All About Agatha Christie

There are mothers, and then there are MOTHERS. Mrs. Boynton definitely belongs in the latter category, as we explore in our latest novel, another "travelling" Christie--this one set in and around the Holy Lands, including an extended stay in Petra (Indiana Jones and affiliated grail hunting not included). Get out your Freud, your Jung, and of course your little grey cells as Papa Poirot goes deep--and we mean DEEP--into psychology to solve this rather elegant puzzle mystery.

That's right; do not adjust your screens; before she wrote her much more famous Death on the Nile, Christie wrote a short story featuring her "heart specialist" Parker Pyne on a trip up that same (in)famous river.... Join us as we plumb the depths of this neat little puzzle mystery, which features a glancing reference to a substance these two American readers found most intriguing of all: Bovril.

Harley Quin is ba-ack! But barely; he makes all but a fleeting appearance in this light yet surprisingly robust tale of double homicide rooted in a ghost story dating back to the English Civil War. (If you wanted a refresher on the "Roundheads" versus the "Cavaliers," you are in luck!) So grab some popcorn and watch along with us and Mr. Satterthwaite as the romantic sparks--and bullets--begin to fly....

Rejoice, for our favorite (well, only) married detective duo are back! And they have chosen to put their brains together in the early Twentieth Century version of a Denny's restaurant to solve a murder-by-hatpin on the links that has been reported in the newspaper. Okay, sure! Plus we were able to shoehorn The Golden Girls into this episode, so everybody wins. (Except the hatpin murderer, of course.)

This novel officially marks our progress through one third of Christie's canon! And it is of course much beloved among Christie fans... due in no small part to the outrageously enjoyable 1978 film adaptation (we're looking at you, Bette Davis; we are always looking at you). But there is much to discuss, not only about this adaptation and Suchet's spin on the material, but the workings of the story itself. Join us as we tease apart what we believe to be one of Christie's most complex puzzle mysteries. And as we all know by now, that is most certainly saying something!

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned... unless that woman has Parker Pyne to turn to for help with her decidedly scornful husband. Is the "happy" result truly happy? Join us as we discuss this and such other topics as the nuances of movie makeovers (!!).

That's right, there's no typo in this episode's title: it's The Girl *IN* the Train, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Well, perhaps we would have a meatier mystery and more three-dimensional characters, but we couldn't help enjoying this simplistic and somewhat fantastical early thriller story.... Think of it as Christie on a busman's holiday, enjoying herself the entire way.

What's the opposite of a no-drama mama? While you're pondering that, get out your hanky and start dabbing lightly at the corner of your eye because we've got a weepie on our hands. Especially if, like one of our co-hosts, you feel especially passionate about real estate. Come take a stroll on the softer side of Christie; we quite enjoyed it! And we hope you do, too.

Real talk: we are not big fans of this one. But we *are* big fans of the three dogs discussed herein: 1) fictional dog Bob, our titular “dumb witness” (though whether he ever actually witnessed anything is... questionable); 2) Christie’s real-life faithful companion Peter, to whom this book is dedicated; and 3) actor dog Snubby, for whom David Suchet apparently fell as hard as his version of Hercule Poirot did in the televised adaptation. And it isn’t often we get to celebrate man’s best friend in the course of discussing a murder mystery. We just wish the puzzle mystery could have been more up to Dame Agatha’s habitually high standard.

All good things must come to an end. At long last we hear from the final guest at the Bantry dinner party: Jane Helier, actress--and dingbat--extraordinaire. And boy does this one turn out to be a doozy! We've said it before, and we'll say it again. Beware the blue-eyed Janes....