fast-paced 75-page novella. Readers of M C Beaton or Alexander McCall Smith will enjoy discovering a new author in this entertaining British mystery series.

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Publisher: Tyger Books (February 5, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Emily Castle Mystery
ASIN: B004M5HK0M
Buy: Kindle

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

Emily has been invited to a party in the big house at the end of her street in London. How could she know, as she left her house that evening, that she was making an appointment with death?

Helen Smith is a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain and English PEN. She travelled the world when her daughter was small, doing all sorts of strange jobs to support them both – from cleaning motels to working as a magician's assistant – before returning to live in London where she wrote her first novel which was published by Gollancz (part of the Hachette Group). 



She writes novels, poetry, plays and screenplays and is the recipient of an Arts Council of England Award. She's a long-term supporter of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture and mentors members of an exiled writers group to help them tell their stories. She likes knitting but she doesn't like driving. She likes dancing. 

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Tour Giveaway

10 winners will each receive a Kindle Ebook copy of Showstoppers & Three Sisiters

Ends 2/28/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Prize will be delivered in the form of the winners choice of either an Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.