“Why not make my detective a Belgian? . . . A retired police officer. Not too young a one. What a mistake I made there. The result is that my fictional detective must really be well over a hundred by now.” Agatha Christie’s Autobiography WORKS Nine Novels The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920/21) The Secret Adversary (1922) The Murder … Continue reading A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART ONE: Roaring into the 1920’s
Agatha Christie
THE PROBLEM IN 3A(s)
Special day, special blog! It can all be summed up in three little words: Anniversary, Apology, and Announcement. Anniversary On my way to buying my first Christie! Exactly five years ago today, this little fellow began his adventures in blogging, and what a world it opened up for me. I literally found my people, and, … Continue reading THE PROBLEM IN 3A(s)
IT’S SHORTS WEATHER: Perusing Bodies From the Library 3
So far, August 2020 is not sorting itself out to be the summer of anyone's lifetime. In another galaxy, long ago and far, far away, I would be reveling in memories of a marvelous July trip to London and New York, meeting old friends and cramming in as many intense discussions of a GAD variety … Continue reading IT’S SHORTS WEATHER: Perusing Bodies From the Library 3
WHY MINE EYES DIDN’T DAZZLE: Christie’s Sleeping Murder
2020: My pal JJ finishes his first run of reading Agatha Christie. Mazel tov, JJ! Because he tackled the books in order of publication, his last read was Sleeping Murder. His review came out yesterday. 1940: According to biographer Laura Thompson, Christie began a staggering period of production, probably egged on by the bombs of … Continue reading WHY MINE EYES DIDN’T DAZZLE: Christie’s Sleeping Murder
TAKING TIME TO SAVOR CHRISTIE: Four Decades Worth of Suggestions
By now, it will have become clear, at least to myself and all the sensible people who pay attention to my whining, that I have to cancel my plans to return to London this summer. The Bodies in the Library conference has been postponed, the buildings are empty, and the streets are bare – and … Continue reading TAKING TIME TO SAVOR CHRISTIE: Four Decades Worth of Suggestions
MAY I SUGGEST YOU READ A MURDER MYSTERY?
I have to admit I’ve been stressed for about . . . three and a half years. Bernie Sanders said recently that the current health crisis is “on the scale of major war,” but I’ve felt battle-scarred, mostly by tweet, for some time now. And now, thanks to COVID-19, I’m in exile: our schools have … Continue reading MAY I SUGGEST YOU READ A MURDER MYSTERY?
FRIEDMAN’S FACE-OFF WITH FAN FICTION
Say what you like about Jeff Bezos and his insidious plan to take over the free market – the guy knows what I like. All I do is buy a few things (a week), and my home page zings with spot-on recommendations. As you might imagine, a lot of them have to do with classic … Continue reading FRIEDMAN’S FACE-OFF WITH FAN FICTION
MURDER GETS GRAPHIC: The Detection Club, by Jean Harambat
Far be it from me not to cave into peer pressure. When Kate Jackson reviewed the English translation of a French graphic novel placing seven members of the famed Detection Club into an actual mystery, I snapped like a long bean. Despite the fact that the English translation of this comic book mystery is … Continue reading MURDER GETS GRAPHIC: The Detection Club, by Jean Harambat
THE BIG FIVE, or, Brad’s Smartass Quintet
WARNING: If you have not read the following titles, certain facts are laid before you in the discussion below that give away all or part of the solutions: The Sittaford Mystery, Lord Edgware Dies, Dumb Witness, Death Comes As the End, They Do It With Mirrors. Don’t be a fool – turn back and read … Continue reading THE BIG FIVE, or, Brad’s Smartass Quintet
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND RANK: My Top Ten Christies
WARNING: What you see before you is very long, closing in on 10,000 words. I toyed with making it a two-parter, but honestly I want to be done with it! Let it go out into the blogosphere and be read by three people. Consider it this blogger’s Hooded Gunman, my coffee table book of a … Continue reading LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND RANK: My Top Ten Christies
Ah Sweet Mystery! 