27. Cards on the Table (1936)

First, I wish I knew how to play bridge.

I thought about saying that I'd like to learn, but I'm not sure I want to for any other reason than to re-read this book with more understanding.

That said, while I didn't have the insight of Poirot by studying the bridge scores, neither did Battle, so I can't say I'm too terribly off.

So many things I loved about this book.

1)  Ariadne Oliver:

"Mrs. Ariadne Oliver was extremely well known as one of the foremost writers of detective and other sensational stories.  She wrote chatty, if not particularly grammatical, articles on 'The Tendency of the Criminal,' (sic) Famous Crimes Passionnels,' 'Murder for Love v. Murder for Gain.' She was also a hotheaded feminist and when any murder of importance was occupying space in the press there was sure to be an interview with Mrs. Oliver, and it was mentioned that Mrs. Oliver had said, 'Now if a woman were the head of Scotland Yard!'  She was an earnest believer in woman's intuition.

I love this character.  I've read of her before, but since reading in order, I believe she's only been mentioned so far in Parker Pyne Investigates.  She is over the top and the descriptions of her sure make me chuckle, especially as she believed wholeheartedly a woman should be in charge of the investigations:

"'... there are lots of crimes you people at Scotland Yard never find out. Now if you had a woman there - '
   'As a matter of fact we have - '
   'Yes, those dreadful policewomen in funny hats who bother people in parks!  I mean a woman at the head of things.  Women know about crime.'"

and

"'If I were you, Superintendent Battle, I should arrest him at once.'
   'I daresay we would if there was a woman at the head of Scotland Yard,' said Superintendent Battle, a momentary twinkle showing in his unemotional eyes, 'But you see, mere men being in charge, we've got to be careful. We've got to get there slowly.'"

2) Nods to Doyle, such as this comment by Poirot, which may also reveal a little authorial confession:

"It reminds you of Sherlock Holmes, does it not? The curious incident of the dog in the night. The dog did not howl in the night.  That is the curious thing!  Ah, well, I am not above stealing the tricks of others."

3) Potentially more authorial confession, on the labors of a writer's life as described by Mrs. Oliver:

"'It doesn't happen exactly like that,' said Mrs. Oliver.  'One actually has to think, you know. And thinking is always a bore. And you have to plan things. And then one gets stuck every now and then and you feel you'll never get out of the mess - but you do!  Writing's not particularly enjoyable. It's hard work like everything else.'
   'It doesn't seem like work,' said Rhoda.
   'Not to you, said Mrs. Oliver, because you don't have to do it! It feels very like work to me. Some days I can only keep going by repeating over and over to myself the amount of money I might get for my next serial rights. That spurs you on, you know. So does your bankbook when you see how much overdrawn you are.'"

4) This reference to Murder on the Orient Express (MotOE spoiler):

"'What is it?' cried Rhoda.
He lowered his voice. "A knife, mademoiselle, with which twelve people once stabbed a man. It was given me as a souvenir by the Compagnie International des Wagons Lits.'"

5) Yet another twisty (tortuous, the word in this book is), surprise ending.

6) The fact that I paid $1.50 for this (maybe $0.75 if it were on sale) at a thrift store when the cover price was only 50 cents.

Oh, dear Agatha, thank you again for the fun.  You never disappoint.

With great admiration,
b.

26. Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)

Dear Agatha,

I really enjoyed the narrator of this novel, Nurse Amy Leatheran.  I loved her honesty and willingness to retell the story as she remembered it.  Sometimes her honesty made me smile, like her attitude toward the archeological dig:

But would you believe it, there was nothing to see but mud!  Dirty mud walls about two feet high - and that's all there was to it.  Mr. Carey took me here and there telling me things - how this was the great court... and all I thought was, "But how does he know?" though, of course, I was too polite to say so.  I can tell you it was a disappointment!  The whole excavation looked like nothing but mud to me ... my aunt's house in Cricklwood would have made a much more imposing ruin!

I appreciated her perspective, too, because at first I was feeling a little intimidated at not having a knowledge of much ancient history nor a particular interest in finding out about what the dig would turn up.  Though the activity was important to the story, the story did not depend on the archeological theme.

Did that make sense?  I'm a bit tired and befuddled.

In all, though, I did enjoy Nurse's point-of-view over the typical Hastings'.  

Yet again, the murderer surprised me, and as always, I enjoyed the read.  

:)  Always with pleasure,

b.

