REVIEW: Death by Drowning

 Death by Drowning
Author: Agatha Christie

Death by Drowning is the final story of the Tuesday Night Club. Quite some time has passed since the dinner party where the group last gathered. Miss Marple, Sir Henry Clithering, Dr Lloyd, Actress Jane Helier, Colonel Bantry and Mrs. Bantry have all gone their separate ways after sharing mysterious stories with each other. Miss Marple calls at Sir Henry's house one morning to relate a tale.....a story of a drowning case. Did a poor girl in trouble commit suicide? Or....did someone kill her?

This story is my favorite of the 13 stories featuring the Tuesday Night Club. The story is a bit more involved, and it's a bit more Christie-esque (Village gossip, several suspects, bit of sleuthing to get to the truth, a few red herrings....) than some of the shorter stories. A very nice close to this series of stories featuring Miss Marple. And, it shows that human nature, drama and problems are a bit different in modern society, but still very much the same. When an unmarried girl comes up pregnant, nosy people who ought to mind their own are still pretty quick to take up sides......the man is a pig, the girl is a slut, she's trying to trap a rich man, oh the poor guy who actually loves her being a dunce, etc etc  That story still plays out much the same. And then.....if the poor girl is found dead.....all the usual suspects are still rounded up. Man accused of fathering the child. Man who was in the friend zone but loved her and would have married her, etc etc. Almost 100 years has gone by....but this story is still a familiar one in real life. 

Death by Drowning was first published in 1931 in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine. All 13 of the stories featuring the Tuesday Night Club were gathered into novel form (The 13 Problems) in 1932. The stories (just like the earliest Hercule Poirot tales) were first published in magazines over a year or so. Then Christie added a few segues to tie the stories together a bit more and put them out as a book. Smart move. And the short little mysteries are a great intro to the character of Miss Marple. 

I have been a huge fan of Agatha Christie since I was 9 and read my first Hercule Poirot novel. It was the first "adult'' book I ever read. Took me all summer to read the 5 paperbacks I bought at a garage sale. The stories were so good....but the print was so small that I had to use a bookmark to keep my place. I remember sitting at my mother's breakfast bar with the paperback and the family dictionary (a HUGE very heavy leather bound tome that I wasn't allowed to take down from the shelf. My father had to put it on the table for me. It was very old....and probably outweighed me. lol. Pre-internet memories!) I had to look up some of the words I came across as I read because I was only 9 and probably should have been reading Nancy Drew or somesuch.....but I was determined to read about the lovely Belgian detective with the fancy moustache. :) Memories! Over the years I read many of her novels and wanted to read all of her writing, but our small town had no bookshop. The local library didn't have many of her books. I couldn't even find a complete list of her writing! But now....as an adult with access to book stores whenever I want, all the kids raised but one, the internet at the ready.....I can research and find all of Christie's works and read them just for the simple joy of it! Finally!! I decided to read in publication order and am having the best time! I read a book....a story or two....go down whatever rabbit holes of research I feel like following....  Pure bliss!! The project will take me awhile....2020 is nearly done and I'm just now into the 1930s in the timeline of Christie's mystery writing. But I feel like I've made good progress...before now, I had never read any of Christie's short stories. And I enjoyed a couple of her books that I had never read -- The Big Four and The Blue Train. 

I listened to an audio book version of this story read by Joan Hickson (she played Miss Marple on television from 1984-1992) while reading along in my hardback copy of Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories. I like to read the words while listening to the story....then I get the dialogue in the correct accent, the proper pronunciation of any French/foreign words, names or places, and for me, it's just more fun that way. :) 

I'm going to ferret around on the internet and see if I can find any public domain copies of the magazines that first published Christie's early stories. I would love to see the cover art, advertisements, layout, her stories in their original format and other works from writers who were also included!! I know I would discover new-to-me mystery writers of the same era that showcased their characters in the same way! Always up for a golden age mystery story!

Moving on! The next novel is: The Mysterious Mr. Quin! The book is actually a collection of stories featuring Harley Quin, a detective with a bit of the supernatural about him. Can't wait! I have the audio book queued up on my phone already!