REVIEW: Cat Among the Pigeons

 Cat Among the Pigeons
Author: Agatha Christie

This Hercule Poirot mystery was first published in 1959 in the UK and released in the US in 1960. It first appeared serialized or abridged in magazines in both the US and UK. 

 I had an old paperback on my Christie shelf from 1979 [Pocket Books, 210 pages]. As with most of my other aging paperbacks, the pages were very yellow and the cover had quite a bit of shelf wear. I'm sure I bought this second hand somewhere along the way. 

I listened to an audio book version while reading my paperback [HarperCollins, 2012, 6 hrs 45 minutes, narrated by Hugh Fraser] 

Agatha Christie dedicated this book to an archaeologist and his wife, Larry and Stella Kirwan. More about Larry is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_P._Kirwan  

 The basics:  Just before revolution breaks out in a Middle Eastern country, the prince and his pilot make plans to sneak valuable jewels out of the country and then flee themselves. The pilot hides the jewels in the belongings of his sister and his niece, not knowing he will be killed before he can have anyone retrieve them. The two women have no idea anything is stowed in their belongings. But.....someone else knows. Killings start at the exclusive school the niece attends. First one murder....then another. Soon Hercule Poirot is on the case....can he catch the killer before anyone else at the school dies? 

Poirot does not enter the story until almost 2/3 of the way through. For me, that was ok, as I enjoyed getting to know the investigators, the school staff, an undercover agent and the students before Poirot stepped in and took over. This tale is by no means one of Christie's strongest plots, but I very much enjoyed it!  

I found myself guessing during the first half of the book who the culprit was....and I made a choice. And....once again, I was totally wrong. ha ha.  The world is a safer place because I am NOT a detective. I would never accuse the right suspect! But, then again, real life murders aren't nearly as fancy or bizarre as Agatha Christie plots. I don't believe many people are murdered by nefarious evil doers because jewels are hidden in their belongings. Real life crime is probably much more cut and dry.   

Adaptations:

I only found one adaptation of this book --  Agatha Christie's Poirot had an episode based on this story
[Ssn 11, episode 2]. The plot was changed a bit for time and some characters were removed to adapt this to a television episode.Also, Poirot joins the story from the start. Some of the changes seemed a bit over the top and unnecessary, but I still enjoyed the episode.  

My old paperback is in the recycle bin. On to the next! 

15 novels to go! But......two of them are Tommy & Tuppence stories. I have found I just don't like Tommy & Tuppence. The spy/cozy thriller themed plots just didn't age well, in my opinion. I'm going to give myself permission to skip those two books if I don't feel like reading them.

And 3 others are not Christie's usual sort of detective novels -- they are one-offs: Pale Horse, Passenger to Frankfurt, and Endless Night.  I will give them a try. But, if I am not enjoying the story, I'm going to DNF and move on. 

Life is too short to read books I don't like.....even if Agatha Christie wrote them. I give myself permission to stop reading if it's not a book for me.  

REVIEW: Ordeal by Innocence

 Ordeal by Innocence
Author: Agatha Christie

This novel was first published in serialized form in a UK magazine in the fall of 1958, but the story was abridged. The book published in the UK in November 1958. The story ran in the Chicago Tribune in 36 parts in 1959 as "The Innocent" with the US book publication following later that same year. 

Before I started reading my way through all of Agatha Christie's writing, I really didn't want to read the "one-off" novels - ones that don't include one of her classic characters. But, I have found that these stories can sometimes be some of her strongest. Maybe she was a little more free to develop more complex plots when she didn't have to build the story around an established character like Poirot? While this book is not one of my favorite Christie novels, it is definitely hard-hitting and complex. 

Having said that.....I did not enjoy this book. I found some of the odd family dynamics decidedly uncomfortable and ideas regarding adoption, charity, and nature vs nurture pulled me completely out of the story. Is it a complex, engaging mystery with a lot of suspects? Yes. Is it well-written. Yes. But.....some of the nuances just hit wrong for me. By the end, I no longer cared who did it....I was trying to wrap my head around the background concepts involving the psychology of wealthy women who can't have children adopting kids from very different social backgrounds, the implications of those receiving charity resenting their benefactors, abuse or controlling behaviors towards foster or adopted children.....I just found the whole concept....disturbing. Christie's ending / killer reveal was just as bizarre and disconcerting. I was like.....what? Ewww. And a female character's choice at the end to enter a relationship with someone she barely knew on a whim.....again, I was like....what? Am I the only one who feels like Agatha Christie, at times, has her female characters make incredibly odd, off the cuff, life altering choices? 

My final opinion after reading every word -- this book is complex and deals with a really tough subject that I am sure was a big topic of conversation following World War II. Many children were removed from cities during the war and placed with other families in the countryside. Many children were left without parents because of bombings and war fatalities. Charities to help families and children who lost everything were numerous. I'm sure there were many instances where these placements and adoptions of children didn't go well. And, I'm sure the government agencies responsible for these placements made mistakes and were overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases they had to deal with during and after the war. Problems with the foster and adoption system are still a huge issue today. I work in the social services field, so I think that's why the nuances of this story made it a rough read for me. The discussion of psychology based on 1950s concepts of adoption and nature vs nurture just overwhelmed the mystery for me. I found this story disturbing, rather than intriguing or entertaining.    

This was my first time reading this book. I've had an old paperback on my bookshelves for years that I bought used. [Pocket books, 1985, 254 pages]  The book is an odd silver color, with a huge red dot on the front advertising the 1985 movie starring Donald Sutherland and Christopher Plummer. I really really hate advertisements on the front cover of books. At least it wasn't the dreaded unremovable sticker plonked down in the middle of the cover art, but somehow being added as part of the cover art is just as bad. Yuck. This story was totally new to me. I'm sure I avoided it because no Poirot or Marple.

I read my old paperback while listening to an audio book version [HarperCollins, 2012, 7 hours, narrated by Hugh Fraser].  

The basics: Jacko Argyle died in prison. He was convicted of murdering his adoptive mother. After his death, a man comes forward to give Jacko an alibi. But........if he was innocent, who is the killer?  

Adaptations: 

1985 movie: The movie has some pretty big stars in it, including Donald Sutherland, Christopher Plummer, Faye Dunaway and Ian McShane, but the script was pretty weak. Too many odd changes

in plot, the music doesn't fit with the story, and the ending is just....ridiculous. It was wonderful to see so many faces I recognize from 70's/80's films and television. Great nostalgia. But, they butchered the story. Why? The story is well-written and engaging the way Christie wrote it. Why do script writers insist on making sweeping changes in adaptations that weaken the story? This movie is a perfect example of a missed opportunity. They had a stellar cast, and it was wasted on a bad script with ridiculous changes. They ruined the ending of the story!! Christie's ending is bizarre, but much better than the one in this  movie. Boooo Hissss! 

Graphic Novel: A graphic novel was published in 2006 as Temoin Indesirable in France and later republished in English by Harper Collins in 2008. 

Stage Play: A stage play was performed in New York in 2007 by the New York State Theatre Institute. It ran for 14 performances.  

Television: For some reason, in 2007, the television show Agatha Christie's Marple adapted this story, adding Miss Marple (played by Geraldine McEwan) into the mix.  While I love McEwan as Miss Marple, why did they adapt this story to add in Miss Marple? They didn't make episodes for all of the stories that did include the senior sleuth -- why rework ones that didn't?  They also made other odd changes to the plot. I liked the episode, but just not sure why they chose to create an episode based on this story. 

