71. At Bertram's Hotel (1965)

 I want to go to there, dear Agatha,

But I'm sure I'd find, as Miss Marple did, that nothing is as it seems, is it?  

Another well-constructed web with much going on - lots of things to distract and misdirect, and as always fun to follow it to the end.  

Canon Pennyfather's character perhaps hit home a little too closely - seeing in him several shared traits with my own father.  

All for today,

b.

70. A Caribbean Mystery (1964)

 Dear Agatha,

Not much to say, again, for lack of my own little gray cells, but another enjoyable story.

Note:  The millionaire Jason Rafiel appears again, posthumously, in the novel Nemesis where he sends Miss Marple on a case specifically because of her success in solving the events related in A Caribbean Mystery. (Wikipedia)

And another note:  Miss Marple calls herself Nemesis in this story.  I may have to revisit this one when I get to Nemesis - which actually is only 7 publication years away...

Thanks as always, Dame Christie,

b.

68. The Mirror Crack'd (1962)

Dear Agatha,

So there are spaces of months or even years between posts - so what, right?  I'm going to get it done though.  I'm going to read all of them.

I've read through these past 4 novels sometime over the past couple of months.  I don't remember precise dates, and really it doesn't matter.  We're in the right year, so there's that.

So The Mirror Crack'd - A Christie classic.  Always fun, always twists and turns.

I followed the book by watching the 1980 film with a lot of big stars (!) that I honestly had never really seen before: Joan Crawford, Kim Novak, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and of course my favorite Dame Angela Lansbury in the role of Miss Marple.  

Books are always better, though, aren't they?

Pardon my brief comments.  As I age, my mind does not remain as sharp as Miss Jane's.  And I didn't mark anything specific to comment on here.

Thanks for the fun, as always.

b.

67. Double Sin and Other Stories (1961)

 Dear Agatha,

Before we start, here is an unsolved mystery for you to unravel.  Where on earth have I been for nearly 3 years???

Honestly, I don't know either.

Mystery #2:  What happened to my book?

Looks like she's been through a lot, amirite?  Thankfully I've got another on the way so the collection will still be intact.

This collection was really a good way for me to jump back in to reading your works.  About half of the stories I had read before, but not all.  But lucky for me I have a poor memory so reading them again doesn't mean I was bored a bit.  In fact, I think I enjoyed them more.  These were "Double Sin," "Wasps' Nest," "The Theft of the Royal Ruby" (which has been published elsewhere as "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding), "Greenshaw's Folly" (which I sure thought had something to do with a gazebo or something, but um, no, not at all).

But new to me:

"The Dressmaker's Doll" and "The Last Seance" - I am not particularly into the supernatural.  Still, occasionally, I don't mind it - with something like a feel for The Twilight Zone.  This was "The Dressmaker's Doll"... but "Seance" - eh.  It was dark and short and I kind of feel like they should have listened to Elise.

"The Double Clue" was fun, but I do think you saved the best for last with "Sanctuary."  The stories featured both Poirot and Marple and a few with neither.  It felt like a nice visit with old friends.

Thank you for pulling me back in, dear Agatha.

b.

65. Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960)

 Dear Agatha,

I've gotta be honest.  I read this book months ago and don't recall much detail, although the memory of having read it is favorable - hahaha.  This book completed my 2021 reading goal on Goodreads - but then with the end of the year, tax season, general kid issues, health issues, life life life - I haven't logged the last number of my reads at all.  That said, I unfortunately don't have a lot to say.

I did mark this little gem in "Adventure of the Christmas Pudding":

Mr Jesmond made a peculiar noise rather like a hen who has decided to lay an egg and then thought better of it.

I did, as I read this short, Google some info on Christmas pudding, and English puddings in general.  I think I am glad that it is not a big part of our traditions, as it doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

"The Mystery of the Spanish Chest" felt familiar - and indeed it seems that it is a reworked version of a previous short story, "The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest."  "The Under Dog" and "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" I have read before, although I never remember the outcome.  And "The Dream" and Greenshaw's Folly" were new and fun.

'Nough said.  Thanks always,

b.

62. What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! (1957)

 {also published as 4.50 from Paddington}

Dear Agatha,

You know, oftentimes when you read a lot of books, a lot of plots seem to get recycled.  "There is nothing new under the sun," Solomon said, and a lot of times it feels like the story you are reading you have read a hundred times before, and many of those times the author is unapologetic about it.  Nevertheless, I have never read any plot before like these two books I read this week.  This is amazing, Agatha.

One of the many things you do well, Agatha, is create likable, strong female characters.  Miss Marple, honestly, is not one of my favorites, but she didn't annoy me in this book, and I loved Lucy Eyelesbarrow.  Even old Mrs. McGillicuddy was pretty cute.

On another note, someone on Goodreads posted this in their review and it made me laugh out loud:

I always forget about that brief section in 4:50 from Paddington that feels like the beginning of the dreaded story problem: “if two trains are traveling…”

On a practical note, zero stars for the publisher of the edition I got, Pocket Books by Simon & Schuster.  There were numerous typos - once they called our Jane Miss MarBle! - and there were about half a dozen pages which were folded and bound in that way... strange and annoying!

I have missed you!

b.

