REVIEW: The Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrees

 The Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrees
Author: Agatha Christie

This collection of Agatha Christie short stories was published in the UK in 1960. It was not released in the US, but all of the stories appeared in other collections. This collection includes stories featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. 

I have previously reviewed all of the Poirot stories as they were published in other short story collections.  

The Mystery of the Spanish Chest appeared in The Regatta Mystery and other Stories as The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest. The Dream was also included in this same book. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding is a re-working of two earlier stories, Christmas Adventure and Theft of the Royal Ruby. I read the original story as part of The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot, and read/reviewed Christmas Pudding at that time as well. Four and Twenty Blackbirds was included in Three Blind Mice and Other Stories. And, Underdog was published in The Underdog and Other Stories. 

This collection includes: 

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding/Christmas Adventure
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest/The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest 
The Underdog
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
The Dream
Greenshaw's Folly

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding/Christmas Adventure: (from a prior review)

This tale was first published as Christmas Adventure in Sketch Magazine on December 12, 1923. It was later re-published in an expanded short novella form as The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding. The later version expands the plot, changes character names, etc. I wanted to read the original version of the story before delving into the longer 1960's version....but it seems the original story has only been re-published in one UK anthology, While the Light Lasts and Other Stories. In the US this was published as The Harlequin Tea Set and Other stories. BUT....the Harlequin Tea Set collection did not include Christmas Adventure. So each time I search for the UK story collection, the search pulls up Harlequin Tea Set instead.....

ARGH!!!

So I turned to my local library....found an anthology "The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot" which includes all the early Poirot stories. But.....instead of Christmas Adventure (the version published first in 1923)...it includes The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.  Foiled again! So I turned to Amazon...they used to sell an ebook version of Christmas Adventure published in 2014. It now says "unavailable.'' Tried to find the ebook on a UK or Australian site.....all say unavailable.

So, it looks like I am going to have to read the revised, longer edition of this story until I can get my hands on a copy of While The Light Lasts and Other Stories. And so far, I have only been able to find copies on Ebay. 

Really??? LOL I even tried Internet Archive/Open Library. No luck there either.

So....I have put While the Light Lasts and Other Stories at the top of my "must buy a used copy of this ASAP" list...and I'm having pudding.....sigh. I will backtrack at a later date and read the original story. 

The basics: Poirot isn't too keen on spending Christmas at an English country house. But after the the promise of modern conveniences (such as radiators and central heating), good food, and a mystery to solve, he travels to Kings Lacey for an old fashioned English holiday......and a stolen ruby in the plum pudding.

I enjoyed this holiday tale immensely (despite its not being the original story). Poirot did some sleuthing, enjoyed the festivities, and in the end, he decided it was quite the enjoyable holiday. Cute story! Interesting mystery! :)

Adaptations:

This re-vamped story is also known as "The Theft of the Royal Ruby.'' It was under this name that the television series Agatha Christie's Poirot adapted the story for television (Season 3, Episode 8). While the story is still delightful, I think the adaptation changed some of the best parts of the story and some characters were expanded that may have been better left as side notes. Still an enjoyable episode, but just not quite the same as the original story.

I'm still very curious about the shorter, original version of this story....  I will read and review it as soon as I have chased down a copy. :) 

The Mystery of the Spanish Chest/The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest: (from a prior review)

This tale was first published in magazines in the UK and US in 1932 as The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest.

The basics: The day after a party, a man is discovered dead in a rather large wooden chest in the very room where the party was held. Poirot is on the case to find the killer! 

The original story was later lengthened into a novella and re-titled The Mystery of the Spanish Chest in 1960 (in three installments in a magazine). The novella first appeared in book format in this story collection.

Adaptations: 

The television series Poirot adapted it as The Mystery of the Spanish Chest (Season 3, episode 8). The Poirot episode follows the basic plot with some changes to interject Poirot into the story sooner and to flesh the plot out into episode length. Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings are added into the mix as well. I enjoyed the episode. The plot followed the original story more than the expanded novella version. Very well done!   

The Underdog: (from a prior review)

The Under Dog was first published in a US magazine in April 1926, and UK publication came later that same year. Its first appearance in book format came in 1929 when it was included in Two New Crime Stories in the UK. The second story in that book was by another author, E. Phillips Oppenheim (Blackman's Wood). In the US, it was later included in the short story collection The Underdog & Other Stories in 1951.

The Under Dog wasn't published in the UK again until this story collection in 1960. 