25. The ABC Murders (1936)

{also published as The Alphabet Murders}

< contains spoilers >

Well, you did it again...

I thought, as I read this, that you had diverted from your typical patterns in two ways:  you were writing about a serial killer (indeed I thought this was worthy of Criminal Minds!), and you had his point of view from the beginning of the novel.

Well I guess this still qualifies as a serial killer, although three of the four murders were only done to draw attention away from the one the killer really wanted to do.  Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe it's a little like Three Act Tragedy...

But the killer... dang it, you did it again.  Got me.

Surprise, surprise.

Last weekend Robert and I got to go see Chicago at the Buell Theater in Denver - definitely one of my favorite musicals.  Poor Alexander Bonaparte Cust - how he reminded me of Amos in Chicago!

Early in the book, this amused me - Japp's comment about Poirot:

"Mixed up in all the celebrated case of the day.  Train mysteries, air mysteries, high society deaths..."  

Sure sounds like a nod to the previous few novels.  And, is this a foretaste of what is to come in, I believe, Curtain?

"Shouldn't wonder if you ended detecting your own death!"

Only 50 or so more books until I find out.

Always with admiration,
Beth

24. Death in the Clouds (1935)

{also published as Death in the Air}

When I first sat down to blog about this book, I thought, How could it have taken me nearly 3 weeks to read this?  I probably read half of this book in the last two days - it was so fun.  But then I remembered that we did have an adoption, an adoption party, Thanksgiving, Peter's birthday, and lots of other things in between that kept me busy and out of my book.

Once again, I failed to find the answer.  Especially when I thought, about a third of the way through, that I had at least the weapon figured out.  Lots of false leads in this one.  Probably all of them, actually. 

I was disappointed in the murderer.  Really wanted a happy ending for him and his love.  Poor choices, my friend.

This sounded a bit autobiographical:

An Englishman thinks first of his work - his job, he calls it - and then of his sport, and last - a good way last - of his wife.  yes, yes, it is really so.  Why, imagine, in a little hotel in Syria was an Englishman whose wife had been taken ill.  He himself had to be somewhere in Iraq by a certain date.  Eh bien, would you believe it, he left his wife and went on so as to be on duty in time?  And both he and his wife thought that quite natural; they thought him noble, unselfish. But the doctor, who was not English, thought him a barbarian.  A wife, a human being - that should come first. To do one's job - that is something much less important.

This (and much of the later chapters) made me laugh. 

"Ah," said (detective writer) Mr. Clancy. "But, you see, I have my methods, Watson.  If you'll excuse my calling you Watson.  No offense intended. Interesting, by the way, how the technic of the idiot friend has hung on. Personally, I myself think the Sherlock Holmes stories greatly overrated.  The fallacies - the really amazing fallacies -that there are in those stories - But what was I saying?"

Looking forward to the next book, narrated by the "idiot friend" of Poirot. 

A reference to Orient Express:

"I've questioned the passengers too.  Everyone can't be lying." (spoken by Japp)
"In one case I investigated everyone was!"

I really enjoyed this story, Agatha.  I was tired the other night and sat down to read a chapter or two - before I knew it I had read ten.  Love, love, love.

b.

23. Three Act Tragedy (1934)

{also published as Murder in Three Acts}

Oh, dear Agatha, how I loved this story!

You brought Satterthwaite back from The Mysterious Mr. Quin.  He makes a great protagonist.  I love how you capture his essence so well.

This made me smile:  "'It's the Only Thing to Do,' he said, obviously speaking in capital letters."  It reminds me of a common texting trend right now.  We might say:  It's the Only. Thing. To. Do.  

In chapter 13, Mrs. Babbington is interviewed.  I was so moved by her sincere love for her husband and the way that she described their marriage.  Your writing absolutely made me hurt for her loss... and then I worried through the next 14 chapters that it was all a lie and she would be found to be the killer!  (I should've known to put my mind at ease because even when I think I'm being sly and I have it figured out, I don't.  I kind of wondered if one of the investigating team was involved, but I leaned more heavily toward another in that team than the actual.)

Dame Agatha, I thought you used the theater trope perfectly.  From the title, to the text divisions, to the main character being an actor who seems to go in and out of character throughout the story... it was delightful.  And to continue your metaphor, Monsieur Poirot lingers backstage for more than half the novel, then comes in and steals the show.  

