I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Another in the Tiffany Aching series of Discworld novels, this installment goes darker than the last one I read (A Hat Full of Sky.)  It also brings in many of the other characters from the Disc World universe for cameo appearances, most notably members of the watch (who don't take too well to the Nac Mac Feegle.)

As usual, I love Pratchett's inventive story line and rich characters, and, also as usual, I never really felt much tension in this story despite its dark theme.  It's a fun read, and well worth your time.

Recommendation: Buy it!

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

Typical of an Agatha Christie mystery, this is a crucible story set in a mid-twentieth century English manor house and revolving around the poisoning of a family patriarch.  There's the usual cast of characters, ranging from the obviously innocent to the too-suspicious to have actually done it, but, ultimately, I found it easy to guess who'd done it.  I suspect, this novel having been written in a slightly more innocent age, it may have been more challenging in its day.

Still, there's a lot of fun to be had, and even if you guess the murderer early on, it's fun just to wait and see if the hero will figure it out.

Recommendation: Borrow it.

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett

This is a Disc World novel, but it's different from most in that it has a young-adult tone and deals with a fantastic version of Ireland, complete with witches, fairies and dwarfs.

In this book, which is one in a series dealing with Tiffany Aching, a pre-teen witch, Tiffany goes off to the mountains to be an apprentice witch.  Meant for bigger things, Tiffany is soon outstripping her mentor and her fellow apprentices as she becomes locked in a life-or-death battle with a sort of non-corporeal entity after Tiffany's life.

This is a lot of fun, and the characters are irresistible.  Tiffany is Pratchett's Harry Potter.

Recommendation: Buy it.

A Hat Full of Sky: The Continuing Adventures of Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men