All About Agatha Christie

We are so excited to be starting in earnest, at long last, The Labours of Hercules collection. Especially as it begins with such a charming Foreword and an even more charming--and intriguing--opening story. We also threw in some D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths for good measure; why not, right?

We both adored this (somewhat) unsung Christie gem... though not without reservations. Fortunately, for purposes of discussion, those reservations turned out to be slightly different. It's a truth universally acknowledged that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, and that certainly holds true for the various familial arrangements portrayed so vividly in this sprawling novel.

There is a lot going on in the world at the moment, but there will always be Agatha Christie. Join us as we celebrate our final Christie novella, which just may be more remarkable than it appears at first glance (or read, as it were). We also took this opportunity to clip heavily from the hijinks-riddled Suchet series. So let’s all bask in the lightness together, shall we?

While we never do get the mirror the title seems (out of context) to promise, there was so much to adore in this imperfect yet rollicking early ‘50s novel. Take a deep breath, get out your Freud and Jung, and maybe take an umbrella for the trip down memory lane you’re about to embark on with one Miss Jane Marple.

The love detectives are back--and in a story titled The Love Detectives, no less! Join us as we puzzle over why this perfectly delightful serialization was the only one not to be included in the Mysterious Mr. Quin collection… and potentially figure it out in real time! (Clearly the magic of Mr. Quin, that wily catalyst of problem-solving, was with us.)

It's time for another novella, this one full to bursting with characters, incident, and puzzle mystery elements. We also get a guest appearance from Mr. Satterthwaite (!!!!), so you know we were both dementedly pleased....

We couldn’t stop talking about Mrs. McGinty being dead! Mainly good things, though not *all* good things. But what a delight it was to reach, at long last, this first of the “late Poirots” featuring Ariadne Oliver. Come for the drive-by fruiting, stay for the sick Poirot burns as to “feminine intuition.”

We begin the year in style with one of Dame Agatha's leaner puzzle mysteries--especially among those featuring our favorite grandstanding Belgian detective. It's been a while since we've had the pleasure of discussing our dear Papa Poirot in short story form, though this one is a bit super-sized, as it is in fact one of the few novellas within the canon. This year we all get to celebrate ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE, so you know we have high hopes for 2020. Happy New Year to all!

Most people know the apocryphal tale of Agatha's sister challenging her to write a murder mystery, but years earlier--1912 or thereabouts--her mother is supposed to have challenged her to write as a way of entertaining herself while recovering from influenza. Apparently this lead to an extended bout of neophyte creation that included this rather spiritual yarn, which just may remind you of another classic Christmastime story....

Real talk: this is not one of our favorite Christies. Alas. But it features some excellent scene setting in and among Baghdad and Basrah; whenever Christie takes us to the Middle East, we know we're in good hands as far as mise en scène goes. We just wish we could say the same about the plot (or lack thereof), and the characters populating this globe-trotting thriller....