43. Towards Zero (1944)

{also published as Come and Be Hanged}

Agatha!  This book was so much fun!  Seriously, this might be one of my favorites.

When you read the account of a murder - or say, a fiction story based on murder, you usually begin with the murder itself.  That's all wrong.  The murder begins a long time beforehand.  A murder is the culmination of a lot of different circumstances, all converging at a given moment at a given point.  People are brought into it from different parts of the globe and for unforeseen reasons... The murder itself is at the end of the story.  It's Zero Hour."

That comment by Superintendent Battle at the end of the story brings Mr. Treves's comment at the beginning of the story full circle:

"Even now," thought Mr. Treves to himself, "some drama - some murder to be - is in course of preparation.  If I were writing one of these amusing stories of blood and crime, I should begin now with an elderly gentleman sitting in front of the fire opening his letters - going, unbeknownst to himself - towards zero..."

That of course, is exactly how the novel played out brilliantly. 

One more amusing thing - I love how Battle gave nod to Poirot, who makes no appearance in this novel, but he is certainly there in spirit - inspiring Superintendent Battle.

Loved this, Agatha, reading it in nearly one sitting (finished over two days).  Thanks for the ride.

b.

42. The Moving Finger (1942)

{also published as The Case of the Moving Finger}

Ah, dear Agatha... I loved everything about this book - except the title.  I thought the title was dumb.  I thought a better title would've been something to do with a Poison Pen... 

BUT...

Then I googled the reason for the title and wise ol' Wikipedia told me:

The book takes its name from verse 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám:

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

The poem, in turn, refers to Belshazzar's feast as related in the Book of Daniel, where the expression the writing on the wall originated.

The title shows in the story figuratively and literally. The anonymous letters point blame from one town resident to another.^[3] The Scotland Yard agent determines the envelopes were all "typed by someone using one finger" to avoid a recognisable 'touch'.^[6]

So I am back to loving everything about this novel.

It does make me smile to think this is called a Marple mystery.  Miss Jane doesn't show up until the novel is 75% through, and the narrator - very likable Jerry - does most of the crime solving, although admittedly it does take Miss Jane to point it out.

I found Megan's character intriguing enough to make me want to read this again someday, paying more attention to the aspect of her relationship with Jerry.  There are some dated ideas in here, of course, but nothing to make me like it any less.

As always, dear Agatha, thanks for the fun! 

b.

41. Murder in Retrospect (1942)

{also published as Five Little Pigs}

So I've been working on this little project of mine - reading all your published books in publication order - for three years now.  I'm roughly halfway there.  I think I've been reading at a decent pace, but boy I'd better step it up a bit if I don't want to say that it took me a decade to finish all of them.  (I know, my math is off, but that's called hyperbole.)

I'm starting 2019 off well enough on a good reading pace, although peak tax season hasn't really hit yet.  Still, I'm going to set a personal goal to get 24 Christies completed this year, finishing the project in 2020.  2 Agathas : 1 other book per month.  We shall see how it goes.

It took me a reeeeeeally long time to finish this book.  I just had the hardest time getting into it and distractions, as usual, abound.  I did enjoy it when I finished it, though, and wrapped up the next book, The Moving Finger, quite quickly after that.  And look how cool their covers look side-by-side!  They aren't next to each other on the bookcase (alphabetized, you know), so I'm glad I noticed it.

That's all I've got for this one, dear Agatha.  :)  Plugging along.

Always,
b.