I do not own a physical book that includes this story, so turned to my lovely local library and Hoopla for an audio version (HarperCollins, 2012, narrated by Hugh Fraser, 2 hrs).

The basics -- Sir Reuben Astwell is dead. Not a natural death, but he died as a result of being bashed over the head. His rather ill-tempered nephew has been arrested, but Sir Reuben's wife is adamant that the nephew didn't do it. Poirot steps in to find out the truth......  and, of course, does. 

I like these Novella-length stories that are too short to be a novel, but long enough to really let the plot develop. It definitely gives that Christie twistiness time to develop. Family tensions. Servant tensions. Class tensions. Who bumped the old man off? And why? The audio version runs about 2 hours --  definitely long enough for Christie to build up the tension & then have the ultimate reveal. 

Great story! 

Adaptations: 

Poirot - Season 5, Episode 2. There are a few minor changes to the story including adding in Hastings and Miss Lemon. But, this episode sticks pretty closely to the way it was originally written. Excellent as usual! 

Christie really was a master of marketing. Publishing these early stories in magazines built up her name and talents, so that her books sold like hotcakes. 

Four and Twenty Blackbirds: (from a prior review)

Hercule Poirot is the detective in this short story that first appeared in magazine format in 1940 (US) and 1941 (UK). It did not appear in book form until Three Blind Mice & Other Stories published in 1950. 

The basics: Poirot investigates the death of a man who strayed from his usual cuisine and daily routine at a restaurant. 

I found this study in behavior very interesting. At times I do enjoy to change my diet or habits up a bit....maybe a bit more spice, a special dish I've never had before, a different restaurant, etc.  But if a person who has been a regular daily customer at a restaurant for 10 years suddenly completely goes off their "usual" choices and schedule, I can see how it would seem very odd, especially if they were ordering things they normally didn't like and not showing up for an extended period.  Agatha Christie did a marvelous job of turning a situation like that into a interesting little mystery! 

Adaptations: 

Television: The long-running television Poirot adapted this story in 1989. [Season 1, episode 4] The episode makes some changes to extend the story into episode length and flesh out the plot a bit, but it sticks relatively close to the original story.  The Japanese anime program, Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple also had an episode in 2005 [episode 34].  

I found no other adaptations of this story.  

The Dream: (from a prior review)

This tale is another Agatha Christie short story that was first published in magazines. The Saturday Evening Post ran it in 1937 and it appeared in The Strand Magazine in the UK in 1938. 

The basics: A man relates a strange dream to Poirot and later carries out the deed from the dream. Poirot investigates to find out if it was a dream.....or an elaborate plot. 

I would love to see one of the old issues of The Strand! I'd love to see how these stories were presented, what advertisements were in the issues, and what other authors were featured! 

Adaptations: 

The only adaptation I found for this Hercule Poirot story is an episode of Poirot (Season 1, Episode 10). The plot for this story is definitely interesting! The Poirot episode was well done and followed the original story relatively closely. Some changes were made to fit the show and expand the plot to episode length.   

Greenshaw's Folly:  

The only story in this collection I didn't already review previously is Greenshaw's Folly, featuring Miss Marple.

Because I don't own a copy of this story collection, I had to go hunting digital resources through my local library. They had an ebook version of Greenshaw's Folly. (HarperCollins, 2013, 34 pages). Library to the rescue again!! 

This short story was written in 1956 as a fundraiser to purchase a new stained glass window for a church. Originally Agatha wrote a Poirot story for the fundraiser (Greenshore Folly), but she had problems selling it. The story was too short to market as a novel but too long to sell to magazines. So, she wrote another story. Glad she did -- I loved reading this one! 

The basics -- Old Miss Greenshaw lives in her family home, a very odd place built by her grandfather. The house is a huge monstrosity, featuring odd combinations of architecture styles. Just days after making a new will, the old woman is killed. Her manner of death is just as odd as the house. Miss Marple is on the case! 

This story is entertaining, but very short. Miss Marple has the who, what and why figured out incredibly fast. Fun story!  

Adaptations:

The television series Agatha Christie's Marple has an episode based on this story (Season 6, Episode 2) starring Julia McKenzie. The episode changes some elements of the story and mixes in plot points from another story, The Thumb Mark of Saint Peter. I'm sure they combined stories because Greenshaw's Folly is only a few pages long. The plot would have required a lot of padding to stretch it to episode length! 

I very much enjoy the short stories Agatha Christie wrote, but the fact that some of them were re-titled, reworked, republished, re-everything'd so many times over the years can really can make trying to read them all a bit confusing at times!  