Television: French TV adapted this story for an episode of Les Petits d'Meurtres d'Agatha Christie in 2009.  This show makes lots of changes to the stories, but is still fun to watch. If your local library offers Kanopy, you can stream these episodes subtitled in English. The changes are enough to warrant calling this an episode "loosely based on" Christie's story, but the show is entertaining. 

Audio drama: BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of this book in 2014.  

Television: A 3-part mini-series based on the book was broadcast by the BBC in 2018. Again, lots of changes were made, but it was very well done. I actually enjoyed watching the mini series more than I did reading/listening to the book.  

This one was a rough read for me. Very masterful writing.....just not really a story for me. 

On to the next!!  

 

REVIEW: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw

What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw
Author: Agatha Christie

In 1957 this novel was published as The 4:50 from Paddington in the UK and What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! in the US. Before being published in novel form, the story was serialized in magazines in the US and UK, also under different titles. My research didn't turn up the title used for the UK serialization, but in the US it published in The Chicago Tribune as "Eyewitness to Death."

The basics: Two trains are running on adjacent tracks. A passenger on one train witnesses what looks like a murder on the other train. Only one person believes her -- Jane Marple. Can Miss Marple catch the criminal with so little evidence to go on? 

My old paperback copy from the 1970s was still in ok shape [Pocket Books, 1975?, 185 pages]. The pages were yellowed, but intact with just some wear/tear on the spine. Even the cover was starting to turn yellow. I loved the dramatic cover art. :) 

I listened to an audio book version while reading my old book for the last time [HarperCollins, 2013, 8 hours 8 minutes, narrated by Emilia Fox]. Emilia Fox once again does a great job of narration. 

I have read this Miss Marple novel before, but it was long enough in the past that I only remembered snippets of the story. 

I liked this story. The ending is a bit odd, leaving the fate of a major character a bit in the air. I researched online to find out what Agatha said about her choices and was completely disappointed in what I found. I can't elaborate more because.....spoilers. Let me just say that she was content with a really great character making an incredibly stupid, life-ruining choice. Why? Yuck.  

Adaptations: 

This novel has been adapted many times in various ways! 

1961 movie: Murder, She Said. This is another Margaret Rutherford movie very loosely based on this

story. I have to be honest and say I have never liked these movies. They take a Miss Marple story and turn it into a comedy that has very little resemblance to the original story. Why? They could have just written a totally original script and had a Miss Marple-like character, rather than butchering an Agatha Christie story.  Yuck. 

Television:  Miss Marple starring Joan Hickson had an episode based on this book in 1987. There are some changes to the story -- especially the ending. I usually am against changes that I know are opposite to what Agatha wrote or said about characters outcomes.....but in this case, her choice for this character was total shit.  This episode fixed the problem.  

Radio: BBC Radio 4 broadcast an audio drama based on this book in 1997. June Whitfield plays Miss Marple.  Whitfield does a great job in each Miss Marple audio drama. The episodes are always full-cast with sound effects. There were some changes mostly to condense the plot to fit into 90 minutes, but it was still a very good audio drama! 

Television: Agatha Christie's Marple had an episode based on this story in 2004. Geraldine McEwan portrays Miss Marple. This episode also made adjustments to the plot, but it was so much fun to watch. They chose a "cute" ending. Usually I prefer the Joan Hickson episodes, but this time Geraldine McEwan came out just a bit on top. I liked the addition of Tom Campbell to the plot, even though he is a character completely made up and added for this television episode. 

THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH ISN'T REALLY A SPOILER BUT MAYBE FRINGES ON BEING ONE -- SKIP IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE PLOT -- I zigged when Agatha zagged with regards to Lucy Eyelesbarrow's life choices. The actual ending left it ambiguous, but Agatha stated later what choice she was going to make and it would have been devastating to the rest of her life, in my opinion. Why marry her off at all....or why have her make a devastating, stupid choice? Maybe Agatha saw a bit of herself in the character? She made a poor choice in marriage and ended up divorced with a lot of life drama (her disappearance and her husband leaving her for another woman). I have seen many smart women make incredibly stupid choices in men. But Lucy was a strong, incredibly intelligent and independent woman. I sincerely think Lucy would have used her head and remained single or she would have made the choice that was best for her happiness and stability, not make a completely stupid mistake. OK RANT OVER. :) 

Television: Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple. Japanese television adapted this story in 2005. There are changes to characters and plot. The show is animated, not live action. 

Television: The Corpse that Lies. Another Japanese television adaptation broadcast in 2006. This made-for-television woman features a female police officer instead of Miss Marple. 

Video game: In 2010, a hidden object game based on this story was released. My guess is it may be no longer available as it was developed for Windows XP/Vista.  

Television: Again, Japanese television adapted this story in 2018 as part of a celebration of Agatha Christie's detective stories. And Miss Marple is again replaced by a female police officer. This adaptation kept the original UK title, 4:50 from Paddington.  

2008 Movie: Le Crime est Notre Affaire. This French movie makes significant changes to characters and plot. It stars a French couple rather than Miss Marple. 

 I didn't find any of the Japanese or French adaptations, but was able to watch both Marple television episodes and listened to the BBC audio drama. 

I enjoyed this story! Miss Marple really shines in this mystery. She came to the defense of her friend when nobody else would believe she saw a murder. 

Finished another one! The old paperback went into the recycle bin. And moving on! 

An aside -- someone asked me me why I am throwing my old paperbacks away. I have had these books on my shelves for years and never got a chance to read most of them. Several years ago I started this reading challenge to finally read the books -- all of Agatha Christie's mystery writings in publication order. These books are all damaged from many moves, kids, life....and just shelf wear. Most of them I bought used. I had nearly all of Agatha's mystery novels and many short story collections. 80 books takes up a lot of shelf space!! With my space for books being limited, it's time to read these books and let them go. Freeing up space for other books!! I will keep my non-fiction books about Agatha's writing and life (I even have two books on the poisons and venoms she used in her stories!)...but I'm throwing away each old paperback as I finish reading. Most of them are falling apart due to age -- time to move on and make space for other books!  

I started out with an entire Agatha Christie shelf double stacked from top to bottom and a few books tucked in nearby as they wouldn't fit. I'm down to one single stack of paperbacks and one short story collection. And, all my non-fiction Agatha related books now fit on the same shelf as the novels!  Progress has been made!! 17 books to go! I should finish this project this year, barring any unforeseen delays!

REVIEW: Dead Man's Folly

 Dead Man's Folly
Author: Agatha Christie 

Dead Man's Folly was published in the UK and US in 1956. Earlier in 1956, the story was also published in serial format in magazines in both the US and UK, but the story was abridged.

One of Poirot's sidekicks returns in this book -- Ariadne Oliver, a mystery novelist that pops up now and again in Poirot stories to "help" him investigate. In fact, this time Ariadne actually requests Poirot come to investigate a situation where she believes "something is wrong."  And.....she's proven correct when a dead body pops up in the middle of a local fete. 

Originally, this story was written as a novella, Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly. Agatha Christie wrote it as a fundraiser for her local church, but it was never published. She ended up writing another  story featuring Miss Marple for the fundraiser. Agatha later expanded the plot and published the Poirot story as Dead Man's Folly. The original novella was finally published in 2014. 

I have read this novel before and remembered it fondly for Ariadne Oliver's antics. I also remembered the setting, premise and a few plot points here and there (like I remembered the murder victim that sets off the whole thing). It was so much fun to re-visit this story and get the whole plot back in my mind!  

