Appointment With Agatha discussion

Welcome to the Agatha Christie Centenary Celebration!

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

How many Agatha Christie mysteries have your read so far (an estimate is fine)?
Do you have a favorite Christie mystery?
Poirot or Marple?
Which book are you most looking forward to reading?

In addition, if you want to give us a little biographical sketch that would be great - where are you from, how old are you, that sort of thing.

So, for me:

I'm 54, mother of two grown kids, and I live in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. I'm a very avid reader - this year my reading goal is 150 books and I've read 113 as of today.

How many Agatha Christie mysteries have your read so far (an estimate is fine)? I've read all 66 of her mysteries, so these will all be rereads for me.

Do you have a favorite Christie mystery? I have many favorites, but today I will specifically mention Crooked House, which I just love.

Poirot or Marple? Definitely Poirot

Which book are you most looking forward to reading (or re-reading)? Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, which is one of a very few Christies that I've only read once.

Which book are you least looking forward to reading (or rereading): Passenger to Frankfurt. I really loathed this book the first time (and only) time I read it. However, that's 5 years in the future, so I have time to gear up!

I’m Emma and I’ve been slowly make my through the Poirot books in order. I’m up to the ABC Murders. I’ve also read several standalones, but never managed any Miss Marple. I love her books and find them very comfortable and entertaining . I rarely work out the culprit!

I'm turning 54 next week, never married, and am both a stroke and cancer survivor. I live in South Carolina.

I'm not entirely sure how many of Christie's novels I've read - not all, but definitely more than half. I think all of Miss Marple and Tommy & Tuppence, not all of Poirot, and not all the miscellaneous ones, either.

I prefer either Miss Marple or Tommy and Tuppence to Poirot.

I'm looking forward to getting to The Secret of Chimneys (a reread for me), as I'm very curious to see other peoples' reactions to it.

I'm not looking forward to The Big Four or Third Girl, the Christies I've enjoyed least.

Welcome Emma & Susanna!

Emma, I think that the ABC Murders is a highlight of the canon!

Susanna, I agree with you on all of your comments. The Big Four is one of my least favorite Christie mysteries, and it's pretty early in the grouping. Third Girl is very problematic from a puzzle standpoint, and if we are still at it by the time we get there, I think it might generate some really interesting discussions!

Wanda here, avid reader (usually more than 200 books per year). I'm in my late 50s, retired, never married. That's probably why I identify with Miss Marple! I've read 16 Christie novels and have enjoyed all of them. My favourite is whichever book I have read last.

Wanda wrote: "Wanda here, avid reader (usually more than 200 books per year). I'm in my late 50s, retired, never married. That's probably why I identify with Miss Marple! I've read 16 Christie novels and have en..."

I'm glad you're here, Wanda!

Hi! My name is Rosemarie and I am a retired teacher with two daughters and two grandkids, one boy and one girl, one from each daughter. I also have a husband with a large collection of Agatha Christie books that I have slowly been rereading, after reading them all for the first time in the 90s.

Poirot or Marple? Poirot all the way!

I live in Toronto and love travelling. This year all my travels have been via books!

Rosemarie wrote: "This year all my travels have been via books!"

I think pretty much everyone has been doing exclusively armchair, literary travel this year.

Thank you, MR, for inviting me to join the group. Sounds like a fun 5 year project. I hope I can stick with it.

BLers know me as "Peregrinations." I was already in high school when MR was born. I can tell you where I was when I learned that Kennedy was shot (middle school English class) and when Neal Armstrong took one giant step for mankind (Long Beach Island watching on a neighbor's TV). I live in New England. Three children, two grand-kitties, one grand-kiddy. I consume over 150 books a year, more than half of which are re-reads and all of which are audiobooks. One day I will get around to fixing things with the library so I can borrow audiobooks.

I have been reading Christie off and on since my teens, so I really can't say how many I have read. I have 19 titles in my Audible library and am slowly adding more.

My favorites are /And Then There Were None/ and /Murder on the Orient Express/.

I am equally a fan of M. Poirot and Miss Marple. I like the fact that these two never age and yet time in their world does not stand still.

There is no title that I am particularly looking forward to reading nor is there any title that I am not looking forward to. I'm just looking forward to the reading and chatting.

Peregrina651 wrote: "Thank you, MR, for inviting me to join the group. Sounds like a fun 5 year project. I hope I can stick with it.

You & me both!

And it's funny, I always assume everyone on the internet is a lot younger than I am!

My name is Angelica and I'm 24 (almost 25) years old. I'm from Nicaragua so my first language is Spanish (sorry for my english in advance). My mother is a big fan of Agatha Christie and therefore she thaught me to love her as well.

So far, I've read 27 of her books, and I'm a BIG FAN of Poirot.
My favorite book of Agatha is probably Murder on the Orient Express or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, SO CLEVER.

I'm looking forward to reading every book and sharing my opinions with all of you!