I'm going to skip over any short story collections that only have stories I've already read and reviewed. This is the second time I've come across a book where I only needed to read one story! 

On to the next!! 

REVIEW: Three Blind Mice and Other Stories

 Three Blind Mice and Other Stories
Author: Agatha Christie

Since 2020, I have been on a mission to read Agatha Christie's mystery writings in publication order (or as close to it as I can get). 

The short story collections pose a challenge as they are often a mix of stories first published early in Christie's writing career mixed with later tales. And, often, these stories are repeated in more than one short story collection, or the same story appears under different titles. So, I always feel like I'm jumping around a bit when I hit one of these in the publication timeline.

This short story collection was first published in the US in 1950. The stories were published in several other later story collections in the UK, except for the title story Three Blind Mice. Because it is a variant of the play, The Mousetrap, this story has never been published in the UK as the long-running play is still being performed.   

 Three of these stories (The Third Floor Flat, The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly, and The Love Detectives) were first published in magazines in the 1920s. I previously reviewed The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly as it was included in Poirot's Early Cases, which I reviewed in 2020. The other stories were first published in magazine format from 1940-1948. I also read The Third Floor Flat previously (as it is included in Poirot's Early Cases), but I didn't review it at that time for some reason. 

This collection includes: 

Three Blind Mice
Strange Jest
Tape-Measure Murder
The Case of the Perfect Maid
The Case of the Caretaker
The Third Floor Flat
The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
The Love Detectives

I love the fact that this collection has stories from Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Mr. Quin! :) 

I have an old paperback version of this story collection (Berkley, 1984, 212 pages). It has the 80's style silhouette cover art. And, it appears I bought my copy used at some point, as the former owner wrote her name on the back cover. Lauren P. Subold (or Seibold?)  -- if you are out there -- I have your book! :)  The pages are very yellowed and the back pages with bibliography or ads have been ripped out. As soon as I am done with this reading, the book is going into the recycle bin. This is its final huzzah! 

Three Blind Mice:

This short story is based on a Radio Play, first broadcast on BBC radio in 1947. Christie later adapted this story into the long-running play, The Mousetrap. The short story was published in the US in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1948.

The basics: A couple inherits a large house after the war and they are opening a guest house. A blizzard strikes as they welcome their first guests Add in a lunatic and a murder or two and this tale is quite the riveting Christie mystery!!   

At Agatha Christie's request, this story has never been published in the UK as the play The Mousetrap is still running in the West End. My research turned up the fact that there are also no film versions of the The Mousetrap for the same reason. There is a 2024 horror movie called The Mousetrap but it has nothing to do with this story or the play. 

I loved this story! The atmosphere is set very well.  An isolated huge house 2 miles from the nearest village with a blizzard raging outside. People alone with an unknown killer. Perfect set up for a very suspenseful murder mystery! Christie at her best!! 

I have never seen the stage play. This is my first time reading this short story. I enjoyed every minute!  

Adaptations: 

Radio play: The radio play Three Blind Mice was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on May 30th, 1947. Christie wrote the 20-minute script to honor Queen Mary on her 80th birthday, who had requested a Christie story specifically as part of the entertainment. 

Unfortunately the original broadcast of the radio play is lost media (this makes me so sad!!!!!) and the script is not available commercially. The OTR show Suspense has an episode titled Three Blind Mice, but it has nothing to do with this story. 

So, unfortunately I couldn't listen to the audio play or watch the stage version. 

The short story is great though!  And -- can you even imagine being such a popular writer that the freaking QUEEN requests you write a story for her birthday????  Epic!!! 

Strange Jest:  

This Miss Marple short story was first published in the US in 1941 and in the UK in 1944, under the title A Case of Buried Treasure. It's the 5th story in the Tuesday Night Club stories. 

The basics: A rather ridiculous couple believes their late uncle buried their inheritance on the family property. After digging holes all around the estate, they finally call in Miss Marple to help find their money. 

This is such a cute story I was very surprised that it was never worked into an episode of Marple the television series, but it appears it never was used, even as a cute humorous side plot. I really wish Marple had done all of the Miss Marple stories and novels like the Poirot show did. Marple covered all of the novels, added Miss Marple into a few story lines she wasn't actually in, and did a few of the short stories. Some -- like this one -- were missed entirely. It's a pity as this would have been a bit of fun. :) It almost makes me wish they would recast and do the Marple show over again, and this time do every single story. 

