All About Agatha Christie

'Tis time for the final story in the Mysterious Mr. Quin collection, and while *technically* things end with a thud rather than a bang, we were by no means disappointed by what we found in this crazypants tale of love gone SERIOUSLY awry. Oh, Mr. Quin. It's a good thing you're a supernatural being intent on haunting us till the end of days, because at this point we'd be lost without you....

We've got an early short story involving supernatural premonitions, inherited insanity, and an early example of the very Christie-ish imperative to read closely. All we're missing is an actor, but hey, there's always next time.

Sometimes when Christie takes to the short story form, she gets a little loose, a little wacky. We saw that in our last Miss Marple short story, and we see it again here, in a story that features... well, we won't be specific about the number, but let's just say there are a fair amount of maids in this one. Are any of them perfect? Let's find out!

Well, whenever we go beyond an hour of nattering away about a title, it's a good sign, and this episode is no exception. Come and bask with us in the many splendors of The Hollow, a much-beloved, mid-career masterwork of Christie's with rich characters and yet almost no puzzling to speak of, despite the presence of our dear Poirot. If this one is a Christie "crown jewel," it's one with all sorts of imperfections, but everyone knows it's the flaws that make a thing more interesting....

You know the drill by now: we've got Quin; we've got Satterthwaite; we've got spooky intrigue; we've got thwarted lovers. How's it all going to end? With an abrupt departure by our favorite proto-Tyler Durden, of course.

It's been a while since we visited the enchanting city of Petra by way of Christie, and this one is definitely a much simpler, slighter puzzle mystery than what we encountered in Appointment with Death. But there is always a healthy amount of intrigue where the wily Parker Pyne is concerned....

What's better than a tale of twin poisonings like we had in our last episode? Twin tales of twin poisonings, of course. This short story is substantially similar to Sparkling Cyanide, which we just covered, but it actually came first, and as a precursor to that novel it also has some fascinating differences. Journey with us not only to New York but--in the Suchet adaptation--to Argentina too as we explore all that this Poirot story has to offer.

We both relished this glittering tale of twin poisonings set within a posh circle at a swanky London restaurant, though it comes with a few problems/weaknesses all its own. Come geek out with us over the intricacies of cyanide, the later career of Nancy Marchand, and so much more.

You'd be forgiven for mistaking the bucolic English country estate where this story is set for the Borscht Belt of upstate New York, because this Miss Marple yarn (see what we did there?) is pretty darn funny. Poor Edward and Charmian had no idea what they were in for when Jane Helier (!!) recommended they consult with the very best of amateur sleuths in the attempt to recover a modern-day buried treasure. Take cover, because the hijinks are flying fast!

As Mabelle Annesley could perhaps sing for you herself on her ukulele, it's time to "Get Ur Freak On," and how, in this remarkably cuckoo Monsieurs Quin & Satterthwaite tale. Enjoy! We always do when it's these two....