Last week, I explained how circumstances led me to revisit Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, the series that starred Joan Hickson and which aired on the BBC from 1986 to 1992. I shared my thoughts about the first six adaptations, and today we’ll cover the rest of the series. Miss Marple and Inspector Davy discover things are too … Continue reading REVISITING JOAN HICKSON’S MISS MARPLE (Part 2)
Agatha Christie
REVISITING JOAN HICKSON’S MISS MARPLE, Part I
A week or so ago, I was texting back and forth with my friends (and fellow Christie fanatics) Jeff and Chris. It was just after the dinner hour, and Jeff informed us that he was settling down to watch The Body in the Library – not the crazy one with the mad lesbian killers, but the good … Continue reading REVISITING JOAN HICKSON’S MISS MARPLE, Part I
THE POIROT PROJECT #4: Dead Man’s Folly
The order in which I read the sixty-six mystery novels of Agatha Christie was a total crapshoot, based largely on what cover or blurb struck my teenaged fancy. I couldn’t recite my reading chronology if I tried, although you always remember your first – and in my case, I remember my first four: And Then … Continue reading THE POIROT PROJECT #4: Dead Man’s Folly
“No denying she’s a funny girl, that Belle . . . ” Loose Lips by Kemper Donovan
When it comes to the high seas, I prefer my voyages to be vicarious. I have been known to get seasick on a slow ferry. My antipathy toward those flashy floating malls they call “luxury liners” is balanced by my fascination with all those YouTube videos of people taking and rating one cruise after another … Continue reading “No denying she’s a funny girl, that Belle . . . ” Loose Lips by Kemper Donovan
EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
It’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of a most, er, dramatic year, and this is my 79th and final post of 2024. It's also the time when some of my fellow bloggers review their accomplishments, perhaps name a “Book of the Year,” and make prognostications about what’s coming up in 2025 that are hopefully vague … Continue reading EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
THE POIROT PROJECT #3: The A.B.C. Murders
“As soon as I heard you were coming over, I said to myself: Something will arise. As in former days, we will hunt together, we two. But if so, it must be no common affair. It must be something – something recherche - delicate – fine . . .” No fictional detective had a more … Continue reading THE POIROT PROJECT #3: The A.B.C. Murders
BRAD’S WEEK-LONG BIRTHDAY PARTY BEGINS TODAY!!!
That's right, folks, my birthday is coming! Okay, the actual date is a week from today. A passel of famous artistic folk consider themselves lucky to share the day with me, including Ludwig von Beethoven, Jane Austen, Noel Coward, Arthur C. Clarke and Margaret Mead. Frankly, this has been a year full of challenges, but … Continue reading BRAD’S WEEK-LONG BIRTHDAY PARTY BEGINS TODAY!!!
THE POIROT PROJECT #2: The Mystery of the Blue Train
Re-reading The Mystery of the Blue Train proved to be a bit of a challenge, but not for the obvious reasons. My recent bout of COVID left a going-away present in the form of pneumonia; a kitchen remodel stretched out to months, and my 60-year-old Pocketbook copy of Train fell apart in my hands while … Continue reading THE POIROT PROJECT #2: The Mystery of the Blue Train
MORE FUN AND GAMES WITH BOOK CLUB: Five Great Mystery Debuts
My Book Club is full of fun and fascinating people, but our collective book selections have been a decidedly mixed bag. And so last month, we took a break from these doldrums (perhaps mystery lovers should call them “humdrums”), and did something a little different: each of us shared their ten favorite mysteries from the … Continue reading MORE FUN AND GAMES WITH BOOK CLUB: Five Great Mystery Debuts
CHRISTIE SWINGS LIKE A PENDULUM DO: My Personal Rankings of Agatha’s 60’s Novels
Recently, my friend Kemper Donovan hosted that Dynamic Duo (and fellow friends), Dr. Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown, on his podcast All About Agatha in order to compare rankings of the 1960’s Christie novels that have consumed Gray and Mark over the past year on their delightful podcast, The Swinging Christies. Actually, the guys have been loose … Continue reading CHRISTIE SWINGS LIKE A PENDULUM DO: My Personal Rankings of Agatha’s 60’s Novels
Ah Sweet Mystery! 