The audio book I'm listening to has Joan Hickson narrating.  I love her voice and she was an amazing Miss Marple on screen, but at times I find it a bit difficult to understand her. I'm not sure if it's the accent, her pace, or maybe something physical like ill-fitting dentures? I can get through a short story, but usually turn to narrations by Emilia Fox or other narrators for the novels. I have partial hearing loss, and Hickson's narration (much as I love hearing her!) makes difficult listening for me. 

Adaptations: 

I could only find two adaptations for this story, and both are foreign television episodes. The Estonian series Miss Marple'i lood's 4th episode is based on this short story (Peidetud Varandus), and Japanese anime series Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple had an episode in 2004 (Strange Will).  I was unable to find either episode online, unfortunately. I will keep looking and if I find either episode I will update this review. 

Tape-Measure Murder: 

This story first published in magazines in 1941 (US) and 1942 (UK). It's very short, but a great story! 

The basics: Mr Spenlow is accused of killing his wife, mostly because he seems emotionally unaffected by her death and came into a large sum of money as a result of her demise. Miss Marple investigates the death, with help of friends Colonel Melchett and Inspector Slack. 

The audio book I listened to also had Joan Hickson narrating this story. I love hearing her voice even if she's hard to understand. I always envision her in my mind as she looked in her television role as the elderly sleuth.  

Adaptations: 

Audio play - BBC Radio 4 did an audio play based on this story, first broadcast in 2015, featuring June Whitfield as Miss Marple. The Audio is a bit over 27 minutes long and easily found online. I found it on Youtube. I enjoy the BBC Radio 4 Agatha Christie audio dramas. I've listened to many of the Poirot episodes. This is the first Miss Marple one I have listened to. The play is full-cast with sound effects. Very well done! I'm a big fan of audio drama/OTR, so very much enjoyed the audio! There are some changes made to the story, but the plot is basically intact. The changes seem to have been made to flesh things out a bit and add more time for Miss Marple to sleuth out the killer. I love how the audio play builds up the village gossip aspect of the story. :) Tales really do zing around St. Mary Mead with surprising speed! 

Television: Estonian television series, Miss Marple'i lood, has an episode based on this short story that first broadcast in 1990. And the Japanese Anime show Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple has an episode from 2004 of the same title, Tape-Measure Murder.   I haven't yet been able to find episodes of either series online. If I find these episodes later, I will update my reviews. 

This story is another one never featured on Marple, the long running BBC series. 

The Case of the Perfect Maid: 

This Miss Marple short story was first published in The Strand magazine in the UK in 1942 It was not published in the UK as part of a book until 1978 in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories. In the US, it was first published in 1950 as part of this story collection. 

The basics: A maid is fired on suspicion of theft, but is adamant that she didn't steal anything. A replacement is hired. The new maid appears to be the totally perfect in every way. Miss Marple intervenes and gets to the truth of the matter.  

This is definitely a classic Miss Marple mystery. She does such a good job pretending to be a helpless, slightly absent minded, elderly spinster. But, she's a lot like Columbo in a cardigan. :)  

Adaptations: 

Audio play - BBC Radio 4 adapted this story into an audio play under two different titles, The Case of the

Perfect Carer (2003) and The Perfect Maid (2015). 

The earlier dramatization is only loosely based on Christie's story and doesn't include Miss Marple. The audio play is included in the collection Agatha Christie: 12 Radio Mysteries and runs about 28 minutes. I got my copy of the audio book on Audible. The plot is modernized, changing many facets of the story. In this version, a real estate agent lets a property to two odd older women and chaos ensues. This version keeps the basic feel of the original while updating the bones of the story. I enjoyed it! 

The 2015 audio play follows the original story closely, and was one of 3 audio plays broadcast to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth. June Whitfield plays Miss Marple. It runs just over 27 minutes. This dramatization adds in a few extra characters to flesh out the plot a bit, but sticks to the basic story. I really enjoy these full cast audio dramas. The episodes are well produced including music and background sounds. June Whitfield does a great job playing Miss Marple. The audio really brings this story to life!  It's nice to hear a full-cast version of some of the shorter Marple stories because the long-running Marple television series gravitated more to the novels rather than the short stories. I found this episode on Youtube. 

Television: Estonian television series Miss Marple'i lood has an episode titled Eeskujulik Teenijanna based on this story, first televised in 1990. And, Japanese anime show Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple has an episode from 2004. I wish I could find these shows!! I will keep looking!!! 