I did keep wondering when Poirot was going to show up!  That said, I thought watching Egg, Charles, and Satterthwaite do much of the investigating was very different from your typical pattern.  I don't know how you do it, actually - coming up with such completely different stories with all of the books you've published.

Amazeballs.

And, Agatha, the final words of the novel sure left me with a smile on my face:

"My goodness," (Satterthwaite) cried, "I've only just realized it!  That rascal, with his poisoned cocktail!  Anyone might have drunk it!  It might have been me!"

"There is an even more terrible possibility that you have not considered," said Poirot.

"Eh?"

"It might have been me," said Hercule Poirot.

On a personal note, Murder on the Orient Express comes out this weekend on the big screen.  My Beth friend and Christianne are both reading that.  Josh is in possession of Roger Ackroyd, Grace has Peril at End House, Ro has Listerdale.  I am getting a little twitchy with all my children in the possession of others.

Always in admiration,

Beth

22. Parker Pyne Investigates (1934)

{also published as Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective}

"The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife" - This, the first short story of the detective Parker Pyne... Agatha, while I could appreciate very much his character and his knowledge based on a life of statistics, I did not find his solution for this woman's happiness to be very agreeable.  While it was a happy ending, I found myself disliking Parker Pyne very much, and not really looking forward to reading more.

"The Case of the Discontented Soldier," ...on the other hand, was pretty great.  Still Pyne functions with deceit, but this was a happy ending bringing two lonesome people together for a happily ever after.  The fact that they didn't even connect the dots made me smile.  Also! -- this is the first appearance of Ariadne Oliver -- and I even caught it myself!

I loved "The Case of the Distressed Lady"!  Turned the tables on the bad guy - oh, justice!

But "The Case of the Discontented Husband" was much like "The Middle Aged Wife" - too much - except for the ending.  It surprised me that you said in the introduction that this was one of your two favorites in the tome... maybe -- because of that ending.  I'll admit, I liked it.

"The Case of the City Clerk" was fun, and I was glad that I really enjoyed "The Case of the Rich Woman" since you listed it as well as one of your favorites.  That said... I'm still not sure how I feel about Parker Pyne! He even says his occupation is "the confidence trick" in "The Gate of Baghdad"...

I took exception to Pyne's words in "Have You Got Everything You Want?" - "What is truth?" he says, reminding me of Pontius Pilate!  "...It is a fundamental axiom of married life that you must lie to a woman.  She likes it!"  Really?  That story for me was just okay.

Back to "Baghdad"...  Hmmm... This was the most detective-ish story I've read so far (maybe also "HYGEYW") - and I admired Pyne's powers of observation in solving the murder *as well as* solving the case of a worldwide thief.  It also inspired me to some research on these lines of Flecker and the "four great gates of the city of Damascus" - a poem which must have meant something to you as it seems this is where you got the title for Postern of Fate.  (I can't say I fully understand the poem, but I am planning to look at it more at a later time.)  The only flaw in this work is the racial stereotypes and epithets.  But really, I enjoyed this story quite a bit.

The best part of "The House at Shiraz" was the humor - especially this gem when Pyne has trouble understanding the language of customs officials:

"What have I said?" he asked of the German.
"That your father's Christian name is Tourist, that your profession is Charles, that the maiden name of your mother is Baghdad, and that you have come from Harriet."

"The Pearl of Price" - twisty and ironic.  But my favorite part is this one sentence describing Petra:  "The 'rose-red' city was indeed a freak invented by Nature in her most extravagant and colorful mood."  That could certainly be said of the colorful rock formations we pass as we drive through Colorado and Utah.  (Hey, also... I didn't know the term no-see-ums went as far back as the 30s!)

Enjoyed "Death on the Nile."  Wondering if it has anything to do with the novel of the same name.  And the final story, "The Oracle at Delphi" - such fun.  You are definitely a master of the twist!

This collection of short stories, dear Agatha, I think is my favorite short story collection so far.  I even began to like Parker Pyne, at least somewhat, by the end.

... And October 2017 now marks the month in which I've read the most Christie - 5 books!

Good night, dear Agatha.  Thanks for the fun.

b.

21. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)

{also published as The Boomerang Clue}

Ah, dear Agatha,

I loved loved loved this book!  Frankie and Bobby reminded me a little bit of Tommy and Tuppence.  I loved their friendship, their banter, the wise(r?) female half, their wit, their perseverance, their bravery, their smarts.