58. A Pocket Full of Rye (1953)

 Dear Agatha,

It's been awhile.  It's been awhile since I have read anything, but I have especially missed you.  I've worked.  We've moved.  In fact, I'm not sure where my next Christie even is... 

But this book was sure a wonderful one to return to.  I loved how you used an innocent nursery rhyme as a blueprint for a murder mystery.  I read someone used the term "rhyme crime" and you've certainly used that pattern before and again, but I love it and find it wonderful.  The whole conflict between the innocence of childhood and the that wickedness of adults is such a perfect tension.

From Goodreads:  Librarian's note: this is one of 13 books in the Miss Marple series, which includes twelve novels and one collection of short stories - "The Thirteen Problems." There are a total of 20 short stories about Miss M, seven of which can be found in other collections. Entries for each of the novels and short stories can be found on Goodreads.

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish,
To set before the king.

The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour,
Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird
And pecked off her nose.

Thanks again, Dame Agatha,

b.

52. Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950)

{also published as The Mousetrap}

Agatha!  

How I loved "Three Blind Mice"!  I kept seeing it in my head as a brilliant play.  I Googled it to see if it had been done.  I'm an idiot.  I knew "Mousetrap" has been one of the longest-running plays in history in London and I have always wanted to see it - but it took until this morning to realize it's the same play.  Doh!

But...!  This was such a wonderful, fun read.  I loved every minute of it and now I doubly can't wait to see the play performed.  Someday...

Other stories -

With Jane Marple:

• "Strange Jest" 
• "Tape Measure Murder"
• "The Case of the Perfect Maid"
• "The Case of the Caretaker"

With Hercules Poirot:

• "The Third-Floor Flat"
• "The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly"
• "Four and Twenty Blackbirds"

And with Satterthwaite and Harley Quin:

• "The Love Detectives"

What a tremendous volume of stories, dear Agatha.  Obviously "Three Blind Mice" was my favorite, but I enjoyed every one of the others, too - even those strange birds Satterthwaite and Quin.

We are in a strange state of the world today, dear Agatha.  We are in the midst of a worldwide panic over the coronavirus pandemic.  I've never seen any reaction like this at all.  Schools closed, many, many businesses closed.  I'm not sure how I will navigate the next few weeks.  But one good thing about it - there will be lots of time for reading.  And I have lots of books.

Back soon,

b.

PS:  Another mystery...:

51. A Murder is Announced (1951)

Dear Agatha,

This is most certainly one of my favorites.  Such a clever way for the story to begin, full of twists and turns, and an even more clever ending.  I think this would make a fantastic play or movie.  I am not even the biggest Marple fan, but I absolutely loved it.

No quotes today - nothing really to add.  I just sat back and enjoyed this one.

Thanks as always,
me

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.

40. The Body in the Library (1942)

Good afternoon, Dame Agatha.  This is a cool, drizzly fall afternoon, perfect for cuddling up with a mystery - and I'm about to start one right after I write this.

I feel like I've read this book before and didn't get excited about it, although it isn't on my Goodreads shelf, so it hasn't been in the last 6 years.  This time I did greatly enjoy it.  Twisty as always - and no, I didn't know whodunit.

Loved this comment by little 9-year-old Peter (I have one of those!):  "I read them all (detective stories) and I've got autographs from Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie and Dickson Carr and HC Bailey."  *giggle*  I'm kind of surprised you didn't put yourself first.

Mark Gaskell looked at Miss Marple in a somewhat puzzled fashion. He said doubtfully, "Do you - er - write detective stories?" The most unlikely people, he knew, wrote detective stories. And Miss Marple, in her old-fashioned spinster's clothes, looked a singularly unlikely person.
     "Oh, no, I'm not clever enough for that."

How I love your sense of humor.  These quips are like Easter eggs.

Can't wait for the next,
b.

35. The Regatta Mystery (1939)

I goofed again.  I read Sad Cypress before The Regatta Mystery.  Back on track now, I think.

"What are the years from 20 to 40?  Fettered and bound by personal and emotional relationships. That's bound to be.  That's living.  But later there's a new stage.  You can think, observe life, discover something about other people and the truth about yourself. Life becomes real - significant. You see it as a whole.  Not just one scene - the scene you, as an actor, are playing.  No man or woman is actually himself (or herself) till after 45.  That's when individuality has a chance."  - Parker Pyne ("Problem at Pollensa Bay")

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, dear Agatha.  Sometimes the short story works are not my favorite, nor is Parker Pyne a favorite of your characters, but I did still enjoy this book as a whole.  My favorite was probably "The Mystery of the Bagdad Chest," followed closely by "In a Glass Darkly."  No wait - maybe "Problem at Sea."  Or  "The Dream"!  They were all that good!

So yesterday I found myself downtown with an hour long wait and I forgot my book.  I downloaded it onto my phone and read one of the stories electronically.  The e-book was kind of cool because at the beginning of the stories, it had a brief note on when and where the stories were published.  With "In a Glass Darkly," it included this super cool nugget:

"... its very first public airing was on 6 April 1934 when Agatha Christie read the story on BBC Radio's National Programme.  No recording of this 15-minute performance is known to exist."

THAT would be something to hear!

Love,
Beth

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

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.