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.

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...:

49. Witness for the Prosecution (1948)

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.


PS - most of these were republications of short stories read elsewhere previously.

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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

5. Poirot Investigates (1924)

Ah, dear Agatha,

I loved all the stories in this collection, but I have to tell you that this wasn't my favorite work of yours.  I'm sure it's not you; surely it's me.  I think each of these stories could have lent themselves to a full-length novel.  Each one was a fun read, but left me unsatisfied and wanting more.  Still, I chuckled throughout the book and loved every page.

I stumbled across this blog post when trying to learn more about the Laverguier method to combat seasickness mentioned in the book (and, it seems like I've heard it mentioned in another book of yours as well).  I thought it was pretty neat and made some great points, although his version of the book only contains 11 short stories.  https://therealchrisparkle.wordpress.com/tag/poirot/

For funsies I made a list of all the words I had to look up in the course of this work.  It actually doesn't feel like there were as many as usual, but still, quite a few:

colleen

dernier cri

courez

hein

epatant

joss-stick

celui-la

rook / rook rifle

widow's weeds

pecuniary

doucement

Michaelmas

tisane

bagatelle

punctilious

skinflint

voluble

dragoman

prefet

ignominiously

charlady / charwoman

punt

scarfpins

trinitrin

novitiate

But there was one thing in your book that made me gasp, dear Dame Agatha!  I'm not even sure what to make of it.  This book, published March 1924, pre-dates your own disappearance of December 1926.  I wish there was more out there about that, and it's my understanding that it isn't even addressed really in your autobiography (although admittedly, I'm not that far with that yet.)  In the story "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim," Poirot said of disappearances:

"They fall into three categories:  First, and most common, the voluntary disappearance.  Second, the much abused 'loss of memory' case - rare, but occasionally genuine.  Third, murder, and a more or less successful disposal of the body."

What, Agatha?!  What does this mean?

Still with admiration,
Beth