From the very first chapter, this book had me hooked. "Why didn't they ask Evans?" the dying man asked.  Indeed, why not?  And who the heck is Evans?  And what difference does it make?  Ah, so many questions from the get-go.  AND... when the mystery begins to unravel, they have a chance to find out who Evans is, and the bad guy denies them the solution!  HA!

Chapter 2 talked much of the relationship of Bobby and his father - pure brilliance.  I loved every word.

Such suspense at the Grange in the evening of chapter 15!  Honestly usually I'd say your stories are more cozy than suspenseful, but you really had me entirely drawn in with that chapter.

The only thing that really dates this novel is the use of terms such as "dope gang."  It did make me chuckle, I have to admit.

{I don't however, understand the meaning of the American title, The Boomerang Clue...}

Thanks again for the wonderful fun!

b.

15. Peril at End House (1932)

Dear Agatha,

HOW DID I MISS THIS?  Now my well-ordered Poirot-would-surely-approve system of chronologically reading all your works is completely messed up!  I am so disappointed in myself.

And not only did I miss this book... it took me 5 other books to realize it.  UGH.

This was a quick read for me.  I am in the Agatha Zone, I suppose. I am kind of challenging myself to see how many more I can read before the end of the year, because at the rate I'm reading, it will take me like 6 or 7 years to finish them!  At this stage of my life, I'm not guaranteed that long.  HA.

Once again, I did not see the culprit coming.  I commented to Josh and Ro yesterday, that out of the 20-something books I've read of yours, I've never figured out the murderer that I can recall.  If this continues through the rest of the next 60-something books, it will either testify to your genius, or my idiocy. 

Not that my idiocy is hard to imagine, Agatha.  Robert and I worked on an escape room yesterday with some friends.  We had an hour to spend solving puzzles in a couple of rooms in hopes of finding a pirate's hidden treasure map.  Yeah, we failed.  We weren't even close.  And my contribution?  I did put one thing together that worked out, surprising (I felt) the team.  The rest of the time, I felt like an idiot.  (To be fair, the greatest difficulty was in working under a time limit.  I'm sure if we'd had half a day instead of one hour, we might have ... gotten farther along.)

Anyway, what I loved about this book:  references to other past works (Blue Train, Roger Ackroyd), Poirot (how I love his character!), the ultimate culprit (gasp!), subtle humor and snark here and there... so much fun.

"Poirot," I said, "I have been thinking."
"An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it."

Methinks, Agatha, we would have been friends.  Thanks for the fun.

b.

20. The Listerdale Mystery (1934)

Dear Agatha,

I honestly didn't expect too much out of this collection after reading Hound of Death.  I had just chalked it up to preference for your novels over your short stories - but I LOVED this book!

Of the 12 stories, all were decent, but of course some better than others. 

"The Listerdale Mystery" was unsurprising.  Although, I am surprised it became the title for the collection.  "Philomel Cottage" was great - I loved the heroine, her intelligence, and the twist.  It seemed like it was a 1934 version of Forensic Files.  "The Girl in the Train" was silly - not my fave.  I liked "Sing a Song of Sixpence," though I never would have figured out that mystery. (But then again, what mystery do I ever figure out?*) 

My favorite in the collection, though, was probably "The Manhood of Edward Robinson."  It had a little bit of Walter Mitty (written later) feel to it, and it wasn't even a mystery, but I loved it and thought it was fun.  So fun, that if I were teaching a freshman English lit class, I would love to include it for analysis.

I also loved "Accident"!  Great, unexpected ending.  

The story of "Jane in Search of a Job" didn't do very much for me, but I still greatly enjoyed your writing, especially this little gem:

"In moderation Jane did not object to crime.  The papers had been full lately of the exploits of various girl bandits. Jane had seriously thought of becoming one if all else failed."  

In moderation!  HA!

"A Fruitful Sunday" was just all right.  "Mr Eastwood's Adventure" was odd.  Really? A cucumber?  "The Golden Ball" equally odd.  But then comes "The Rajah's Emerald."  This was wonderful!  I loved the conundrum that poor James was in upon finding the stolen emerald.  Indeed, what would I do?  (Another teaching idea for a future class writing prompt?)  And justice in the end with his snobby girlfriend.  Great read.

And then, dear Agatha, you closed out with "Swan Song."  This story was so perfectly written that it might indeed vie for my favorite slot after all.  I looked up the opera La Tosca - one doesn't need to know it to follow the plot, but the background information did make the plot that much more rich.  It was really wonderful.