My copy of this book is an old paperback I bought used years ago [Harper Paperbacks, 1984, 199 pages]. It was in relatively ok condition, although the pages were very yellowed. I read my old copy while listening to the audio book [HarperCollins, 2012, 6 hours 2 minutes, narrated by David Suchet]. It was so nice to listen to David Suchet reading a Poirot novel! I enjoyed every minute! 

The basics: Poirot's friend, Ariadne Oliver, has created a story for a murder mystery party game. It's part of the festivities for a fete at an estate in Devonshire. Guests get snippets of the plot and then have to wander the estate finding clues. Before the festivities even begin, Ariadne feels there is something wrong and requests Poirot join her to figure out what is causing her misgivings. A murder on the day of the fete confirms her feelings.....and Poirot is on the case!  

I always enjoy stories that involve Ariadne Oliver. She is always so delightfully over the top and Agatha Christie describes her in such fun terms. Plus, it's pretty easy to tell that Agatha was using the character to comment on her experiences as a writer, as Ariadne is a best-selling murder mystery writer. 

While reading this book, I found myself smiling and laughing as the character laments people telling her that a killer in one of her novels should have been someone else or that a story would have been better if it had happened this way or that way. I can just imagine that Agatha suffered through many similar conversations! At one point Ariadne exclaims "All right then, why don't you write it yourself if you want it that way!" :) I kept imagining Agatha Christie writing that bit and wishing she could say that herself sometimes! At one point, Ariadne is asked who could have done the horrible deed.....and she just starts spouting off every possible motive from the mundane to fantastical at break neck speed. I can just see conversation in the entire room pausing and everyone staring as she just spews motive-word-soup at 3x speed. :) Ariadne is by far my favorite recurring character in Poirot stories! I get the impression that she may have been one of Agatha's favorites too -- she got to inject her own voice and some humor here and there. Love it!  

Adaptations:

1986 movie: Peter Ustinov plays Hercule Poirot in this movie. Unfortunately, I couldn't watch this film. Amazon had a banner up that said "Unavailable due to expired rights." No luck on Tubi, Kanopy or Hoopla. I do remember from past views that there were many changes made to the plot, including setting the story in present day. The cast starred some pretty famous faces including Jean Stapleton. I wanted to watch just to see Jean shine (and definitely not for Peter Ustinov's Poirot), but had no luck finding the movie. I will keep an eye out for this film to appear on streaming again. I really want to see Jean Stapleton play Ariadne Oliver!!  

Radio Drama: BBC Radio 4 presented an audio drama of this book in 2007. The plot was adjusted for time and some changes were made, but these audio dramas are quite good! Always full case with sound effects. 

Video Game: I-play released a found-object game based on this story in 2009, as part of a series of video games based on Agatha Christie stories.  

Television: In 2013, the long-running show Poirot had an episode based on this book [Season 13, episode 3] This episode was part of the final season of the show. I enjoyed the episode, despite some changes made to the plot and characters. The actress playing Ariadne Oliver is perfect for the role! 

Graphic Novel: A Swiss publisher released a graphic novel based on this novel in 2022 titled Hercule Poirot: Poirot Joue le jeu.  

And, another old paperback into the recycle bin.....moving on to the next book! 

REVIEW: Hickory Dickory Dock

 Hickory Dickory Dock
Author: Agatha Christie

Once again, this Agatha Christie novel was published in the US and the UK under different titles. It published in the UK as Hickory Dickory Dock and in the US as Hickory Dickory Death. This is the first appearance of Miss Lemon, Hercule Poirot's secretary, in one of the Poirot novels. Previously, Miss Lemon had only appeared in some of the short stories. 

My paperback copy of this book [Pocket Books, 1975, 222 pages] was in terrible shape. The spine was brittle and many pages were falling out. It was in such bad shape that it was unreadable. Every time I tried more pages dropped out. The paper was very brittle as well. So, I took photos and threw the book away. The cover art and bright orange coloring was bizarre. Gotta love those 1970s covers! 

I listened to an audio book version of this novel instead. [Blackstone Publishing, 2010, 6 hrs 3 minutes, narrated by Hugh Fraser] Hugh Fraser always does a magnificent job narrating the Hercule Poirot audio books! Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed his performance! 

The basics: Hercule Poirot notices his secretary, Miss Lemon, is upset and gets drawn into a case involving thefts at a student hostel run by Miss Lemon's sister, Mrs. Hubbard.  It soon turns into something much more serious than petty theft.  

Adaptations: 

Television: The long-running show Agatha Christie's Poirot had an episode based on this book in 1995

(Season 6, episode 2).  Lots of changes are made to the plot and time line. This isn't one of my favorite Poirot episodes. I always enjoy David Suchet as the detective, but this time the changes in the plot ruined the episode for me. 

Television: The French television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie made an episode based on this novel. As usual, pretty drastic changes are made including setting the story in France and replacing Poirot with French detectives. This series is fun to watch, even if it makes some pretty big changes. If your local library has Kanopy, you can watch the entire series there. Enjoy!  

I was a bit surprised that BBC Radio didn't do an audio drama presentation based on this book! I will just have to wait until I've read the next book (Dead Man's Folly) to enjoy one of their audio dramas again. They did 27 audio dramas based on the Hercule Poirot novels, so skipped six of the books. I researched online to find out why they didn't do them all. Best explanation I found was -- funding cuts.

Moving on to the next!!  19 books to go! I'm getting closer!! 

REVIEW: Destination Unknown

 Destination Unknown
Author: Agatha Christie 

I'm going to start my review by being totally honest -- 

I DNF'd (did-not-finish) this book. I've been on this journey through Agatha Christie's writing in publication order since 2020. And, I have found that I just don't like her spy thrillers. For me, the plots just didn't age well at all. 

Once again, I tried to read this. And, I found myself disliking it more and more as I went along. I got about halfway....and just said nope. Done. 

Life is too short to force myself to read something I am not enjoying. Even if it's written by Agatha Christie.  

I'm going to do a shortened review, and move on to the next book.  

This is another of Christie's books that was published under a different title in the US and UK. It was first published in the UK in 1954 as Destination Unknown. US publication as So Many Steps to Death followed in 1955. My paperback copy from 1987 [PocketBooks, 237 pages] used the original title. At one point when I was collecting Agatha Christie paperbacks I had two copies of this book because I didn't realize at the time it was the same book just published under two different titles! :) Ooops!

As usual, before being published in book format, this story was published in serial format in a UK magazine and in several US newspapers. Someday I hope I come across the magazine or newspaper versions of at least one of these novels! I'd love to see the presentation and formatting!  

My old paperback was in pretty bad shape. Yellowed pages, bent up cover that was torn at lower spine. It was time to (try to) read it and then throw it away. While I was reading and listening to the audio book, the pages started to fall out. Definitely time for it to go to that book recycling bin in the sky. :) 

I checked out the audio book on Hoopla [HarperCollins, 2012, 6 hrs 43 minutes, narrated by Emilia Fox]. I have listened to several books narrated by Emilia Fox, and she always gives a very good performance. I got about half way through and stopped reading/listening. It was not because of her narration. I just wasn't enjoying the story. 

I found no adaptations for audio or film of this book.  

As stated earlier, I lasted through half of this book and abandoned it. I didn't like the main character and the plot was just too outdated, in my opinion. I'm glad to see that others have enjoyed this story. It was just not for me. 

Moving on!  

REVIEW: A Pocket Full of Rye

A Pocket Full of Rye
Author: Agatha Christie 

Miss Marple shines in this Agatha Christie Mystery! 

