72. Third Girl (1966)

 Dear Agatha,

Talk about gaslighting!  Loved this book.  Lots going on, but as always, you are way smarter than I.

Here's a tangential story.  Recently I had to get a new specialist, a rheumatologist, and I had two to choose from, a woman and a man.  I had just finished this novel, and found that the femaile doctor's first name is Ariadne - so I went with her!

On the day of the appointment, as we were winding down, I asked if her she knew who Ariadne Oliver was.  No.  Agatha Christie?  No.  Oh, Agatha... I felt so let down!  I was more upset about that than about any of the medical stuff.  How could she not know?  Yes, she was young, but you're... you're Agatha CHRISTIE.

Not only that, but she said her parents misspelled her name - and they pronounce it AriaDEN.  What?!  So, so disappointed.

Sigh.  I thought about bringing her a book that features Ariadne Oliver to my next appointment, but I didn't act on the thought and the appointment is tomorrow.  I'll see if I can turn anything up.

So many books, so little time.

b.

69. The Clocks (1963)

 Oh dear Agatha,

This one had me from the very first pages - from the prologue.  What a puzzle you created from the very start and that needed 200 pages more to resolve.  There is so much going on here and yet it doesn't feel overdone or too cluttered.  Fun book that I definitely want to read again.

Catching up,

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.

64. Cat Among the Pigeons (1959)

*Spoilers*

Hi Agatha,

As I finished this one a bit ago, my daughter said, "Has there ever been an Agatha book you didn't like?"  No, I don't think so.  Maybe some of the occultish stories weren't my favorite, but I just feel like you hit it out of the park every single time.

I enjoyed the setting of this one, a prestigious girls' school called Meadowbank.

I enjoyed the fact that the culprit was a woman - sorry if that's a spoiler, but it says so on the back of the book, and really, what can you expect from a cast that is 95% female?

I enjoyed the humor.  It can be subtle, but it always makes me smile.

I was so involved in the story that I was surprised at the appearance of Poirot 2/3 of the way through the book.  I had completely forgotten it was a Poirot novel, and even checked back at the front cover.  I thought one of the girls would solve the mystery (and pretty much one did).  But Hercules came to put all the threads together and wrap it all up.

There was a lot going on in this one plot-wise, and while I typically don't enjoy political, war-related, coup-related, whatever-type stuff, I did enjoy this, and was hoping until the very end that the prince and his pilot weren't really dead.

Now, Agatha, I'm off to read my final book for my reading challenge for 2021 - and it's set at Christmastime!  Christmas is three weeks from today!  Woot woot!

My heart is happy.  

b.

61. Dead Man's Folly (1956)

 Oh, dear Agatha ~ I loved this book so much!

Ro and Grace and I just watched a season (there was only one, sadly) of Whodunnit on TV, about a group of strangers who gather at a mansion and one by one are killed off, until only one remains, and the killer himself/herself.  It was a lot of fun to watch together - and no, we couldn't solve this either.  So when I picked up my next Christie novel to find that Ms. Ariadne Oliver had constructed a Murder Hunt - similar enough, I would say, I was really excited.

I had actually jotted several references to quotes that I greatly enjoyed, but it was destroyed by flood (or a leaky water glass) and I lost the references.  I do not have the time today to go back and look.  One I remember and two more I came across after the flood.  The first, Poirot's opinion on shorts:

Poirot nodded absently.  He was reflecting, not for the first time, that seen from the back, shorts were becoming to very few of the female sex.  He shut his eye in pain.  Why, oh why, must young women array themselves thus? Those scarlet thighs were singularly unattractive!

Seems Ariadne Oliver's thoughts on Scotland Yard haven't changed in 20 years, when she had similar ideas in Cards on the Table:

"Oh, the police," said Mrs. Oliver.  "Now if a woman were the head of Scotland Yard..."

But my favorite quote from this book, I honestly found full of truth and had a complete affinity with it (for it?):

Assessed correctly, each had its particular place in a particular universe.  Assembled in their proper place in their particular universe, they not only made sense, they made a picture. In other words, Hercule Poirot was doing a jigsaw puzzle.

He looked down at where a rectangle still showed improbably shaped gaps. It was an occupation he found soothing and pleasant.  It brought disorder into order.  It had, he reflected, a certain resemblance to his own profession.  There, too, one was faced with various improbably shaped and unlikely facts which, though seeing to bear no relationship to each other, yet did each have its properly balanced part in assembling the whole.  His fingers deftly picked up an improbable piece of dark grey and fitted it into a blue sky.  It was, he now perceived, part of an aeroplane.

"Yes," murmured Poirot to himself, "that is what one must do.  The unlikely piece here, the improbable piece there, the oh-so-rational piece that is not what it seems; all of these have their appointed place, and once they are fitted in, eh bien! there is an end of the business! All is clear.  All is - as they say nowadays - in the picture." 

He fitted in, in rapid succession, a small piece of a minaret, another piece that looked as though it was part of a striped awning and was actually the backside of a cat, and a missing piece of sunset that had changed with Turneresque suddenness from orange to pink.