Ange wrote: "My name is Angelica and I'm 24 (almost 25) years old. I'm from Nicaragua so my first language is Spanish (sorry for my english in advance). My mother is a big fan of Agatha Christie and therefore s..."

Glad to have you here, Ange! We're going to have some fun!

I also assume generally "everyone" on the internet is probably younger than I am, but that's because on several groups I hang out with (for example, the Paradox gaming forums or r/survivor), that's the actual case!

Hi, Moonlight, and thanks so much for the invite!! I haven’t been frequenting GR for far too long, so it feels wonderful to be remembered 😘
This is a fantastic idea for a reading project- deep respect to you for getting it going!
A bit about me:
I live in the Basque Country in northern Spain. I’m originally British, but Brexit made me reconsider my priorities and now I’m officially Spanish, and very European.
I celebrated my 50th during quarantine, but quarantine stuff doesn’t count, so I’m still really in my 40s 😆
I’ve read all of ACs novels (many more than once) and - bar a few for the sheer joy they bring me - I won’t be reading them along with the group. But I’m so excited about the opportunity to chat about Agatha and her novels with other fans.

It’s lovely to be here, and I’m looking forward to getting to know some new people, and wallowing unashamedly in the mysteries of the Queen of Crime! xxx

Pip wrote: "Hi, Moonlight, and thanks so much for the invite!! I haven’t been frequenting GR for far too long, so it feels wonderful to be remembered 😘
This is a fantastic idea for a reading project- deep resp..."

I've also read them all - a few of them only once, many of them more than twice. I've been meaning to go back and do a chronological reread for a couple of years, so I think that it will be fun. Definitely pop into the spoiler threads to chat about them as we encounter them!

I suspect that a lot of the members will be in your position - if you are interested, I'd like to also do a "side read" of another golden or silver age mystery in the group. There are so many being republished and reprinted now that the possibilities are truly endless!

PS - shout out to Angelica from Nicaragua! Your English is fabulous. Trust me - I’m an English teacher 😉
I’m also on #TeamPoirot and Roger Ackroyd is one of my big favourites. I think Five Little Pigs gets my absolute favourite vote. I can’t wait to hear what others think of it, although it will be a long time until we get to it...

Hi, and thanks for the invite! I'm 43 and live in California with my spouse and two children (teen and tween).

I think I read two Christie novels when I was in school, but many people have recommended her books to me, and I thought this group would be a good way to work through them systematically and maybe get to know some new people at the same time. I look forward to developing an opinion about Marple and Poirot. :-)

Charity wrote: "Hi, and thanks for the invite! I'm 43 and live in California with my spouse and two children (teen and tween).

I think I read two Christie novels when I was in school, but many people have recomm..."

Welcome, Charity! Her first book is also a really good place to start!

Hi! Thanks for invite, Moonlight!

If you were on BL, I'm Emerjas. I'm 28, although that'll be changing in a few days. I live in Nebraska right now.

I've read somewhere between 10 and 20 Christie books. And Then There Were None is probably my favorite. It was also my first and the one I've reread the most.

I like both Poirot and Miss Marple, but if I had to choose, I suppose I'd go with Miss Marple.

There's not a particular book I'm looking forward to reading. It'll be fun rereading the ones I've already read and checking out the ones I've not gotten to yet.

Pip wrote: "PS - shout out to Angelica from Nicaragua! Your English is fabulous. Trust me - I’m an English teacher 😉
I’m also on #TeamPoirot and Roger Ackroyd is one of my big favourites. I think Five Little P..."

Thank you so much!
PS: Five Little Pigs is amazing. 5 stars.

If it's a matter of "you are the age you feel," I think I'm still 15. And then my right knee speaks up.

I think Murder on the Orient Express is still my favorite - it's also the first I ever read, at 12.

Susanna, I know what you mean about knees! In my mind, I'm still young, but....

Hi everyone,

I'm Marjolein, a 27 year old PhD researcher in Belgium. Whenever I have some time I really enjoy reading. I'm about to complete my challenge of 156 books, but of course I'll continue and see how high it will go this year.

I'm actually new to Agatha Christie - save from some not so great Miss Marple shorts in translation that I read ages ago-, but I've always really enjoyed following the Christie-enthusiasts on booklikes, so I figure this might be the right time to start reading them myself. (For those of you who were also on BL, I'm UrlPhantomhive).

Looking forward to this reading project!

Hi everyone ! I’m Brenda, 50+, single, with two big dogs living in the suburbs of Detroit, US. I was seeing the group come up in my feed as friends had joined so I had to investigate. I was excited to see it’s just beginning the journey !

My mother is a huge reader and I grew up reading her copies of classic lit, and Agatha Christie was also a favorite. So I’ve read several, but most it’s been awhile. I prefer Poirot, but David Suchet could be partly to blame for that.

I’m glad for this group as it will give me the chance to really experience all of her work. So thank you, I’m looking forward ! My library has just opened for curbside pickup only a few weeks ago, but I’ve reserved the August book so I’ll be ready to join in.

