Ah, P.D. James . . . Unlike Christie, Carr, and Queen, and most of the other classic writers for that matter, whose pages I first cracked open as a teenager, I didn’t start reading James until I became an adult. And a good thing, too! Her world is dark and complex, and it moves at … Continue reading FOUR GRINCHES GRINCHING: The Mistletoe Murder
Agatha Christie
L’EXCROISSANCE: Deuxième Partie
The holidays beckon, but this stalwart member of the Tuesday Night Bloggers keeps on a’bloggin’! All through December, we are tackling the topic of “Foreign Crimes” in however fashion that subject floats our ocean liner! Last week, I discussed Agatha Christie’s foreign-set mysteries, and the week before that I focused on the English village as … Continue reading L’EXCROISSANCE: Deuxième Partie
AN AUTHOR ABROAD: Agatha Christie’s Foreign Mysteries
Only a week or so ago, I admittedly got a little gossipy insinuating how Agatha Christie’s first marriage to Captain Archie Christie may have informed her work. (Read it here.) Just think: if Christie had honored her previous engagement to Reggie Lucy and married that faithful old duffer, perhaps her output would have contained fewer adulterous cads … Continue reading AN AUTHOR ABROAD: Agatha Christie’s Foreign Mysteries
THE ENGLISH VILLAGE, IN TRANSLATION
It’s a new month and, therefore, time for a new subject for the Tuesday Night Bloggers! All through December, we will explore different aspects of – let’s call it, “the foreign mystery.” This can encompass writers who embark on an excursion to other climes with their books or just a discussion of mysteries we have … Continue reading THE ENGLISH VILLAGE, IN TRANSLATION
OH YOU CAN GET A MAN WITH A GUN: Christie and the Cad
Ninety years ago today, Archibald Christie argued with his wife and walked out of the house, revealing to her that he was leaving her for another woman. This sort of domestic tragedy happens all the time, but when it happens to the world’s most successful mystery writer, the repercussions are bound to affect the work … Continue reading OH YOU CAN GET A MAN WITH A GUN: Christie and the Cad
GIVE ‘EM A RIGHT HOOK: Carr vs. Christie on Roping In the Readers
Only yesterday my buddy JJ, on his insightful blog site, InsultingAgathaChri-, oops, I mean, The Invisible Event, celebrated the 110th birthday of his favorite author, John Dickson Carr - an author, I might add, whom I also count among my favorites. Among his many moments of praise for the Locked Room Master, JJ asserted the … Continue reading GIVE ‘EM A RIGHT HOOK: Carr vs. Christie on Roping In the Readers
MAGPIE MURDERS: The Silver Age and the Modern Era Collide
“It’s one thing reading about detectives, quite another trying to be one.” This brand new novel by Anthony Horowitz is making the rounds amongst the mystery blogging community. Already my buddies Kate at Cross Examining Crime and JJ at The Invisible Event have written about it. It hasn’t even hit America yet, so thank you, … Continue reading MAGPIE MURDERS: The Silver Age and the Modern Era Collide
COMING HOME: Two Examples From Agatha Christie’s Post-War England
Critics of classic mysteries complain that these tales lack any grounding in reality. People die horrible deaths - sometimes a great many people during the same country weekend - but nobody seems particularly put out, unless you count the irritation one feels about having to put off one’s golf game in order to be interrogated … Continue reading COMING HOME: Two Examples From Agatha Christie’s Post-War England
A BIENTOT, POIROT: Agatha Christie’s Curtain
Every month, Rich Westwood at Past Offenses gathers mystery fans from all over the stratosphere to celebrate the mystery literature and films of a specific year, and for November he has chosen . . . 1975?!?!? After October’s foray into 1907, I thought Rich might take pity on us and choose a nice juicy year from … Continue reading A BIENTOT, POIROT: Agatha Christie’s Curtain
WHAT I DID FOR LOVE: Matters of the Heart in Christie’s Five Little Pigs
Recently, my friend Kate at Cross Examining Crime re-read and reviewed Five Little Pigs here. I loved many of the things she said and disagreed with others. Mostly, it made me hungry to set down some of my own thoughts about one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels and how it stands apart from the … Continue reading WHAT I DID FOR LOVE: Matters of the Heart in Christie’s Five Little Pigs
Ah Sweet Mystery! 