If I weren't headed to Colorado in the morning, with about a million things left to do to get ready, I'd probably get out a jigsaw puzzle.  Maybe even listen to a Christie audio book as I work on it.  That would be different.

~ me

60. Hickory Dickory Death (1955)

 {also published as Hickory, Dickory, Dock}

Dear Agatha,

Hickory, dickory, dock, the mouse ran up the clock.  The police said, "Boo," I wonder who, will eventually stand in the Dock?

Twisty, twisty, twisty.  When you know it can't be X, because it's too obvious, so you suspect Y, Z, and A through E, and then we get right back to X again.  Bad person, that X.  

Glad I never resided at 26 Hickory Road.  What an absolute mess.

Thanks for the fun,

b.

57. Funerals are Fatal (1953)

 {also published as After the Funeral}

Dear Agatha,

I enjoyed this book so much!  I was nervous at first because there were so many characters, but within a few chapters I had managed to sort out who was who and each had such a distinct personality.  I loved it.

But.

Miss Gilchrist was a spare faded-looking woman with short iron grey hair.  She had one of those indeterminable faces that women around fifty so often acquire.

I'm still trying to figure out (a) what this means, and (b) whether or not to be offended.  But I guess since you were older than 60 when this was published, I won't worry about it too much.

I don't know why I let so much time go between reading my Christies.  I am never disappointed. Maybe 2021 will be the year I finish.  Not likely, but maybe.

Merry Christmas, Agatha.

b.

55. Mrs McGinty's Dead (1952)

{also published as Blood Will Tell}

Agatha!  Bravo!  Bravo!

Some of my favorite parts were Ariadne Oliver's clear references to what it's like for you to be writing of Hercule Poirot:

Mrs. Oliver interrupted:  "He's 60."
"Oh no!"
"He is."
"I don't see him like that.  Thirty five - not a day older."
"But I've been writing books about him for thirty years and he was at least thirty five in the first one."

...

"How do I know?" said Mrs Oliver crossly.  "How do I know why I ever thought of the revolting man? I must have been mad!  Why a Finn when I know nothing about Finland? Why a vegetarian? Why all the idiotic mannerisms he's got? These things just happen. You try something - and people seem to like it - and then you go on - and before you know where you are, you've got someone like that maddening Sven Hjerson tied to you for life.  And people even write and say how fond you must be of him. Fond of him? If I met that bony gangling vegetable eating Finn in real life, I'd do a better murder than any I'd ever invented."

...

And this, though not in reference to Poirot, but it made me giggle because I get it:

"I'm afraid you're tired," said Robin.
"Not really. The truth is I'm not very good with people."
"I adore people, don't you?" said Robin happily.
"No," said Mrs Oliver firmly... I think trees are much nicer than people, more restful."

...

This one, I just thought was right on:

"Madre," (Robin) said solemnly, "would have wished me to go on with my work."
Hercule Poirot had heard many people say much the same thing. It was one of the most convenient assumptions, this knowledge of what the dead would wish. The bereaved had never any doubt about their dear ones' wishes and those wishes usually squared with their own inclinations.

5 stars on this one, dear Agatha!

Always,
me

54. The Under Dog and Other Stories (1951)

Good morning, dear Agatha,

Nothing like a global pandemic to get me reading more, eh?  The kids and I are doing another reading challenge, too - seeing how many pages we can read by the beginning of May.  I'm over 800.  I would guess Grace is about the same, and Josh probably has 246,129.

So, I really enjoyed the main story of this collection, "The Under Dog."  I also liked hearing from sweet Hastings again for the rest of the stories.  

When people talk about you, Dame Agatha - it's always to call you the Queen of Crime and discuss the different complicated plots and solutions of your mysteries.  One thing that isn't mentioned that much, in my humble opinion, is your humor.  I love it because it's subtle, but these scenes from "The Under Dog" certainly made me chuckle.

"I believe in small men!  They are the clever ones!"  (Followed up by Poirot's observation that Inspector Miller is a tall man)

"A heavy thud," he said impressively.

"If I mistake not, it is a dull thud in most works of romance," murmured Poirot.

"Maybe, sir," said Parsons severely.  "It was a heavy thud I heard."

"A thousand pardons," said Poirot.

"Do not mention it, sir.  After the thud, in the silence, I heard..."

Some of the stories seemed vaguely familiar to me.  Perhaps I'd read them before I started this blog - I'm not sure.  I don't see reference to them in skimming my blog posts and the only other collection I see them as part of is Poirot's Early Cases (1974).  For example, the scene of "The Submarine Plans" where the bold young man stole a kiss from the French maid on the stairs seemed familiar, as well as the masquerade of "The Affair at the Victory Ball" (although granted the characters they dressed up as do pop up here and there in some of your other works).

All in all, while I do prefer your novels over your short stories, this was, as always, a great read.

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...:

48. Taken at the Flood (1948)

{also published as There is a Tide}

Dear Agatha,

What a crazy journey it has been, these past six or so months.  Our life was upended and we have moved over 1000 miles away back to our desert home in California.  Crazy series of events, for sure, leaving me out of my reading routine.  I have a couple of books - like this - that I read months ago - and never had time to blog.  And, because I'm 50 now, I honestly don't remember a lot abou them.  Please forgive me.

