Well, it’s Sunday. And it’s been raining heavily for twenty-four hours. And I have to go back to work tomorrow after a two-week vacation. And Moira over at Clothes in Books posted a lovely report about one of my favorite Christie females, Dr. Sarah King from Appointment with Death, which inspired me to run over … Continue reading IT TAKES A WOMAN: My Favorite Females in Christie
Agatha Christie
APING AGATHA, or The Insincerest Form of Flattery
I will never lay claim that Agatha Christie, my favorite mystery author, is the best mystery author of all time, but she certainly is the most successful one. I offer three pieces of evidence, to wit: Her sales numbers. Selling between two to four billion copies of her books has landed her in the Guinness … Continue reading APING AGATHA, or The Insincerest Form of Flattery
MY READINGS (AND REVISITINGS) OF 2016
Happy New Year, everyone! As a new blogger, I have only just become aware of the tradition in this community for those who blog about books to reflect on the past year in reading. Yes, let’s focus on the reading because in most other respects, for me at least, 2016 was not a keeper! So … Continue reading MY READINGS (AND REVISITINGS) OF 2016
FOUR GRINCHES GRINCHING: The Mistletoe Murder
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
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
