"Agatha In August" - Agatha Christie Author Read for August 2015

Agatha In August Group Read



Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie (September 15, 1890 - January 12, 1976)



Whether you plan on visiting with Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple or any of Agatha Christie's other sleuths this is place to be in August as we are celebrating the author Agatha Christie during this month. This thread is dedicated to the planning, listing and discussing the books everyone will be reading.

**If your discussions include revealing the actual murderer, please remember to use the spoiler device.**

Thanks for setting up the thread! Great collection of covers, too. :)

I will be rereading Remembered Death, aka Sparkling Cyanide. It has some pretty creepy covers, including the one of my edition:

I have been reading both new-to-me and revisiting old favorites over the last few years and have come to have an even greater appreciation for this author's body of work. Not everything she wrote was a homerun, but she was prolific, and produced many fine crime novels, short stories and plays.

This month I am planning on a reread of Death on the Nile, and new reads of both Evil Under the Sun and 4:50 From Paddington.

I am reading through Christie's works in chronological order. I'm ready for There Is a Tide.... I also plan to listen to an audio production of Witness for the Prosecution.

I'm in, I haven't decided which books yet. There are quite a few with duplicate titles that I'm not sure I read.

I have Murder with Mirrors next up in my Christie reading list.

I just finished Evil Under the Sun. The whole time I was reading this, I had the feeling that I had read it before. I was sure I knew both the identity of the murderer and what the motive was. I then found out I was totally wrong and was probably thinking of another of her books! This book was a fun read but not one of her more outstanding mysteries.

Well I got through about 10 chapters in The Hollow before it dawned on me that maybe I read it before. I did not check LT, I just knew I hadn't read it. Turns out that I did read it, in 2009.

Now I'm reading Ordeal by Innocence.

I finished Double Sin and Other Stories a couple of days ago. There were a couple of stories I didn't care for (the ones with supernatural elements to them) but overall an enjoyable read.

My BF is inadvertently joining the group read with Murder on the Orient Express. He knows how it ends but has never actually read the book or seen any of the TV or movie adaptations! Hoping I can persuade him to pick up The Murder of Roger Ackroyd next (although we just watched the adaptation of that one, so he does actually know whodunnit).

>10 rabbitprincess: - Hope he does pick it up. Part of the fun of rereading or even reading already know who did it, is seeing if you can pick up the subtle clues along the way.

>11 LittleTaiko: I'm sure either his parents or mine have a copy of it somewhere!

I have picked up a german edition of The Mysterious Affair at Styles from the library today. I have never read Agatha Christie before (but had her on my wishlist for a long time), so I thought I start in chronological order. I will start after finishing Jane Austen's Emma, which will probably take me about another week.

Earlier today I finished There Is a Tide... (aka Taken at the Flood. It's more of a page-turner than is usual for Christie. It's another twist on a common plot where a family is financially dependent on a wealthy patriarch who then dies. This time the patriarch wasn't murdered but died in an air raid. His very young bride of about 2 weeks has a life interest in his whole estate. The rest of the family gets nothing...unless she dies, or unless the marriage wasn't valid. I loved the book until I got to the last chapter. It was disturbing, and it makes me a bit hesitant to recommend this book to other readers.

So, I got my "Mirrors" confused, thought that Murder with Mirrors was up next in my reading so I read that. Turns out it was Dead Man's Mirror that I was supposed to read. Oh well, perfect excuse to read two Agatha's this month!

>14 cbl_tn: Agreed on the last chapter of that one. If I hadn't been reading it on the bus I would have thrown it across the room in disgust.

>16 rabbitprincess: I know! What was she thinking?!

I just completed Death On The Nile which is one of my favorite Agatha Christie mysteries.

Actually, I was reading on a long distance train trip her memoir of being part of an archeaological dig Come, Tell Me How You Live which shows what a tremendous sense of humor she had about herself. It opens with her needing to buy clothing suitable for her trip (very funny bits) and then goes on to her husband's wish to bring books and sticking some into her suitcases as she is trying to fit her clothes into it. She writes about loving train trips. All very enjoyable (although I suspect that some of the later chapters may reflect the attitudes of the time).