I do have one question as I read through these stories. Why did the Marple television series add Miss Marple into stories that didn't include her -- but didn't do episodes on all tales Christie wrote that actually did involve the elderly sleuth??? I don't understand their choices for the television show! I did thoroughly enjoy all 3 actresses that played Jane Marple.....but I don't understand why all of the stories weren't covered. Poirot did this perfectly, even if some of the short stories were blended together or just subplots. 

The Case of the Caretaker:  

This Miss Marple short story first appeared in The Strand Magazine in 1942. It later appeared in this US collection in 1950, and in Miss Marple's Final Cases in the UK in 1978. 

The Basics: Miss Marple comes down with the flu and spends time in bed recovering. Her doctor brings her a case file to ponder over as she seems depressed after her illness. He challenges her to find the truth in the case.   

An earlier unpublished version of this story (The Caretaker's Wife) was published in 2011 as part of Agatha Christie's Murder in the Making: Stories and Secrets from her Archive by John Curran. [An aside: -- I don't have this book. I must have this book!]

This is a short, but very interesting story. Reminds me of a few True Crime cases that I've seen in the news over the years. Unfortunately lots of this type of "bad sort" seem to really exist.  

I didn't find any adaptations of this story.  [Another aside -- Why no adaptations??? All of Poirot was done -- why not Jane Marple???? Harumph!]

The Third Floor Flat: 

This Poirot short story was first published in magazines in the UK and US in 1929. It didn't appear in book form until this story collection came out in 1950. 

The basics: Poirot gets pulled into a murder case when a downstairs neighbor in his building is found dead. 

Adaptations: 

Television: The long-running BBC show Poirot had an episode based on this story [Season 1, episode 5 - 1989].  Like with most of these short mysteries, the television show padded the plot a bit to stretch it to episode length and to add in Hastings. It kept some of the humorous aspects of the short story (even a snoring maid!)  I just love the Poirot theme song from the show! Makes me happy each time I hear it! :) 

 I didn't find any other adaptations of this story. 

I enjoyed the build-up of this story and Poirot's coming to the rescue to help the group of young people that discovered the body. The detective not only used his little grey cells to investigate, but his kindness was also a vital tool to help him get the information he needed to solve the case. 

Great story! 

The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly: (taken from my prior review in 2020 with a few edits)

This early Agatha Christie short story featuring Hercule Poirot was first published in the UK in October 1923 in The Sketch magazine. It was published in the United States in The Blue Book magazine in June 1925.

The Basics: Wealthy parents hire Hercule Poirot to investigate the kidnapping of their son Johnnie. The boy was kidnapped out of a house filled with people and even the police. How was this done? And by who? And....where is Johnnie?? Hercule is on the case!

Adaptations: 

Television: Agatha Christie's Poirot (Season 1, episode 3) adapted this story (of course, as they did them all!) They had to pad the story a bit to lengthen it, but it stays basically true to the original.  And, the French television show, Le Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie adapted this tale in 2016 [Season 2, episode 12, L'etreage enlevement du petit Bruno]. On Kanopy, this episode is listed under Agatha Christie's Criminal Games - Season 2, episode 5. The French show keeps a bit of the plot, but moves the setting to France and removes Poirot as the detective.  The episodes are still very fun to watch - and subtitled in English! If your local library has Kanopy, give the series a try!! 

These stories were used to gain readers for Christie's writing in the months after the publication of her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The first 25 short stories were first published in magazines that featured writings by various authors and started building the reader base for Christie's writing and the character of Poirot. Later the short stories were gathered into collections such as Poirot Investigates.

The Poirot short stories give just a taste of the detective's immense sleuthing skills (and Christie's writing talent, of course) Those little grey cells!! The length of only a few pages doesn't allow for the famous twist endings and reveals like Christie uses in her novels, but still showcase her most famous character. 

I first reviewed this short story back in 2020 as I read my way through Poirot's Early Cases (1974). This is back at the start of my journey to try and read Christie's mystery writings in publication order. I discovered that many of Poirot's short stories were first published in magazines in the 1920's.  I had to backtrack and hunt up stories here and there and piecemeal together a timeline of publication. 

And -- I made a few mistakes. LOL  I reviewed this one -- but not The Third Floor Flat. Maybe I got turned around backwards because Third Floor didn't come out in a story collection until this one in 1950?  Who knows.....but making sure I catch ones I missed as I go along!  Another error in my early endeavors was I missed including the French television show Le Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie in my lists of adaptations. I didn't find episodes of this show until later in the game when I searched Kanopy purely by chance and found many of the episodes available. :) Subtitled in English as well! Woot! 