One complaint:  starting at about the last three stories, typo errors abound! In one of them, the wrong name is even used!  This really drives me batty.  Books are not cheap - and that's what editors are for.  Sheesh!  <end rant>

*This Sunday Robert and I are going with the Hoovers to an escape room!  I've never done one before and I am completely intimidated by the fact that I can't solve any of your mysteries and I'm only an average logic puzzle solver at best.  I will do my best to employ my little grey cells, but Agatha, I feel like I'm going to be the dumbest of the bunch!

Also, the other day I was reviewing the list of your works to see what is coming up next and I was HORRIFIED to realize that I'd missed one!   I'm glad I did not find the error when I was like on book 75, but still.  I will have to go back and renumber my posts.  I began reading it last night - Peril at End House.  Now they will be out of order.  :(  Sad, sad day.

That is all, Agatha.  Hungry for more ~

b.

PS:  The cover of my edition is beautiful, and I loved that I was headed to Las Vegas with it in hand.  That said, none of the stories were about dice, or gambling, or... I guess there were 12 stories, but, uh... Ah well.  It looks cool. 

PPS:  I learned about ostrich digestion because of this book!

19. Murder on the Orient Express (1934)

{Also published under the title Murder in the Calais Coach}

Dear Agatha ~

This is the second time I've read Orient Express - the first, according to Goodreads, in 2013.  I think this time I was able to keep track of all the characters better than the first time, and I enjoyed it more.

Great timing, this next book on my chrono list.  A movie is coming out in a few weeks of this, so my book club agreed to read it together.  Two of the girls had never read you before; one had only read And Then There Were None.  I'm not sure Rene enjoyed it, but Alex and Leslie seemed to.  I recommended Roger Ackroyd to them if they want to read more.

Alex and I want to get together and watch the older movie version with Lauren Bacall.  I'm looking forward to that and to the new one which has Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a bunch of others.  I'll let you know what I think.

Josh is taking a detectives in lit class at UNC and they recently read Ackroyd.  He loved it.  He is going to read this one next and hopefully we'll go see the movie together.

It's early October.  I was thinking I should get 4 more Christies read by the end of the year.  I've read 8 novels and finished your autobiography in 2017.  But even at reading one of your books each month, it would take like over 6 YEARS to read them all!  I've got to step it up in 2018.  Two a month.  At least.  Holy cow - you put out a lot of work, Agatha!

18. The Hound of Death (1933)

Dear Agatha,

I have to admit, this wasn't my favorite.  I almost feel disloyal saying that, but I guess I just am not into the paranormal stuff anymore.

The Hound of Death - nay

The Red Signal - okay

The Fourth Man - okay

The Gipsy - nay

The Lamp - nay

Wireless - yay

The Witness for the Prosecution - yay - and this redeems the whole work

The Mystery of the Blue Jar - yay

The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael - nay

The Call of Wings - definite nay

The Last Seance - nay

SOS - yay - this also makes the book worth reading

Yes, I think I am much more delighted in your traditional detective works.  The supernatural - I don't know; once it appealed to me but not much anymore.  I think because I myself have a closer walk with Jesus these days, it's just not as appealing as it used to be.  

But the cover is beautiful. :)

Still worth the time, but looking forward to the next one, which is Murder on the Orient Express!  We just spoke about reading it at our book club as a new movie has been done of it starring Johnny Depp. I'm looking forward to seeing how the adaptation turns out.

17. Lord Edgware Dies (1933)

(also published as Thirteen at Dinner)

Dear Agatha,

While I do love the idea of Thirteen at Dinner as a title because of that little discussion of superstition (which flew right over my head, by the way, until I finally looked it up on Google), how could this novel be called anything BUT Lord Edgware Dies after this hilarious comment by the nephew?

"And I went away without getting any (money).  And that same evening - that very same evening - Lord Edgware dies.  Good title, that, by the way.  Lord Edgware Dies.  Look well on a bookstall."

You're right, Gerald; it would.  My word, Dame Agatha, that one made me laugh out loud.  Like with this:

"Really, Poirot," I stammered.  "I'm awfully glad.  I suppose I've learnt a good deal from you one way or another --"
        He shook his head.
        "Mais non, ce ne'st pas ca.  You have learnt nothing."

And this:

"Alas!  not the cigarette ash - nor the footprint - nor a lady's glove - nor even a lingering perfume!  Nothing that the detective of fiction so conveniently finds."