This story was first published in a very condensed version in the UK's Daily Express in 1953. In the US, it ran in the Chicago Tribune in serialized format in early 1954. The book was first published in the UK in 1953, and US publication followed in 1954. 

The title comes from the well-known nursery rhyme, Sing a Song of Sixpence. I had to look up the words to the old rhyme. I hadn't heard it since we used to recite it while jumping rope on the playground when I was in grade school. As usual with nursery rhymes, it's pretty dark and gruesome. I don't think as kids we ever really thought about the meaning of the actual words. It just had a sing-song cadence that was perfect for timing jumping rope. Amazing how awful some of those old playground rhymes are as I look back as an adult. I researched a few and found that most refer back to really terrible historic events. I wonder why they got turned into children's rhymes? Odd choice! 

Sing a song of sixpence,

A pocket full of rye,

Four and twenty blackbirds

Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened

The birds began to sing—

Wasn't that a dainty dish

To set before the king?

The king was in the counting-house

Counting out his money,

The queen was in the parlor

Eating bread and honey,

The maid was in the garden

Hanging out the clothes.

Along came a blackbird

And snipped off her nose.

I had an old paperback copy of this book on my shelves [Pocket Books, 1985, 239 pages]. The cover is bright purple...so definitely eye-catching!

As usual, I read from my paperback copy while listening to an audio book version [HarperCollins, 2013, 6 hrs 50 minutes, narrated by Richard E. Grant]. Grant did a great job of narration. At first it felt odd to have a man narrating a Miss Marple story, but as I got further into the story it made sense. First book I've listened to narrated by Richard Grant. Nice voice. He read at an even pace and did a good job of voice acting.  

The basics: A businessman is poisoned. Then two other deaths follow. The killer's biggest mistake? Killing a girl that Jane Marple cared about. Miss Marple shows up on site, angry at a disrespect shown to the dead girl, and is on the case to bring the killer to justice. 

Adaptations: 

1985 movie: A Russian movie, The Secret of the Blackbirds, is based on this book. 

Television: Miss Marple, featuring Joan Hickson as the elderly sleuth, adapted this story into an episode in 1985. Some characters were removed, and the ending was changed. I did not like the change to the ending. The end was perfect as Agatha Christie wrote it. Loved Joan Hickson as Miss Marple as usual, but found the changes to be unnecessary. 

Television: Agatha Christie's Marple, with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple, made an episode in 2009. [Season 4, ep 1] The episode added in some sexual content that I felt unnecessary, but stuck to the original ending. I found the original ending much more profound. I'm glad they stuck with it! 

Radio play: BBC Radio 4 presented an audio drama in 1995. The audio runs 1 hr 28 minutes. June Whitfield voices Miss Marple. I love these full-cast audio dramas! June Whitfield does such a great job portraying Miss Marple. Very enjoyable listen. 

I enjoyed this story. The plot seemed a bit far-fetched in places, but it definitely kept my attention from start to finish. Not one of my favorites, but I always enjoy Miss Marple!  

My old paperback has gone into the recycle bin. Moving on to the next!!  

 

REVIEW: After the Funeral

 After the Funeral
Author: Agatha Christie. 

This is another Christie mystery published underneath different titles. The book was first published in the US in 1953 as Funerals are Fatal. The first UK publishing as After the Funeral was also in 1953. 

My paperback copy is very very old and in terrible shape (Pocket Books, 1969, 224 pages). I remember getting it at a used book shop at some point (and it was in bad condition at that time already) and it has been on my bookshelves for years. I remember laughing that I was paying more for the book at a used bookstore than it cost when it was purchased new (50 cents is on the front cover). I'm sure the only reason I bought the poor thing was because it was one of Christie's novels I didn't have. I have considered throwing it away many many times. I'm glad I didn't. 

The front cover is incredibly ugly. It's just not an attractive book at all. It's also wider and shorter than the other more standard size Agatha Christie paperbacks I have on my shelves. I like all my paperbacks to be the same size so my shelves look nice, and this one just messed up the whole look. :) The odd, dark mystery liquid stain on it didn't help the matter one bit! This book obviously had a hard existence! I read it this one time, and then put it in the recycling. [Now -- finally! -- all my paperbacks are the same size!]

Now on to the story! 

The Basics: Richard Abernethie has died. Following his funeral, the family and Richard's lawyer gather at the house for the reading of the will. When a family member speaks up, saying she thinks he was murdered, nobody really pays attention -- until she gets murdered in her bed. Hacked to death with an axe. And, that violent incident is just the first. More strange happenings follow. Can Hercule Poirot discover the killer's identity before more people are hurt?  

Adaptations: 

1963 Movie: This film (Murder at the Gallop) is only loosely based on this novel. There are significant changes made to the plot. Poirot is replaced with Miss Marple -- played by Margaret Rutherford. The changes get more bizarre from there. All of these Margaret Rutherford movies are basically comedies, and

much as I really enjoy Margaret Rutherford's comedic timing, I don't like these Agatha Christie adaptations. There were 4 of them -- and when I think of them as Christie adaptations, they are just terrible. But, if I can ignore the knowledge of the original stories these were sort of based on, I can enjoy them as light hearted comedies rather than Christie adaptations.  I have seen all 4 of these movies in the past, but didn't rewatch them. It costs $3.99 - $10 each to buy streaming copies, as no streaming service has them included in their free package. And, I'm just not going to pay for movies that I really didn't like all that much. 

Radio play: BBC Radio 4 broadcast an audio drama based on this novel in 1999. John Moffat starred as Poirot. I really enjoy these full-cast audio dramas of Christie's books! They even have music and sound effects. Always very well done!  

Television:  The long-running show Poirot adapted this novel in 2005. [Season 10, ep 3]. There are some minor changes in plot but the basic story holds pretty closely to the novel. There were some odd sexual angles added in this episode that I didn't think were necessary, but I still enjoyed watching. 

Just as an ode to my very hideous copy of this book that has now progressed on to it's eternal slumber....  The paperback was ugly and in really very bad condition. Yellowed tape held many of the pages together, and the front cover and spine of the book were taped. But -- it was 57 years old. That's pretty old for a paperback book, so understandable that it was in poor condition. When I read an old book, I always find myself wondering how many people owned and read the book before I did. How did it get the odd, dark stain on the lower left? Lots of history and quiet hours spent reading. I hope everyone who read the book enjoyed the story. And,with the passing of its usefulness, the paper and ink return to the universe to become something else. Fitting end for a classic murder mystery, I think.  

Moving on!  

 

REVIEW: Murder With Mirrors

 Murder With Mirrors
Author: Agatha Christie

This book was first published in the US in 1952. UK publication followed later that same year under Christie's original title -- They Do It With Mirrors. 

Miss Marple is the detective in this novel. Yay! I enjoy Hercule Poirot, but I get ridiculously happy when I reach a Miss Marple book on my journey through all of Christie's mystery writings. I think I love Miss Marple for the same reason I enjoyed the television detective, Columbo. She pretends to be a simple, frail elderly woman, while she is actually taking stock of every person in the room. 

The basics: Miss Marple visits with an old friend after another friend  confides in her that something might be wrong. After a murder occurs, Miss Marple realizes their mutual friend was totally correct.  

I have an old paperback copy of this book published by Pocket Books. The pages are very yellowed and the covers are brittle. 