That's what makes this journey through Agatha Christie's writing so much fun for me. I'm learning as I go along! I research names, places and incidents she mentions in her stories as I meander through....references that were current for her but not so easy to catch and understand now. And it's led me to old radio shows, television shows I never knew existed, and all sorts of interesting side jaunts! It makes this nerdy literature major very very happy in her soul!  

Someday I hope I get to see and read a copy of one of these old magazines that first featured these tales!! I want to know which other writers had stories in them.....I'd love to see the advertisements, the art work, and see the layout!! 

Ok.....I am monologuing ...... on to the next story!! [Did anyone read this far? Not sure my ramblings are interesting to anyone other than myself...lol. Please leave me a comment if you read this entire review :) ]

Four and Twenty Blackbirds: 

Hercule Poirot is the detective in this short story that first appeared in magazine format in 1940 (US) and 1941 (UK). It did not appear in book form until this collection was published in 1950. 

The basics: Poirot investigates the death of a man who strayed from his usual cuisine and daily routine at a restaurant. 

I found this study in behavior very interesting. At times I do enjoy to change my diet or habits up a bit....maybe a bit more spice, a special dish I've never had before, a different restaurant, etc.  But if a person who has been a regular daily customer at a restaurant for 10 years suddenly completely goes off their "usual" choices and schedule, I can see how it would seem very odd, especially if they were ordering things they normally didn't like and not showing up for an extended period.  Agatha Christie did a marvelous job of turning a situation like that into a interesting little mystery! 

Adaptations: 

Television: The long-running television Poirot adapted this story in 1989. [Season 1, episode 4] The episode makes some changes to extend the story into episode length and flesh out the plot a bit, but it sticks relatively close to the original story.  The Japanese anime program, Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple also had an episode in 2005 [episode 34].  

I found no other adaptations of this story.  

The Love Detectives

A lesser known character of Christie's -- Mr. Harley Quin -- gets to shine in this early short story. This tale first published in magazine format in the US and UK in 1926. It did not appear in book format until this collection was published in 1950. 

The basics: A man is found dead. He's been bashed over the head. Mr. Quin is on the case....but he seems intent on protecting the dead man's wife and her lover than solving the case.....or is he? 

I found no adaptations of this story.  

I'm not really a big fan of side characters like Mr. Quin, so this story was just ok for me. Seemed a bit contrived. Or, I might just feel that way because I'm not a fan of this particular character. 

All in all, this is an excellent gathering of short stories by Agatha Christie. I enjoyed reading them all!  On to the next!!

 

REVIEW: The Under Dog and Other Stories

 The Under Dog and Other Stories
Author: Agatha Christie

This collection of Agatha Christie short stories was published in the US in 1951. It was never released in the UK. Most of the stories were previously published in magazines in the US and UK from 1923-1926. So I have read and reviewed all of them previously with the exception of the title story -- The Under Dog. 

These stories were all included in the 1974 Hercule Poirot story collection Poirot's Early Cases, which I reviewed in 2020 when I first started on a journey to read all of Christie's writing. 

Because The Under Dog was not published in a story collection until 1951, I chose to wait to review it until later in my Christie reading journey.  

Most Agatha Christie short story collections like this one mix early stories with ones published later on in Christie's writing career. It makes me do a bit of a dance trying to maintain my quest to read in publication order. 

I'm not going to revisit the stories I have already reviewed. I'm including links below to my prior reviews. 

Stories included in this collection are: 

The Under Dog
The Plymouth Express
The Affair at the Victory Ball
The Market Basing Mystery
The Lemesurier Inheritance
The Cornish Mystery
The King of Clubs
The Submarine Plans
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook

And to round it out -- here is my review of The Under Dog. :) 

 The Under Dog was first published in a US magazine in April 1926, and UK publication came later that same year. Its first appearance in book format came in 1929 when it was included in Two New Crime Stories in the UK. The second story in that book was by another author, E. Phillips Oppenheim (Blackman's Wood). The Under Dog wasn't published in the UK again until the story collection The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrees in 1960. 

I do not own a physical book that includes this story, so turned to my lovely local library and Hoopla for an audio version (HarperCollins, 2012, narrated by Hugh Fraser, 2 hrs).

The basics -- Sir Reuben Astwell is dead. Not a natural death, but he died as a result of being bashed over the head. His rather ill-tempered nephew has been arrested, but Sir Reuben's wife is adamant that the nephew didn't do it. Poirot steps in to find out the truth......  and, of course, does. 