I did just download her The Secret of Chimneys which is an Inspector Battle novel.

So I have succumbed! I decided to revisit Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories which I own but don't really remember...

>14 cbl_tn: & >16 rabbitprincess: You have actually raised my curiosity about Taken At the Flood and I am going to track down a copy and see what happened in that final chapter!

>21 DeltaQueen50: You can call on one of us if you need a catcher when you hurl the book across the room. ;-)

I listened to a BBC Radio adaptation of The Witness for the Prosecution last night. They tried to condense the plot into 27 minutes. I don't think it's a success. I'm familiar with the play and I still had trouble following the dialogue. I'm not sure someone who hasn't seen or read the unabridged version could figure out what's going on in this recording.

^ Too bad. The Agatha Christie book is a good one.

Halfway through Five Little Pigs.
It's been too long since I've read Christie. I love her!

>23 cbl_tn: Actually, my husband and I watched the movie version this past weekend with Marlene Dietrich, Elsa Lanchester, and Charles Laughton. We both commented on how well the movie worked, even after having seen it numerous times. We knew the ultimate punchline, but we were still captivated.

I've just finished Witness For The Prosecution and Other Stories and really liked it. The "other stories" in the collection are good too, and many have a supernatural element.
I read The Tuesday Club Murders earlier this month and like that one too.

My final Agatha Christie read of the month was a Jane Marple mystery. 4:50 From Paddington was a fun read and Ms. Christie managed to fool me again!

>28 DeltaQueen50: That's one of my favorite Christies!

>29 cbl_tn: Carrie, I loved the character of Lucy, the domestic goddess, that helped Miss Marple in her investigation. I also loved how the book ended with that one last question as to who Lucy would choose unanswered.

Just finished reading a chapter about Agatha in Martin Edwards' fascinating study of the Detection Club, called The Golden Age of Murder.

I wanted to read more Agatha this month but I've only managed to finish Peril at End House I want to try and finish Lord Edgware Dies before Tuesday,

I finished the German version of The Mysterious Affair at Styles yesterday, the first in the Poirot series. This was my first Christie ever, but it will certainly not be my last. I really liked it!

I finished Lord Edgware Dies, I have to give Ms. Christie for leading the reader away from the obvious suspect.

>30 DeltaQueen50: Argh, but I really wanted to know who Lucy would choose (in 4.50 from Paddington)! Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I really could not decide!

Hard to believe, but thanks to this thread I've read my first Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None. Great fun.

Found this recent brief article on Christie that features rare photos of her and had to post it here.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34075279

>35 christina_reads: Christina, I wonder if she would have chosen either. The widower, Bryan seemed too needy although she was very fond of his son. I thought there were more sparks between Lucy and Cedric, the artist. But would he be husband material? He was going to inherit the land and property eventually, but was he willing to come back to England to live? To my way of thinking neither man was totally right for her, so I was happy to see it left up in the air for the reader to decide.

I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I can't believe that it's only my fourth Agatha Christie!

>38 DeltaQueen50: I agree that Cedric seems to be a likelier choice than Bryan. The last time I read the book, I was struck by a possible third choice, Miss Marple's nephew Derek (?), the police inspector. Is he another possibility, or am I totally off base? It actually drives me nuts that Christie didn't give a definitive answer, because I want to know!!! (As you can see, I am not great with ambiguity at the end of detective novels!)

>40 christina_reads: You obviously have a romantic soul, Christina! :)

I never thought of the Inspector, but that would be a good choice as she would then be related to the delightful Miss Marple, who would be such a fun great-aunt to have!

>41 DeltaQueen50: I really do. :) I almost always enjoy a book more if there's a love story in it -- but it has to end happily!

I reread some Christie this month, both Miss Marple and Poirot, and enjoyed all three books.

In finishing up all that Agatha Christie, here's an article about Hercule Poirot:

http://the-toast.net/2015/08/31/a-poirot-novel-where-no-one-is-murdered-and-he-g...

I had hoped to read a play or two by Christie but time got away from me. Oh well, I will still read them just not in time for "Agatha in August".

>44 RidgewayGirl: Haha! The comments are great, too.

>44 RidgewayGirl: - Loved it! Thanks for sharing.