I read my paperback copy while listening to the audio book

[HarperCollins, 2013, 6 hrs 35 minutes, narrated by Emilia Fox] Hoopla had a version narrated by Joan Hickson, but I have such problems understanding her that I just went with the Emilia Fox version. Emilia did a great job of narrating, but her version of an American accent for one character is....bad. Not a good attempt. :)  

Adaptations:

1964 movie: Murder, Ahoy! is loosely based on this book...sort of. Perhaps. Not Really. A bit? The film starred Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. The plot also refers to Christie's famous play, The Mousetrap. As other early movies with Rutherford, the plot is so altered that it really doesn't follow the original story at all. I'm including it just because it sort of incorporates this story. The changes to the setting and plot were just.....odd. Yuck. Margaret Rutherford is superb, but the script was garbage. Ridiculous changes!! But I guess that's why they titled it Murder, Ahoy! and not They Do It With Mirrors/Murder With Mirrors. This is available to rent/buy online, but I decided against it. I don't want to pay $3.99 - $10 for a movie that doesn't really follow the plot as Agatha wrote it. 

1985 movie: Murder With Mirrors. This film actually follows the original plot, and has some pretty famous actors in it including Sir John Mills, Bette Davis and Helen Hayes. These 1980's Agatha Christie adaptations were so over the top! Star studded extravaganzas with bad casting and odd story changes.....but I remember watching (and loving!) them all (except the ones with Peter Ustinov as Poirot -- total miscast) In this movie, Bette Davis looked very frail and ill, but I enjoyed her performance. Helen Hayes was wonderful as Miss Marple.  I found this movie on Youtube. 

Television: Miss Marple. Joan Hickson stars as Miss Marple in this television adaption in 1991. There are a few minor changes made, but it stick pretty closely to the original. I watched this episode on Britbox. 

Television: Agatha Christie's Marple. Julia McKenzie portrays Miss Marple. This episode first aired in

2010. There are more major changes made for this adaptation, and I'm not quite sure why. The original story was perfect, and the changes they made messed up the plot, in my opinion. McKenzie is fantastic as Miss Marple as usual....but I wish they would have stuck to the script. Yuck! This entire series is available on Britbox. 

Television: French television show Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie adapted this story in 2013. The episode is titled "Game of Mirrors."  This show always greatly alters the setting and plot, moving the story to France and incorporating French investigators. The show is fun to watch! If your local library has Kanopy, you can find most of the episodes there. The episodes are subtitled in English. 

Back to the book...... 

 There was an ad in the back of my old paperback, offering Hercule Poirot paperbacks for $2.95 each. Ahhhh, the good old days! But, back then, I remember thinking $2.95 for a book was expensive. Back then I was probably thinking "I remember when books were 75 and 99 cents!!" It just seems cheap looking back decades and seeing that price, when a paperback costs $10 or more now! 

 This is a great Miss Marple mystery! I have read this book before, but it was far enough in the past that I didn't remember the killer's identity. I enjoyed the book and watching the adaptations! 

An important aside: I am finding some problematic racist undertones and unacceptable language as I read my way through Agatha Christie's writing. Her characters often voice classist and racist opinions -- servants are lazy, certain races are this or that, and use of words that are in modern times completely offensive (and should ALWAYS have been offensive, in my opinion, even if people got away with it) The use of the n-word, for example. Agatha Christie even used the term in one of her original book titles. I am not going to fall into the pit of "product of their time" excuses because that is bullshit -- that word and racist opinions were NEVER ok, even if people got by with it at the time. This book made me cringe multiple times. People being referred to as pansies or sissies and the n-word popping out again....

 I am glad that the audio book I listened to left these sentences out entirely. And, I'm usually not in favor of editing classic books, but removing these words from the printed books wouldn't bother me one bit. No place for this sort of nonsense -- and it wasn't ok in the past either. 

I'm going to continue reading, but the further I get into Christie's writing, the more disappointed I am becoming in some of the language and themes. These nuances in her books did not age well. And, I'm bothered that this was considered ok, and hopeful that newer editions of these books have removed things like this.  

Old paperback sent to the recycle bin and ...... on to the next!!  

 

REVIEW: Mrs. McGinty's Dead

 Mrs. McGinty's Dead
Author: Agatha Christie

This is another Agatha Christie novel that I don't have on my bookshelves. I remember owning a copy in the past.....but somewhere over the years, the book must have zagged when I zigged. It is nowhere to be found!  

Mrs. McGinty's Dead first appeared in serialized format in The Chicago Tribune's Sunday editions from October to December 1951. It was first published as a novel in 1952 in both the US and UK.  

A recurring character comes back in this story - Ariadne Oliver. She first appeared in Cards on the Table in 1936. She appears in several of Christie's short stories and novels. Ariadne is a crime fiction writer and occasionally assists Hercule Poirot with cases. She appears in one novel without Poirot (The Pale Horse), but is only a minor character. 

Because I don't own a copy of this book, I turned to Hoopla (big thanks to my local library again!), and checked out an audio book version.[HarperCollins, 2012, 6 hrs 15 minutes, narrated by Hugh Fraser].  

When this book popped up as next in order for my ongoing Agatha Christie reading challenge, I wasn't sure if I had read this story before. I owned many Agatha Christie novels for decades (nearly all of them!), but never actually read most of them. I remember owning a copy of this book with the 1980s style cover art, but never noticed until now that it was gone from my collection. As I listened to the audio book, I realized that I had read this book before, but luckily, I only remembered snippets here and there of the plot. I didn't remember the killer's identity.  

The Basics: Poirot hears of a murder case and subsequent trial and conviction of the main suspect. He's not very interested in the crime because he finds it a boring case -- just a matter of everyday violence. Then, an old acquaintance comes to see him, stating that he doesn't believe the convicted man is guilty. At that point, Poirot is on the case! 

Agatha Christie drew portions of the plot from a real case involving Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen. Crippen murdered his wife and took off with his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, in 1910. The character Eva Kane is pretty obviously based on Ethel, although loosely. If you are interested in historical murder cases, I highly recommend researching Dr. Crippen.  His capture on a ship was quite the adventure. It involved the ship captain alerting police by radio that Crippen and his mistress were on board. How do police apprehend a suspect who has already escaped on board a ship bound for Canada?? Board a faster ship, of course!! Christie obviously drew from the case for this book, but changed nearly all the elements of the actual murder/investigation. I'm sure many mystery/crime writers of the time used the sensational case as a basis for novels in the decades following Crippen's trial and execution. Christie found a way to use snippets of the famous case without it being just another story mirroring Crippen's crime.

Ariadne Oliver adds some fun to this mystery. Some of her dialogue seemed to be Agatha Christie commenting on her own writing, characters and theater adaptations of her stories. 

For me, the plot of this book was just okay. Nothing spectacular. I'm glad Ariadne was in this one, otherwise I'm not so sure I would have really enjoyed this book as much as I did. Poirot complained a lot throughout the course of this story. Mostly about food. He seemed more finicky and fastidious than usual. And some of the side characters (especially one that couldn't cook proper meals and kept a messy house) seemed created just to push the detective's buttons. 

I found it interesting that the title of the book refers to a old children's game. One child played the leader, yelling out "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" then all the other children lined up would answer "How did she die?" And the leader would describe the demise of poor dead Mrs.McGinty "Down on One Knee, just like I" or "Holding her hand out, just like I" and all of the children one by one would assume the pose. The required poses become more and more silly until the final lines "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" "How did she die?" and the leader yells "LIKE THIS!!!!" and the first player in the line pushes the next child and they all fall down on the ground. Ahhh morbid children's playground games! There's nothing better! :) The lines of the game were repeated over and over during the story.  Perfect game to use as the theme for a murder mystery!  Christie used every part of the game to her advantage while working up her plot! 