I like these Novella-length stories that are too short to be a novel, but long enough to really let the plot develop. It definitely gives that Christie twistiness time to develop. Family tensions. Servant tensions. Class tensions. Who bumped the old man off? And why? 2 hours is definitely long enough for Christie to build up the tension & then have the ultimate reveal. 

Great story! 

Adaptations: 

Poirot - Season 5, Episode 2. There are a few minor changes to the story including adding in Hastings and Miss Lemon. But, this episode sticks pretty closely to the way it was originally written. Excellent as usual! 

The Underdog is the only story in this collection that is longer. The rest are shorter tales that showcase Poirot, but don't have time to really develop the characters beyond the basics. They set the stage, give details of the grisly deed, and then reveal whodunit. 

Christie really was a master of marketing. Publishing these early stories in magazines built up her name and talents, so that her books sold like hotcakes. 

I wish I could see just one copy of The Strand or any of the other magazines these stories originally appeared in so I could see what other stories were included, the ads, the layout -- all of it!!  

Someday!!   

Moving on! :)  I still have so much Christie left to go!! 

Next up I have Crooked House and Three Blind Mice & Other Stories. 

27 novels (not counting Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly as that was later re-worked into Deadman's Folly) and at least 10 more short story collections to go!! If I'm counting correctly!! 

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: Taken at the Flood

 Taken at the Flood
Author: Agatha Christie

This book was first published in the US under the title There is a Tide in 1948 and later that same year in the UK as Taken at the Flood. 

This is one of the few Agatha Christie novels that I don't have on my bookshelf. I listened to an audio book version (HarperAudio, 2012, narrated by Hugh Fraser, 6 hrs 15 minutes).  

I'm not sure why I don't have a copy of this book. Most likely I never found one/purchased one in my search for all things Christie.. Or, in my many moves through the years, I may have lost it. Who knows. I am very thankful for my local library/Hoopla as I checked out a copy immediately once I realized I didn't own the book. 

On to the story: 

 A wealthy man marries a younger, attractive widow. Unfortunately, only a few weeks later he is killed in an air raid and his wife is set to inherit the estate. Hercule Poirot is brought into the case when the dead man's sister-in-law tells him that the lovely widow's first husband may still be alive. 

Taken at the Flood is definitely the twisty, surprising classic mystery that made Christie famous! I loved every word!  

This was the first time I read this novel. I'm very glad I decided to read all of Christie's mystery writings in publication order. I'm hitting novels and short stores I might never have read if I wasn't meandering my way through them all. And, reading all of Poirot's stories and then watching the corresponding episodes of Poirot the tv series makes me appreciate the talents of David Suchet. He brought Poirot to life!!  

Adaptations: 

 BBC Radio 4: A radio dramatization was released in 2003. It runs 2 hrs and 12 minutes. John Moffat plays Hercule Poirot. Full cast with sound effects. Some aspects of the story are changed or trimmed for time, but the episode is very well done!  

Agatha Christie's Poirot - In 2006, the long-running television show had an episode based on this novel. (Season 10, episode 4). There are some pretty big changes in the story. 

Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie (The Little Murders of Agatha Christie) - Season 1 of this French television show has an episode based on this book called The Ebb and Flow. The plot is similar, but this show significantly alters just about everything else. The setting is moved to France and the investigators are completely different. Still very entertaining!  My library has this show available on Kanopy, so check your local library's digital offerings if you are interested in this show! :)   

I'm moving on to the next book in line -- Crooked House! 

REVIEW: This Inevitable Ruin

 This Inevitable Ruin
Author: Matt Dinniman

Dungeon. Crawler. Carl.  

I have been reading this series since there were only two books available....before the series was picked up by a traditional publishing house.....before there was a deal for a television series.....before almost everyone realized how awesome this story is.....

I am so happy this series is just exploding in popularity. Finally!!  

I just re-read the entire series.....from the moment Carl and Princess Donut entered the dungeon to the fiery end of the Ninth Floor at the end of this 7th book. 

What a ride! 

I am totally loving the increasing complexity of the plots, not to mention the intense battles and amazing strategy outlined in each new book. 

I have officially caught up with Matt and now must wait until May 2026 for the 8th book in this series. I have read and re-read the earlier books each time publication of a new novel approached. 

At this point, I am moving on to other series for a bit and will come back to Carl and Donut when I have my copy of the 8th book in hand and the audio book queued up and ready to go. 

