Big Four by Agatha Christie.

I should state at the very beginning that this is one of the worst Poirot mysteries from Christie.

Poirot is up against "Big Four" comprising of a China man, an American millionaire, a french scientist and a mysterious "destroyer". The Big Four is set upon capturing the power of the entire world and Poirot ,equipped with his order, method and little grey cells are figting agaist them. This is not a single mystery but rather a thriller with a series of mysteries which are solved by Poirot, accompanied by Captain Hastings. Inspector Japp also makes appearance in the story.

Certainly lacks the Christie magic but still makes a decent read if your expectations are not set high. 2.5 out of 5.

False Impression by Jeffrey Archer

If you have read Archer before you know what to expect from a Jeffrey Archer Novel. This book offers nothing more than that.

We have a female protagonist this time (Did we hear Sheldon screaming "copycat"?) and a female killer. Dr. Anna Petrescu, an expert in art history, is trying to save Mrs. Victoria Wentworth, one of the clients of the bank she is working for, from bankruptcy by selling her Van Gogh painting. But her Boss, Mr. Fenston, doesn't want this to happen. Anna goes on with her mission even after she is fired and Victoria is murdered. As she is globe trotting to accomplish her mission, she is followed by an FBI Agent and a killer. The question is who will get her first? The story moves from New York to London to Bucharest to Tokyo and ultimately good wins over evil.

9/11 just acts as a backdrop and has nothing to do with the story even if it is mentioned predominantly on the back cover. The book has all the ingredients of a typical thriller viz. adventure, revenge, double crossing, romance and an unbelievably smart lady with good looks and a great figure. The bonus will be some art history with mentions of Van Gogh, Monet , Manet and other paintings.

A typical thriller. 3 out of 5.

Amen: The autobiography of a nun By Sister Jesme

Everybody loves controversy. This fact is proved by the popularity of this book. First published in malayalam, this best seller was later translated to English and published by Penguin Books.

When an ex-nun, who has left convent after 33 years, decides to write about her life inside the convent; publicity and controversy is expected to follow. The church calls her mentally unstable, Women's commission vows to protect her, authorities want to improve the life of thousands of nuns inside the convent....Finally it is time to accept that real mortal people occupy the majority of convents, matts etc. It is time to accept the imperfections rather than cover them up. But how long this will last? How long Sister Jesme can stay alive in public memory which has the notorious reputation of being short?

The book can be read only for the controversy aspect. Apart from that the style of writing is not remarkable at all.

A brave attempt. 3 out of 5.