Adaptations: 

Movie: In 1964, a movie version based on this novel was released. But, there are major changes to the story. Poirot is replaced by Miss Marple (Played by Margaret Rutherford). There are many plot changes, so I think the best way to put it is that the movie is only very loosely based on this book. But, it has enough similarities to count as an adaptation. I understand why they substituted Miss Marple for Poirot. The village setting for this story seems more like a Marple plot than Hercule Poirot. I have to be honest and say that I don't like the Margaret Rutherford versions of Miss Marple. They were made as comedies, don't follow the plots of the stories at all, and I really don't understand why they were made as Miss Marple movies. If they were going to go so off-script, they could have called the main character anything and just made a parody of a similar character rather than calling whatever-that-was Miss Marple. Hats off to Margaret Rutherford. She was an excellent comedic actress.....but they shouldn't have butchered a classic character like Miss Marple in that way. Just my honest opinion. 

Radio Drama: BBC Radio 4 adapted this story into an audio play in 2006.  John Moffat stars as Poirot. The episode runs about 2 hrs 22 minutes. I love these full-cast audio dramas! They even have music and sound effects! I highly recommend them!! BBC Radio 4 adapted many of Christie's novels. 

Poirot television series: The long-running television series starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot adapted this novel into an episode in 2008 [Season 11, Episode 1]  Some characters are left out and there are some rather major plot changes. But, I enjoyed the episode! I loved how David Suchet really played up Poirot's disgust at bad food and poor housekeeping. :) It made the episode fun to watch. 

French Television: Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie had an episode based on this story in 2015. This show always makes some pretty large changes to Christie's stories, including relocating to France and having French investigators. But, the episodes are very enjoyable to watch. If your local library has Kanopy, you can watch this show with English subtitles. 

 

I wish they still did serialized releases or magazine publication like they did with so many of Christie's novels, novellas and short stories (including this one).  I think the last serialized story I read was The Green Mile by Stephen King. I loved buying those tiny paperbacks each time a new one came out. I'd love to see the presentation and lay out of this story's first publication in The Chicago Tribune. I would have read each week without fail! I can just imagine people sitting at their tables over the newspaper and trying to guess what the ending would be. I hope they were all better guessers than I am. I'm usually wrong! This is why I work in social services and not as a detective!! 

 On to the next!! 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: A Murder is Announced

A Murder is Announced
Author: Agatha Christie

A Murder is Announced was first published in serial format in 1950 in both the UK and US. The book was also first released in 1950.

Miss Marple shines in this classic mystery story. I read this novel before years ago. Luckily, enough time had passed that I didn't remember the killer's identity. 

The Basics: The Village of Chipping Cleghorn is all aflutter with excitement. An advertisement in the personal section of the newspaper announces that a murder will occur on October 29th at 6:30 pm. A crowd gathers at the announced time and place out of curiosity. And just as 6:30 comes along....the lights go out....three gunshots ring out....and the murder has happened as promised. Miss Marple is on the case!  

In my Christie book collection was a very old paperback copy of this novel [Pocket Books, 1972, 197 pages]. It had the most strange cover art. Totally bizarre and more than a little creepy! I just had to take photos of the front and back cover to include with my review. Yikes! So dark and weird! But, it is a murder mystery. What was I expecting - cute puppies? :)  

As I read my old paperback, I listened to an audio book version (thank you to my local library and Hoopla!) I actually checked out two audio versions of this book -- one narrated by Joan Hickson (HarperCollins, 2012, 7 hrs 45 minutes) and one narrated by Emilia Fox (HarperCollins, 2013, 8 hrs 56 minutes).  I love hearing Joan Hickson's voice as I loved her as Miss Marple in the television series, but she is hard for me to understand and she reads at a very fast pace. Her voice at times seems like she was having speech problems or had badly fitting dentures. With my hearing loss, she is just too difficult to understand. So, I listened to part of the book as read by Joan.....and then switched over to Emilia Fox.  

Delicious Death - Multiple times in the story characters talk about the Cook Mitzi's most decadent and wonderful cake. They call it "Delicious Death"   And yes -- I found a recipe developed by English Actress Jane Asher to celebrate Agatha Christie's 125th birthday. https://www.deliciousdeath.com/ddcake.html It looks delicious!! 

Adaptations: 

This book is one of Miss Marple's most famous cases. So it's been adapted numerous times.  

Early Television: Goodyear Television Playhouse broadcast this story for television in 1956. Gracie Fields played Miss Marple. I couldn't locate this episode online, unfortunately! I will keep looking. If I come

across the video, I will update this review.  

Stage Play: This novel was adapted into a play in 1977. 

Miss Marple: This long-running television show starring Joan Hickson adapted this novel in 1985. It was originally broadcast in 3 parts. I watched on BritBox (one of my fav streaming services!) There were a couple minor changes, but otherwise it followed the novel quite closely. I absolutely loved watching Joan in this episode. She is so marvelous as Miss Marple!! 

Agatha Christie's Marple:  Geraldine McEwan played the famous elderly detective in this television show. This book was adapted for the show in 2005 [Season 1, episode 4]. I watched this episode on BritBox. There are several odd changes to the story. It was still an enjoyable watch, but I think the Miss Marple version with Joan Hickson is better. 

Audio drama: BBC Radio 4 broadcast this story in 1999. Some minor characters were removed, but it keeps closely to the original story. All of the BBC adaptations of Christie's books/stories I've listened to have been wonderful! They are all full-cast with music and sound effects. There are always some changes to the stories, but very enjoyable!

Japanese Television: A Japanese made-for-television movie called A Notice of Murder was first broadcast in 2007. Miss Marple was played by Keiko Kishi. 

French Television: Les Petits Muertes d'Agatha Christie has an episode based on this novel [Season 2, episode 11]. The show always makes lots of changes including setting the stories in France and replacing the detectives with French investigators. The show is entertaining all the same!  If your local library offers Kanopy, the show is available there and the episodes are subtitled in English. 

South Korean Television: In 2018, Miseu MaBoksooui Yeoshin presented 4 episodes based on this novel. 

And, Japanese television adapted this book again in 2019. The made-for-television movie was titled Yokoku Satsujin and starred Sawamura Ikki as the lead investigator. 

I couldn't find any of the non-English adaptations, except for the French television episode. 

This is one of my favorite Miss Marple mysteries. 

When I finished reading my old, worn-out paperback, I put it in the recycle bin. 

I've been carting all of these paperbacks everywhere I've lived for many, many years. It's time to let them rest.....and have some open bookshelf space for new books. I am very thankful to the years of enjoyment these books and stories have given me. But, shelf space is at a premium, and I don't want to keep an entire bookshelf of falling-apart paperbacks anymore. Agatha Christie wrote many books, and I had almost all of them at one time. This labor of love -- reading through all of Christie's mysteries -- is not just so I can finally enjoy all of her stories, but also a bit of pragmatic downsizing. 

So if you saw a similar ad in a newspaper or online -- A murder is announced....such and such a place and time -- would you go out of curiosity?  I think I would stay home! :) 

Moving on!!  

 

 

 

REVIEW: Crooked House

 Crooked House
Author: Agatha Christie

Crooked House first published in a shortened version in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1948. It first appeared as a book in both the UK and US in 1949.