Getting back on track.

b.

47. The Labors of Hercules (1947)

Dear Agatha,

What a crazy journey it has been, these past six or so months.  Our life was upended and we have moved over 1000 miles away back to our desert home in California.  Crazy series of events, for sure, leaving me out of my reading routine.  I have a couple of books - like this - that I read months ago - and never had time to blog.  And, because I'm 50 now, I honestly don't remember a lot abou them.  Please forgive me.

Getting back on track.

b.

46. The Hollow (1946)

{also published as Murder after Hours}

Ahhh, Agatha - how I loved this one!

Poirot put his hand gently on her shoulder.  He said:

"But you are of those who can live with a sword in their hearts - who can go on and smile - "

Henrietta looked up at him.  Her lips twisted into a bitter smile.  "That's a little melodramatic, isn't it?"


"It is because I am a foreigner and I like to use fine words."

That cracked me up, of course, Agatha.  I love your sense of humor in your work.

I am continually amazed at the creativity of your stories, at the pace you wrote and published, and by how much I learn when I read them (mostly about British culture, but still.)  This novel taught me what a monkey puzzle is.


Thanks again, dear Agatha.  On to The Labours...

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.

38. Evil Under the Sun (1941)

Dear Agatha,

It isn't you.  It's me.

I read this in 2013 and gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.  This time around, this read has taken me over a month!  I just couldn't get into it.  But really, I think it's me. 

Still it makes me smile, and I love statements such as this by Poirot:  "Ah! Madame, I reserve the explanations for the last chapter."  Yep, always.

I'm sorry I just don't have much to say, Agatha.  It's been a struggle of a week and I think that's why I've been too distracted to just read.  Looking forward to something new soon, though - N or M?

Still,
Beth

37. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1940)

{also known as The Patriotic Murders and An Overdose of Death}

Good morning, dear Agatha.  I finished this one a few days ago, but it's been such a busy week I haven't been able to get this post written.  As it is, I am headed to Cali in a few hours - not fully packed yet and much to do, so this might be a little on the brief side. 

Can I just say how much I love the cover art on this one?  I will have to come back and add a picture.  And a detective story centered around a DENTIST?  Who does that?  But some very valid points are made - you are completely off your guard in the dentist's chair!  And it humanizes Poirot nicely to know that even he is not a fan of dentists:

There are certain humiliating moments in the lives of the greatest of men.  It has been said that no man is a hero to his valet.  To that may be added that few men are heroes to themselves at the moment of visiting their dentist.

Me, too, Hercule.  Me, too.

Perhaps my favorite quote, though, is of Inspector Japp to Hercule Poirot:

"You're talking like a thriller by a lady novelist!"

I *love* that about you, Agatha - that you poke little bits of fun at yourself and your craft.

I hate it, but I have to run.  Always a pleasure!
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

36. Sad Cypress (1940)

How do I love thee, Dear Agatha? Let me count the ways...

I mean, really... there must be a thousand reasons why I love to read your "detective fiction."  (One is that you often refer to your characters reading too much of it.  It always makes me chuckle.)

This book was a quick read that took me awhile.  I have been away from Christies for some time, trying to finish the wonderful but oh-so-verbose The Lord of the Rings.  I'm headed out of town in a couple of weeks.  I might take a book with me but was leading toward reading some of the stuff on my Kindle instead - traveling lighter, I guess.  We shall see.  But back to Sad Cypress.

Five stars, Dame Agatha! because you snuck up on me and surprised me yet again.

I loved the connection to roses and The War of... I loved the mentions of current movies at the time.  I loved the tension between love and happiness and how both might not be found in the same person.  (And I'm glad, for I didn't necessarily love the character that Elinor loved.)  I loved this slightly different format - Poirot didn't gather all the involved into a study to explain how it all worked out. He was present and brilliant and saved the day, *and* he answered questions in the final chapter, but it was still different from before.

Loved every page, dear Agatha.  Thanks again.

Beth

32. A Holiday for Murder (1939)

{also published as Murder for Christmas}

Dear Agatha,

What if Mrs. Boynton from Appointment with Death had hooked up with Simeon Lee from this book?  Holy cow - talk about dysfunctional families led by a sadistic figure.  This book actually felt very similar to AWD - hated head of the family dies, every member benefits, every family member a potential suspect.  Yet this one went a step further with another common theme of yours - people aren't who they say they are.

It wasn't until a chapter or two in that I realized I'd read this before - and what it was that made me remember was Lydia tending one of her creative garden landscapes.  I am blessed (or cursed, depending on the scenario) with a very bad memory, but it is a blessing when rereading books because I still didn't know the ending, the culprit, or anything!  But yeah - it was part of an anthology I'd picked up a few years ago called Murder for Christmas.

Anyway, dear friend (I would so like to consider you a friend, if I may), thanks again for the fun.  I love to hang out with you and hear your stories.

Always,
Beth