When a fictional character is referring to - and even criticizing - another fictional character, it blurs the lines of reality just a bit and always makes me chuckle.

But perhaps, among your good humor, you have sprinkled also a little wisdom from Monsieur Poirot:

"Do not antagonize your son! He is of an age to choose for himself.  Because his choice is not your choice, do not assume that you must be right.  If it is a misfortune, then accept misfortune. Be at hand to aid him when he needs aid. But do not turn him against you."

As always, Agatha, I loved this novel.  I did not figure out the culprit until Poirot himself explained it.  And I just flipped back to the first part of the story - it bears rereading after the novel is finished.

The memory of the public is short.  Already the intense interest and excitement aroused by the murder of George Alfred St. Vincent Marsh, fourth Baron Edgware, is a thing of the past and forgotten... New sensations have taken its place.
        My friend Hercule Poirot was never openly mentioned in connection with the case.  This, I may say, was entirely in accordance with his own wishes. He did not choose to appear in it. The credit went elsewhere - and that is how he wished it to be. Moreover, from Poirot's own peculiar private point of view, the case was one of his failures. He always swears that it was the chance remark of a stranger in the street that put him on the right track.
        However that may be, it was his genius that discovered the truth of the affair. but for Hercule Poirot I doubt if the crime would have been brought home to its perpetrator.

What a beautiful homage, Hastings.  And Dame Agatha, thanks again for the fun.

b.

16. The Tuesday Club Murders (1932)

(also published as The Thirteen Problems)

Dear Agatha,

Such an interesting book.  I don't know why you wrote it the way you did - 6 people share 6 dilemmas to be solved; at a later date a different set of 6 (some of the first set included) share 6 new dilemmas; and finally, Miss Marple solves one more crime.  It's odd to me, the structure.

But I liked it anyway.

(I'll admit I was hoping that someone in the club would be murdered whilst they discussed their unsolved mysteries - leaving the culprit to be one of the remaining 5.)

"...little Tommy Symonds, a naughty little boy, I am afraid, but sometimes very amusing... He said, 'Teacher, do you say yolk of eggs is white or yolk of eggs are white?'... and naughty Tommy said: 'Well, I should say yolk of egg is yellow!'"

Got me, and my daughter, too.

Of the beautiful actress Miss Helier:

"It was borne in upon her audience that the outside of Jane's charming head was distinctly superior to the inside."

Oh, dear Agatha, you make me chuckle.  One more, waxing philosophical:

"Perhaps it was better for her to die while life was still happy than it would have been for her to live on, unhappy and disillusioned, in a world that would have seemed suddenly horrible."

Just skimming the stories again, Dame Agatha - you are incredibly creative.  Some of your stories seem so far-fetched on the surface, but when explained they make perfect sense. 

As always, thanks for the fun.

Beth

An Autobiography (written 1965; published posthumously 1977)

Dear Agatha!

Surfer girl.  Roller skater.  Pharmacy technician.  World traveler.  Amateur archaeologist.  Photographer.  Car owner.  Home owner times ten?!  Pianist.

Daughter.  Sister.  Wife.  Mother.  Wife.  Friend.

Writer.

Detective stories, thrillers, romance novels, memoirs, plays, poems, songs - not war propaganda.  And yet, even at the end of your life, you felt it hard to consider yourself an accomplished author. 

I love your voice.  I love your stories - not just facts about your life but memories that impacted who you are.  At times I think I can relate to you, and other times I think you and I could not be more different.

I do not understand your relationship with your daughter.  It seems like you are close, but you were hardly ever home!  I tell myself it must be a cultural thing but honestly I just don't understand it.

You do love fiercely.  Archie.  Max.  Rosalind.  Mathew.  Your mother.

You brought the Middle East in the 1930s alive for me.  Apart from Biblical history and our current issues with that part of the world, I never have given it much thought.  To see your love for this land and the way you shared Max's passion and supported his dreams was amazing to me.

Courageous.  Adventurous.

Bed bugs.  Unfortunately, I can relate.

I love how you handled your money at the end of your life.  Better to share it with people you love and admire than give it all to that tax man.

I wish I'd taken more notes as I read this, dear Agatha.  But these are the thoughts that come to mind when I read your story.

My only disappointment is that you didn't even allude to your scandalous disappearance.  Not even a mention that it ever happened!  Almost 650 pages and nay a word.  Tut tut.