Until now, I never read this particular Christie novel before. I've had an old, used paperback copy for years, but never actually read it.  I always gravitated more towards her most famous detectives -- Poirot and Miss Marple -- and tended to skip the lesser known characters like Tommy & Tuppence or books that were one-offs without an established main character sleuth. 

Now that I'm reading through all of Christie's mystery writings in publication order, I'm not skipping anything! Along the way I have found a couple of the books I didn't really like, and I did mark one DNF (did-not-finish) part way through (Death Comes as the End) as I didn't like the ancient Egypt setting/plot/story line. I went back later and finished the audio book, but I didn't like the story at all.  But.....given the number of books and stories Agatha Christie wrote, I was bound to find a few that weren't for me. And, I'm giving myself permission to stop reading if I'm not enjoying the story, even when the author is Agatha Christie. That wasn't a problem with Crooked House. I loved this story!

My copy of this book was an old paperback [Pocket Books, 1984, 223 pages] with slightly weird cover art and an odd silver color. I couldn't even find this exact matching edition on Goodreads! I read along in my book while listening to the audio book [HarperCollins, 2012, 5 hrs 45 minutes, narrated by Hugh Fraser]. 

The basics: Charles Hayward returns from WWII and goes to see his fiance, Sophia Leonides. They haven't seen each other for a long time, but have kept in touch through letters. He arrives in England only to discover that Sophia's grandfather has just died. And, she confides in Charles that she thinks someone killed him. Turns out...she's right. Who killed the old man by replacing his insulin with eye drops?  

Adaptations: 

Radio Play: In 2008, BBC Radio 4 adapted this story. It broadcast in 4 episodes. The entire production runs 1 hr, 46 minutes. There are some minor changes and one minor character is removed from the story, but the play sticks pretty closely to the original book. I enjoyed this full-cast presentation! 

Movie: In 2017, a film version starring Glenn Close was released. I knew I was going to be reading all of Christie's mysteries in publication order, so waited until now to watch this film! I finished reading the book first, of course. The minute I finished reading, I immediately started the movie!! I waited years!!! It made excellent watching for a relaxed Friday night! The casting for this movie was perfect. I thought Josephine looked a bit young. She's 12 in the book, but appeared much younger in the movie. Glenn Close was soooo good in her part! This movie was worth the wait. There were some changes here and there, but it worked. :)  Loved it! 

I found no other adaptations of this book. 

The reveal at the end of this book caught me by surprise. I had guessed at the identity of the killer, but was totally wrong! And the surprises didn't stop there. When the audio book ended, I envisioned Agatha Christie sitting at her desk putting the final spin on her story......and smiling. Perfect ending!! 

As I read my way through all of Christie's mysteries, I'm finding I am actually enjoying her stories that don't include any of her most famous characters. The one-offs are actually really good! I'm sad that I let these books languish on my shelf for way too long just because Poirot or Miss Marple wasn't in them! 

I really liked this story! Agatha Christie really excelled at writing stories about wealthy families that are experts at hiding really toxic relationships, bad money and business decisions, misplaced loyalties, and warped behavior. Great book!  I'm glad I finally read it!!

And.....when I closed my old, tattered paperback for the last time.....it went straight to the recycle bin.  

After getting more than halfway through my Christie reading challenge, I noticed today that my Christie bookshelf has gone from completely full and fully double-stacked with some books on another shelf because there just wasn't enough room....to two single stacks of paperbacks and a two hardback short story collections. The shelf now has enough room for me to include all of my non-fiction Christie related books as well, and several of the Detection Club books. I have made progress!!

I sorted all the books I have left and found there are only two that I am missing. I don't have a copy of Mrs. McGinty's Dead or The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side. All the rest --  on my shelf! So reading should be smooth sailing going forward. 26 books to go!!  

Moving on!   

REVIEW: They Came to Baghdad

They Came to Baghdad
Author: Agatha Christie

I'm going to start this short review with a very honest statement. 

I do not enjoy Agatha Christie's spy adventure stories. 

For me, these spy/war intrigue stories didn't stand up to time like her detective novels. Christie is my favorite author. And she wrote a lot of books. So, I'm not going to feel too badly about not enjoying a couple of them. 

When she wrote these spy/murder/war intrigue stories, WWII was recent history. So, I totally understand why she wrote this book and other stories about the war. But, I'm finding that I just prefer her regular detective novels.....and not her spy/war plots.  

I tried to read this book. But, I found I was just hating the experience.

I gave myself permission to DNF this and move on. Life is too short to read books you don't like....no matter who wrote them. There's only one other book by Christie that I have DNF'd on this journey through her mysteries -- Death Comes as the End. I couldn't make it all the way through that one either. It was set in ancient Egypt, and just wasn't for me. 2 out of many isn't that bad a track record in my opinion. :) 

I will do a condensed review.

This book was first published in the US and UK in 1951. 

The basics: A summit meeting of world leaders is scheduled in Baghdad. The meeting was supposed to be secret, but information leaked out. A Communist group is plotting to cause trouble. A young girl comes across a dying British agent who struggles to say just a few words before he dies. The girl jumps into investigating the death. 

Adaptations:

Television: Westinghouse Studio One broadcast an adaptation of this story on American TV in 1952. I did not find this episode online.  

Well.....I tried. 

I did not like this story and found it unreadable. Then I tried an audio book (HarperCollins, 2012, 7 hrs 45 minutes, narrated by Emilia Fox). Nope....didn't help.  Emilia Fox's narration was great. I just wasn't enjoying the story. 

So.......old paperback sent to the recycle bin.....and I'm moving on to the next book!  

REVIEW: Double Sin and Other Stories

Double Sin & Other Stories
Author: Agatha Christie

I've been on a journey through all of Agatha Christie's mysteries in publication order since 2019. It's been a very meandering and slow trip so far. I've been taking my time and enjoying each story and book. I've been wanting to read all of these tales since I was 9 years old and read my first Hercule Poirot mystery, so enjoying myself as much as possible now that I can actually accomplish this dream! 

The hardest part of attempting to read her writing in publication order has been the short stories. She started marketing stories to magazines in the 1920's and over time re-wrote some of them, publishing the new version under a different title. Others were re-published multiple times. Some were published in the UK and US, and some were just released in one or the other. It takes me a bit of extra time to sort out the short story collections, but for this bibliophile it makes the journey through her writing so much fun! A bit of amateur sleuthing, eh? :) 

This short story collection features 8 stories. Double Sin and Other Stories was published only in the US, but the stories in it were published in the UK in other collections. This book released in 1961 by Dodd, Mead and Company.

At one time, I owned a copy of this book.....but somewhere over the years, it disappeared. Not surprised! I've been collecting these books since I was 9 years old and there are multiple moves and life changes in all those decades! 

The cover art I remember having for this book is similar to the 1980s cover I had for Three Blind Mice & Other Stories. The silhouette front cover art mixing Poirot's and Marple's images is just awesome!  

I'm reviewing this book slightly out of publication order because the stories it contains were first published before 1961. :) Sort of a cheat -- but I'm ok with it. :)  I like the short stories, but I really want to get past these story collections where I've already read most of the stories already, so I can focus on the novels. 

Stories in this collection:

Double Sin
Wasp's Nest
The Theft of the Royal Ruby (AKA The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding)
The Dressmaker's Doll
Greenshaw's Folly
The Double Clue
The Last Seance
Sanctuary 

Most of the stories in this collection I have read and reviewed earlier in my Agatha Christie reading journey.  Only two were new to me -- The Dressmaker's Doll and Sanctuary. I'm keeping to my rule that if a collection has at least one story I haven't read yet, I have to review it.  :)  

Double Sin: 

This Poirot short story was first published in a UK magazine in 1928, and in the US in 1929. It did not appear in book format until this US collection in 1961. It wasn't included in a book in the UK until Poirot's Early Cases in 1974.