For me, this book (the longest yet) gave closure to some very important story lines, introduced some interesting new characters and subplots, and bid farewell to others. I thought that listening to an audio book that is almost 29 hours long while reading my hardback copy would feel like a long long endeavor. But, now that I've finished this book, I feel like I just started the story and a few moments later heard the iconic "Audible hopes you have enjoyed this program."  I was so engrossed in the plot line that time just zipped right by each time I sat down to read/listen. 

The audio book narration for this series is just amazing. I always read along with Jeff Hays so I don't miss anything. Nothing interrupts my Carl/Donut time! I make a nice latte, sit down with my doggo (a chiweenie -- NOT a Cocker Spaniel) and just enjoy the story. 

Not giving any spoilers for this book. Some events I expected....others caught me completely by surprise. And, if I had to be surprised....so do you!!! 

Enjoy!!

And now the waiting begins.  Is it May yet?? :)  

I am outraged! You know how I feel about waiting, Carl.  :) 

REVIEW: A Skeleton in the Family

 A Skeleton in the Family
Author: Leigh Perry

I started reading this series years ago and life got in the way for a bit. Flash forward about 6 years, I spied this series still sitting on my bookshelves waiting for me to come back. Finally dove in! 

The basics: Georgia Thackery is an adjunct professor. She's just moved back to her parents' house with her daughter to teach at a college while they are away on sabbatical. She's glad to be back on familiar territory and also to see a good friend -- Sid.  Sid is a bit different and she has to keep his existence hidden from almost everyone. He's a skeleton -- a walking, talking skeleton. Georgia and Sid start investigating who Sid was before he became life-challenged....and soon discover a dead body. A killer seemingly wants them to stop investigating Sid's identity! 

This series is so fun to read. Sid is delightful, although he does make bad skeleton puns. I like Georgia as a main character. And, her daughter Madison is a great character as well. 

So glad to be reading this series again.  Moving on to book 2!

 

 

REVIEW: This Inevitable Ruin

 The Eye of the Bedlam Bride 
Author: Matt Dinniman

I ripped my way through the re-read of the first six books in this series like Mongo in a barn full of turkeys. IYKYK. I love the gaming aspects of this series and the humor. Finally!! Something I feel was written for me. I can just enjoy the characters, the concept and the plots.....just be my happy little nerd self. 

My job has been extra during the pandemic and that didn't stop during the rollback of pandemic regulations. It's been incredibly stressful and involved lots of overtime, process changes, constant flex and patience. And this series has helped me get through it all. I never know what Carl and Donut are going to come up against next and it's been my fun, entertaining escape. Plus, it introduced me to a new genre of books....stories formed around the concept of gaming. Fun! I'm not a "Gamer" like some who go to cons, know every rule, and lives that lifestyle of playing with a table full of friends every week.....I'm more gamer-adjacent. i love sci-fi, enjoy playing some D&D when I get a chance, and I can sit at a board game table with a group and hold my own - love every minute! But I just don't get the chance to play much. I love D&D type stories, so Lit-RPG is perfect for me. All of the fun.....none of the stacks of rule books. :) 

Book 6 was the last of my re-reads. That's the point I reached in this series before I had to stop all fun and focus more on my job and self-care to get through the explosion of post-pandemic fixes/changes. I have a row of beautiful hardbacks on my shelf. And I jumped into this book, remembering the glorious fights, gritty character development, and the more complex floor rules. Fun!! 

 This book jumps in just after crawlers caused pandemonium for the game-runners. They changed the narrative a bit at the very end of book 5. Unexpected Game Changes. And, the AI who keeps the whole dungeon running is going a bit mad. Things can turn on a dime, and it's getting trickier and dangerous for Carl, Donut and their band of friends. 

I love the epic fights in this book. There are such interesting characters and monsters, intriguing gaming concepts, and many funny moments along the way. I listened to the audio book version while I read my hardback copy because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I just love Jeff Hays' narration! 

I felt the story was just a bit more hard-hitting in this one. The fights were longer, and more complex. I was actually worried several times! The NPCs, monsters and AI were just a bit more developed in this book, with a peek here and there behind the curtain to the aliens running the game and their complex situations. Very interesting and definitely enjoyable to read!!  

Another great book in this series.  And, with the last page in this book.....I finally reach a book I haven't read yet!! And the knowledge a new book is coming out in 2026!!  Yay!!!! 

My copy of This Inevitable Ruin is on my desk. The audio book is pulled up on my phone.  The 9th floor beckons!!!   I'm going in!