This may be the book, other than the Bible, that has taken me the longest to read.  Still, I loved every minute of it.

Always with admiration,
Beth

14. The Murder at Hazelmoor (1931)

{Also published under the title The Sittaford Mystery}

Dear Agatha,

I'm not sure when the "cozy mystery" phrase developed as a genre, but one internet reader pointed out that the first paragraphs of Hazelmoor did set the stage nicely for such:

Major Burnaby drew on his gum boots, buttoned his overcoat collar round his neck, took from a shelf near the door a hurricane lantern, and cautiously opened the front door of his little bungalow and peered out.
     The scene that met his eyes was typical of the English countryside as depicted on Xmas cards and in old-fashioned melodramas.  Everywhere was snow, deep drifts of it - no mere powdering an inch or two thick. Snow had fallen all over England for the last four days...

As usual, you had me fooled until the very end.  I suspected the killer for a moment, but didn't take long to dismiss it.

As I read this, I visualized in my head not a movie, but playing through a video game.  Going to this character to gather this information, moving to the next room or character for more clues, continuing on and so forth - very much like the computer game I have for And Then There Were None.  It would make a great game!

A favorite line from Captain Wyatt:

"In a place like this you have to teach people to leave a man alone. Always knocking at the door and dropping in and chattering.  I don't mind seeing people when I am in the mood - but it has got be my mood not theirs."

I can relate!

And worldly wisdom from Robert Gardner:

"Teach him life can't be all beer and skittles!"

Today, dear Agatha, Skittles brings to mind candy more readily than a game of bowling, so the phrase made me giggle.  A little Google research shows that you're not the only one to use that phrase, but it was certainly new to me.

<< and more typos!!! >>

I'm going to spend some more time in your autobiography again before moving on to the next book.  I am making good progress through your works, but it's a little slow given book club commitments and such.  Grace keeps asking me when I'm going to read the book she gave me for Christmas (which is some obscure fantasy novel).  Sigh... I'm so behind.

13. The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)

Agatha!  This edition had several typos!  What?!

That said, these are a few of my favorite things from this novel, aside from the plot itself!

At Dennis' age a detective story is one of the best things in life.

(And at my age, too.)

There was a reference to Dr. Crippen - which took me on a rabbit trail as I looked him up on the internet and read all about *his* fascinating crime.  That one would make a great movie!

"Well I don't agree with you," said Griselda.  "You know how little we can afford to pay a servant.  If once we got her smartened up at all, she'd leave.  Naturally.  And get higher wages.  But as long as Mary can't cook and has these awful manners - well, we're safe; nobody else would have her."

Agatha, you make me laugh!  And again:

I cannot say that I have at any time a great admiration for Mr. Raymond West.  He is, I know, supposed to be a brilliant novelist, and has made quite a name as a poet.  His poems have no capital letters in them, which is, I believe, the essence of modernity.  His books are about unpleasant people leading lives of surpassing dullness.

(In my limited knowledge of modern poetry, I suspect an allusion to ee cummings.)

Miss Marple's understanding of herself:

"You see," she began at last, "living alone as I do, in a rather out of the way part of the world, one has to have a hobby.  There is , of course, woolwork, and Guides, and Welfare, and sketching, but my hobby is - and always has been - Human Nature.  So varied - and so very fascinating.  And, of course, in a small village, with nothing to distract one, one has such ample opportunity for becoming what I might call proficient in one's study.  One begins to class people, quite definitely, just as though they were birds or flowers, group so and so, genus this, species that.  Sometimes, of course, one makes mistakes, but less and less as time goes on.  And then, too, one tests oneself... It is so fascinating, you know, to apply one's judgment and find that one is right."

And metafiction (just one example):

"I know that in books it is always the most unlikely person. But I never find that rule applies in real life."

Oh, Dame Agatha...it is so interesting that Miss Marple, who becomes one of your most popular detectives, is just a peripheral character through most of this novel - and yet it is she who puts all the facts together and solves the mystery.  Brilliant.  I love it.

12. The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930)

Oh, my dear Agatha,

You just never disappoint. 

I am reading this book right now, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry (mixed feelings), and the protagonist is a bookseller who loves the short story.  I think I used to really love the short story better than the novel, too, but my tastes have definitely changed.  Sometimes I feel like when you read a collection of them, I'm just getting a taste of something.  Because the paradigm doesn't allow it, there is no time to go deep with the characters or back story or what have you.

