And now we come to the final four tales in this, my favorite Agatha Christie story collection. After the three male members of the dinner party at Colonel Bantry’s estate tell their stories, Sir Henry Clithering issues a complaint: “We are a company of six, three representatives of each sex, and I protest on behalf … Continue reading Agatha Christie’s THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS: Part V
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie’s THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS: Part IV
The second half dozen stories found in The Thirteen Problems were originally published in The Story-Teller Magazine from December 1929 to May 1930, eighteen months after the first six tales had appeared. This set differs in its cast of characters and its format: rather than a weekly meeting at Miss Marple’s house, these six tales … Continue reading Agatha Christie’s THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS: Part IV
Agatha Christie’s THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS: Part III
It’s Thanksgiving Week, a perfect time for this Christie fan to indulge in reflection about one of her best short story collections. I think others like it, too; we who discuss the best of the best Golden Age writers have named ourselves The Tuesday Night Bloggers, in honor of the guests who met each week … Continue reading Agatha Christie’s THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS: Part III
Agatha Christie’s THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS: Part II
Grabbing at the chance to enter into the discussion about short stories over at The Invisible Event and always eager to talk about Agatha Christie, I thought I would spend the next few posts discussing The Thirteen Problems, Christie’s version of The Arabian Nights Tales that served to introduce everyone’s favorite spinster sleuth, Miss Marple. … Continue reading Agatha Christie’s THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS: Part II
THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS : PART I
Over at The Invisible Event (which is a source of marvelous discussions about Golden Age mysteries), fellow blogger and mystery fanatic JJ is hosting a relatively new chat about short stories. Check out the original post here. I’m not surprised that Agatha Christie’s name has not come up in conversation. Although she wrote dozens of short … Continue reading THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS : PART I
THE FIRST BRADLEY AWARDS! Christie Vs. Queen
What are the Bradley Awards? They are whatever I want them to be! I envision the categories shifting and changing faster than alliances on Game of Thrones. This time around, it’s all about a summing up of my month-long comparison between Agatha Christie, the Mistress of Mystery, and Ellery Queen, the, er, Queen of Crime! As … Continue reading THE FIRST BRADLEY AWARDS! Christie Vs. Queen
CHRISTIE VS. QUEEN: MALICE DOMESTIC TAKES ON THE GOD COMPLEX
Given the number of singular surprise endings for which they were responsible, it’s safe to say that Agatha Christie and Ellery Queen were both masters of misdirection. One or the other probably invented nearly every variation on “the least likely suspect” motif. They shared a goal of fooling the reader, using “fair play” methods that, … Continue reading CHRISTIE VS. QUEEN: MALICE DOMESTIC TAKES ON THE GOD COMPLEX
THE DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE: Christie and Clues
All good things must come to an end, as the Tuesday Night Bloggers bid a fond adieu (for now) to Agatha Christie. I know she will grace my own blog many more times. One of these days, I might follow in the footsteps of my friend, Matt Christenson, who wrote about every Christie book in his … Continue reading THE DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE: Christie and Clues
A TOUCH OF THE CREEPS: Two by Helen McCloy
We can have a political discussion about Amazon.com at another time. Right now, I feel grateful to the mega-company because, unlike most major publishers, Amazon has found value in providing access for readers to the work of past mystery authors. When I walk into a bookstore – and these days, that is getting harder and … Continue reading A TOUCH OF THE CREEPS: Two by Helen McCloy
AGATHA CHRISTIE AND ME: Confessions of a Fan
Yikes! I got a little confused this week, probably due to tech'ing and opening a musical over the weekend. I thought it was the end of the month and The Tuesday Night Bloggers last week to tackle Agatha Christie. So I wrote a rather personal summation of my relationship with the author and then woke up … Continue reading AGATHA CHRISTIE AND ME: Confessions of a Fan
Ah Sweet Mystery! 