The Basics: Poirot takes a bus trip to relax, but gets pulled into investigating a theft. 

Adaptations:

The television show Poirot adapted this story in 1990 [Season 2, episode 6]. The episode keeps the basic bones of the story, but changes and pads the setting and plot to stretch it to episode length. A very enjoyable episode!  Watching these episodes as I read the stories is so enjoyable. So interesting to see how they changed each one just a little bit to re-make the tales for television. 

I had to smile while I read this story. Can Poirot ever take a trip or vacation without being pulled into a mystery of some sort?  

Wasp's Nest:

This story was first published in the UK in 1928 and US publication followed in 1929. It didn't appear in book format until this collection in 1961 and later, Poirot's Early Cases in 1974. 

The basics: Poirot visits a friend who states he is investigating a murder.....that hasn't happened yet. 

Adaptations: 

Agatha Christie adapted this story for television in 1937. Unfortunately the actual broadcast is lost media, and was only broadcast to the London area. This is the first instance of Agatha Christie's work being shown on television - and the script was written by the author herself.  I wish this wasn't lost media!!! But -- on a positive note -- the script is available still and can be performed as a stage play. I was unable to find a copy of the script to read, but did find out that this story can be licensed along with several other adaptations of Christie short stories for theater groups to perform.  

The television series Poirot adapted this story (they did them all!) in 1991 [Season 3, episode 5]. The original story is written as a sort of flash-back. The television show removed the flash-back elements but kept the basic feel of the story. The plot is padded to reach episode length, but it still kept to Christie's original rather well.    

Theft of the Royal Ruby (The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding): (from previous review)

This tale was first published as Christmas Adventure in Sketch Magazine on December 12, 1923. It also appeared under the title The Theft of the Royal Ruby in a US Magazine in 1960.  It was later re-published in an expanded short novella form in 1960 as The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (UK). 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. I don't have that particular book yet -- but it's on my list of books I have to acquire! 

The basics: Poirot isn't too keen on spending Christmas at an English country house. But after 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 was adapted for the television series Agatha Christie's Poirot (Season 3, Episode 8). The episode is titled "The Theft of the Royal Ruby.'' 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. :) I really must buy While The Light Lasts and Other Stories just to read the original basis for this tale! 

The Dressmaker's Doll:

This is a story I had not previously read!  

Dressmaker's Doll was first published in Canada in 1958. It did not appear in book format until this collection. In the UK, it was first included in Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories in 1979. 

This story is one of the "Two other stories" as Miss Marple isn't in it.  

Although I don't have a copy of Double Sin, I do have this story. It was included in a 2019 Agatha Christie story collection - The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural. So glad I have this book on my shelves!  

The basics: A creepy doll shows up in a dressmaker's shop, but the dressmaker has no idea where the doll came from. And, it's beady eyes appear to watching.....

Adaptations: 

Audio drama: BBC radio 4 adapted this story as a radio drama in 2003. The audio play runs about 30 minutes and is full cast. I found this on Youtube. And, it is also included in the audio book, Agatha Christie - 12 Radio mysteries. I bought my copy of the audio book on Audible. The audio modernizes the story by making it about a group of theatrical costume designers, but the basic plot is still there. I enjoyed the full cast performance and sound effects! Very well done!  

Dolls have always totally creeped me out, even as a child. Those blank stares.....ugh.  So, I can totally understand why Christie wrote this deliciously creepy little tale. 

Moral of the story -- if a doll randomly appears in your shop or home -- direct to the dumpster with it is the best choice!! I know that is what I would do. Straight to the garbage!! Creepy!! 

Enjoyable little story....but it left me wishing I knew what happened after!!  Read it -- and you'll know what I mean.  

Greenshaw's Folly: (from previous review)

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).

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! 

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! 

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

The Double Clue: (from previous review)

The Double Clue is a Hercule Poirot short story first published in the UK (Sketch Magazine) on December 5, 1923. Publication in the US followed in Blue Book Magazine in 1925.

The Basics: When valuable rubies and an emerald necklace are stolen during a tea party, Poirot is brought in to help investigate the case. The owner is perplexed. Everyone at his little party were friends and he has no clue which one of them might have helped themselves to his valuables. Poirot must discreetly use his little grey cells to solve the mystery.

Adaptations: 

The Double Clue was adapted for television by the long-running show Agatha Christie's Poirot (Season 3, Episode 6). Some significant changes were made to the story. The bare bones of the original story are there....but major changes in plot were made to incorporate a bit of romance for Poirot. The barest thread is present in the original story....but it's admiration and respect, not romance. His feelings for a woman are encapsulated in 2 sentences in the original story. But in adapting it for television, they made it a major plot point and wove the story arc around it. Yuck. I feel like this little plot nuance goes against the character Christie created. 

Another great short Poirot mystery! I am enjoying all these early Poirot short stories. The plots are varied and the characters interesting, even if the short length of the stories prevents detailed character development. 

The Last Seance: (from previous review)

This story was first published in Ghost Stories Magazine in 1924 under the title The Woman Who Stole a Ghost. It also appeared in The Sovereign Magazine in 1927 as The Stolen Ghost. It was published in another story collection, Hound of Death, in 1933, and then this collection in 1961.  

The basics: A medium who is retiring decides to do one last séance with disastrous results.  

Adaptations:  

This story was adapted and modernized by BBC Radio 4. The audio is included in Agatha Christie: 12 Radio Mysteries. 

These early short stories are light, but I'm loving the differences between these stories and Christie's novels or murder mystery short stories. Several of these stories, including this one, are supernatural in nature and just completely entertaining! Spiritualism, mediums, table rapping and the like  were a big thing in the 1920s when these tales were written. I love the fact that Christie cashed in on the fads of the time! 

I listened to an audio version of this story read by Christopher Lee (Double Sin and Other Stories, Harper Audio). Lee reads the story perfectly -- his voice just caters to the supernatural/creepy sort of tale.  

I also have this story on my bookshelves. It was included in a 2019 story collection, The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural, featuring 20 Christie short stories with a supernatural theme. 

Sanctuary: 

This is another short story I read for the first time!  

Sanctuary first appeared in magazine format under the title "The Murder at the Vicarage" - not to be confused with the Christie novel of the same title - in 1954. It wasn't included in a story collection until this one in 1961. 

I found a copy of this Miss Marple story on my bookshelves! It was included in a 1985 story collection, "Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories."   

The basics: After gathering flowers for the church, Miss Marple's niece, Bunch, who is a Vicar's wife, comes across a dying man in the church. He's in a bad way, but whispers "Sanctuary......"   Bunch soon pulls Miss Marple into a mystery regarding the man's death and why he was at the church. 

Adaptations:

BBC radio adapted this story in 2015 as part of a 3-part series celebrating Agatha Christie's 125th birthday. The audio runs about 28 minutes. June Whitfield played Miss Marple. I found the audio on Youtube. Whitfield had the perfect voice for Miss Marple! The audio drama made a few changes to the story, bringing Miss Marple in from the beginning and padding it just a bit to make the tale longer. 

What an interesting story! But.....a bit far-fetched. I still enjoyed reading it, but the plot was just a bit much. :) 

Lovely collection of stories. And, now that I've read them all ---- on to the next!!