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.

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.

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.

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

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.

39. N or M? (1941)

Good morning, dear Agatha.

I finished this book a few days ago.  A nice ho-hum, uneventful, even pleasantly dull little book - until chapter 7.  I felt like you went from zero to 60 in that one chapter.  Suddenly things were moving.

War novels aren't my favorite, but funny enough I'm now reading All the Light We Cannot See for Loveland Loves to Read; the author is speaking here in town in a couple of weeks.  That said, the fact that there's a war in the background is about the only thing they have in common. :)

I love Tommy and Tuppence, and I've missed them.  I thought it was very creative and well done to bring them back, later in life, in a different chapter in history.  It felt right, if that makes sense.

And I love (although I'm worried about them because of their age) that at the end of the novel, these two people decided to adopt this little baby... essentially adopting from foster care, a system we've learned well in these last two years.

But, Agatha, what of this?

"No, if it isn't an accident, it must be loss of memory.  I believe that is far more common than is generally known, especially at times of stress like those we are living through now."

Uh huh.

A week until your birthday, Dame Agatha.  Mine was a few days ago.  Maybe next year we can do something together.  :)

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

34. And Then There Were None (1939)

{also published as Ten Little Indians}

First book I've read in one sitting in... years.

This.

Dear Agatha, I have always thought that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was my favorite Christie.  Murder on the Orient Express is up, there, too.  But this... this book is different from any of the others I've read.

I'd almost classify it as horror or suspense rather than detective fiction.  Yes, there is a mystery to solve -- who exactly is U. N. Owen? - but it is solved in the context of ten people fighting for their lives.  That definitely brings a horror / suspense element to the normally cerebral cozy mystery that we are so used to from you.

Roger Ackroyd was written early on and certainly established your position as Queen of Deception, but the novels that followed were often formulaic (no criticism intended as I still can never guess the culprit!).  Then, somehow, you manage to do something so creative, so extraordinary with And Then There Were None - in the middle of it all.  It blows my mind simply that you published something like 5 novels in 1938 and 1939 - that alone is a feat of workmanship to be admired - but to come out with ATTWN in the middle? Astounding.

What else can I say?

I love that the mystery is not solved with the final chapter.  Or what you think is the solution is found not to be the solution in the epilogue.  It isn't until the final pages of the novel in one character's confession that everything is wrapped up neatly.  (If it weren't for that confession, we would have no solution!  What if...?)  Even structurally this book transcends norms.

Tonight we get to go see the stage version of the story.  I can't imagine how this will translate into a live production.  And I can't wait!

30. Murder in the Mews (1937)

{also published as Dead Man's Mirror}

(I wonder how it is chosen which short story or novella after which the collection will be named.)

So, dear Agatha, guess what?!

A local theater here is doing And Then There Were None at the end of April.  I am honestly just as excited about seeing it as I am about seeing P!nk in May!  Robert and I are going with Joshua, his girlfriend Nyx, and Christianne.  We just got the tickets last week.

And then I looked at my reading plan and saw that ATTWN is only about 5 books out!  If I book it (haha, pun intended), then I can have it read before we see the play.  Apparently I've not read it!  Even Josh has read it, for some reason.  I have played the PC game, though!

The only dilemma is that I'd just begun Lord of the Rings (to read "with" Josh, although he's way ahead of me), and I have 3 "optional" books to read before the conference I'm attending in mid-April, less than a month away.  Oh yeah, and it's tax season.  And the house is falling apart.  And I could really use one of those nurse/nanny types that you always had to help with your ONE child (remember I have FOUR)... but I digress.

Enjoyed every one of these 4 shorts and I couldn't even pick a favorite.  Learned a few new words along the way - mews (wasn't what a I thought it was), gasper, saloon car, baronet, and more.  I enjoyed seeing familiar friends - Sattherthwaite and Japp.  And I loved that the twisted endings - probably "Triangle at Rhodes" caught me most.

Thank you again, Dame Agatha.

Love,
me

29. Death on the Nile (1937)

This could also be titled The Love Boat, or maybe even What Happens on the Karnak Stays on the Karnak.  Yes, I'm chuckling to myself.

*spoiler alert*

At the end of this book, a number of family secrets and "lesser" crimes are hushed up ("Race sighed. 'That's all right,' he said. 'This is the Hush Hush House.'"), four people are engaged to be married, and five people are dead.  You've got to admit, it has all the makings of a Hollywood movie.  Oh, and looky there - they *are* making a new one to debut in November 2019, following the success of last year's Murder on the Orient Express.

(Actually, as I searched Google for the details on the new movie, I was surprised to find that the 1978 movie version has Angela Lansbury in it!  How I love Angela - another Dame, if I'm not mistaken!  I will have to find this version soon and give it a watch!)

One disappointment in this read - and it had nothing to do with the novel itself.  I was searching my friend Google again to understand a phrase, and my eyes inadvertently traveled to a paragraph revealing the culprit of the story.  I was bummed to know this up front as I was only about 1/3 of the way through the book.  Still... it was fun to see how it turned out, as the solution seemed impossible.

I was talking to Joshua just yesterday I believe about how at times some of your personal experiences and ideas come through in your story.  I talked about how you seemed to admire, if not share, Max's love for archeology and how that was sometimes a backdrop in your stories.  In this one, archeology has nothing to do with the story, and yet it does drop in, with this beautiful description by Poirot of the methodology of solving a mystery:

"Once I went professionally to an archaeological expedition - and I learnt something there.  In the course of an excavation, when something comes up out of the ground, everything is cleared away very carefully all around it. You take away the loose earth, and you scrape it here and there with a knife until finally your object is there, all alone, ready to be drawn and photographed with no extraneous matter confusing it.  That is what I have been seeking to do - clear away the extraneous matter so that we can see the truth - the naked shining truth."

One final comment - this may have been obvious, but I only just realized in this novel what a foil Colonel Race is to Captain Hastings.

Thanks again for the ride, Dame Agatha.  Always a pleasure.

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.

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.

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.