That said, this collection of short stories, though originally published separately, did fit together as a cohesive whole.  I loved how each was a story in itself, but through the progression, the characters progressed.  In fact, I'll admit, I felt more and more uncomfortable with Mr. Quin, especially in the final story - but I really grew to love the protagonist, Mr. Satterthwaite.

Agatha, I even loved the introduction you wrote to the 1953 edition.  When you said your favorites were "World's End," "The Man from the Sea," and "Harlequin's Lane," I looked forward to each with more anticipation.  Of those three, I'm sure "Harlequin's Lane" was among my favorites.  I did love the others, though. 

From the introduction:

After I turned from poetry and ghost stories to crime, Harlequin finally reappeared; a figure invisible except when he chose, not quite human, yet concerned with the affairs of human beings and particularly of lovers.  He is also the advocate for the dead. 
     Though each story about him is quite separate, the collection, written over a considerable period of years, outlines in the end the story of Harlequin himself. 

A webpage I came across:  http://www.agathachristie.com/characters/harley-quin

There is a certain degree of intelligence that is required to really appreciate your works sometimes, a level I feel I lack, by the way.  Maybe it's because I'm American; maybe it's because of the time in which I live - but I definitely feel a lack of knowledge of culture that you often refer to.  Of course I've heard of Harlequin and the motifs of Punchinello and such, but I am certainly unfamiliar with the operas of Columbine, Pierrot, Pierrette, etc.  I need to do some research and perhaps come back to this tome again.  That said, even with my surface understanding, I loved this book; I just feel I may love it even more when I understand it more deeply.

Hungry for more, dear Agatha.

Beth

11. Partners in Crime (1929)

Dear Agatha,

What a ride!  THIS is the reason I love your works so much.  THIS is the reason why I want to read them all in publication order and blog about how wonderful you are.  THIS!

The first mystery surrounding this read occurred before I even opened the book.  It took me nearly 30 minutes to figure out what the next book was for me to read!  I was trying to access the info on my phone - wasn't working well - and I was further confused by the fact that I had Underdog sitting at the top of my book pile next to my bed.  (I later remembered I had picked it up at a used bookstore over Christmas break.)

ANYWAY, once I figured out that the next read was Partners in Crime, it took me another ten minutes to be sure it was the right book, because I felt like I'd read it before.  Eventually I checked Goodreads and learned that I'd read it back in 2013 for part of the ACRC... Ahhh, finally things began to click.  These little gray cells certainly weren't functioning at a very high capacity.

What's funny to me is, based on the Goodreads review a few years back, I didn't seem to like this book all that much.  This time, however, I absolutely LOVED it.  It is so brilliant to have Tommy and Tuppence channel their inner fictional detectives to solve mysteries, culminating with Poirot himself!  I love it SO much! 

If and when I ever finish reading all your books, I want to go back to this one and read all the mysteries that inspired Tommy and Tuppence.

As much as I love Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence are vying to be my favorites.

THIS:

He picked up a violin which lay on the table, and drew the bow once or twice across the strings.  Tuppence ground her teeth and even the explorer blenched.  The performer laid the instrument down again.
     "A few chords from Mosgovskensky," he murmured.  "Leave me your address, Mr. Stavansson, and I will report progress to you."
     As the visitor left the office, Tuppence grabbed the violin and putting it in the cupboard turned the key in the lock.
     "If you must be Sherlock Holmes," she observed, "I'll get you a nice little syringe and a bottle labelled Cocaine, but for God's sake leave that violin alone..."

And this:

"It is a great advantage to be intelligent and not to look it."

Oh, Agatha - these mysteries... they make me think and puzzle; at times they are truly suspenseful; but what I love best is your subtle sense of humor that makes me both smile at times and laugh out loud at others.  I just love you.

Beth

10. The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)

Hi, Dame Agatha ~

I am behind on reading.  I am behind on blogging.  I am behind on life.

I read the Seven Dials Mystery several months ago.  I remember only that it was fun.  :(  I was supposed to also be catching up some on your autobiography.  I am behind on that, too. 

Nothing like starting a New Year feeling completely behind and overwhelmed.  I just noticed that Goodreads shows that I only read about 15 books in 2016.  That is disappointing for sure.  I think the last time I wrote you I said that I would start making sure I read before bed instead of playing on my phone.  That works sometimes.  At least I think of it most days.  New Year's Resolution?  Hmmm...

Missing you,
Beth