Hi, thanks for the invite Moonlight Reader. I'm Tania, living in the Cotswolds, UK.
I have read about 30+ of her books so far, my favourites are And Then There Were None, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Crooked House. I think Poirot is my favourite, but I do love many a Marple too.

Hello all,

BrokenTune, BT for short, here. :) I'm 39 and based in Scotland.
I've read all of Christie's mysteries as part of a personal project over the past few years, but have been a fan for much, much longer.
I think my first encounters with her work was by way of the Rutherford / Ustinov / Finney adaptations when I was a kid - and I still love those films. So, of course, this lead to reading her books with Murder at the Vicarage and Murder on the Orient Express being early favourites. They still are. I have re-read Murder on the Orient Express almost every February for a number of years.

I have also discovered Five Little Pigs,One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, A Murder Is Announced, Three Act Tragedy as favourites. It's impossible for me to narrow them down. Sorry, not sorry.

But here's the thing, while I include two Marple books in my favourites, I absolutely cannot stand Miss Marple. (Book Marple...I rather like her in the adaptations apart from Joan Hickson...but then she played the Miss Marple as Christie wrote her.)

So, Poirot all the way!!

I'll probably sit out some of the books, but I already look forward to this project.

Hello everyone.

Thanks for the Invitation MR.

I'm Mike. I live in the UK. I'm in my sixties and now finally have enough time to read, although I still only manage 120 -150 books a year.

I caught the Christie bug on BL. Before then, I'd just assumed they weren't my thing.

I read my first Christie in 2017. I started with 'Elephants Can Remember' and thought, 'surely she has to do better than this?'

I've read another eight Poirot books since then. By far the best was 'The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd' which I think is one of the best books in the genre. 'The ABC Murders' was also memorable

The only DNF was 'Appointment With Death'.

At the end of last year, my enthusiasm for Christie was renewed when I read ' The Murder At The Vicarage' and was astonished at how fresh the book felt, how effortless the writing seemed and how vivid the characters were.

The Body In The Library' brought me firmly into Team Marple.

Jane Marple is so much easier to believe in than that effete little Belgium with the over-tight shoes and the over-groomed moustache.

I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of Christie in your company.

Hello everyone -- Themis-Athena (TA) checking in.

I'm in my fifties, living in Germany. Old enough to be able to tell you where I was during the first moon landing (in my bed, glued to a portable TV that had been placed there for the occasion, trying to forget I had something my doctor couldn't decide was either chicken pox or rubella, but that was itchy as h*ck; struggling to compute what I was seeing on the TV screen, and which my grandpa was explaining to me) -- though Kennedy's assassination happened just about "before my time", as the saying goes.

Member of the Agathytes over on BookLikes. Christie fan ever since my teens: I started with After the Funeral (which was a gift in more senses than one) and have since read, and frequently reread, every mystery novel and short story that Dame Agatha ever wrote under that name. Currently working my way through her plays -- not just the big ones (The Mousetrap, Witness for the Prosecution) but also, and chiefly, her adaptations of some of her novels, her lesser known works for the stage and the radio, and the plays novelized by Charles Osborne. (I'm using "novelized" in only the loosest of senses here, btw.) Next stop: Her novels written under the name Mary Westmacott.

In terms of her major characters, team Marple -- although my overall favorite Christie novel features Poirot as the detective (Murder on the Orient Express). Other favorites include The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The ABC Murders, Death on the Nile, and (not just for sentimental reasons) After the Funeral on the Poirot side; The Murder at the Vicarage, A Pocket Full of Rye, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, The Body in the Library, and (especially) A Murder Is Announced on the Marple side.

Also very much team Ariadne Oliver (particularly in Mrs. McGinty's Dead), with a soft spot on the side for Tommy & Tuppence and Christie's non-series / minor series young women characters (Bundle Brent, Frankie (Lady Frances) Derwent, Emily Trefusis, etc.)

Favorite screen adaptations: The Poirot series starring David Suchet, the Miss Marple series starring Joan Hickson (don't get me started on the more recent adaptations), the 1974 and 1980 "all star" adaptations of Murder on the Orient Express and The Mirror Crack'd, respectively, the Tommy & Tuppence / Partners in Crime series starring Francesca Annis and James Warwick, and the standalone adaptations starring the two last-name actors plus John Gielgud, Eric Porter and Joan Hickson in Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, and Cheryl Campbell, James Warwick and John Gielgud in The Seven Dials Mystery. -- That being said, my first Agatha Christie screen experience (like BT's) were the movies starring Peter Ustinov and Margaret Rutherford; and I still have a sentimental attachment to those, particularly the truly splendid Ustinov movies ... and Rutherford's not-at-all-Marple-like character (though manifestly not the plots of those movies).

Themis & BT, my fellow Agathytes, have arrived, so it must be a party!

Brenda - welcome to the group! I'm so glad you have joined us and I hope you enjoy the opportunity to read Christie from the beginning. That's actually the reason that I started a new group instead of just joining one of the existing groups! I wanted a place to start fresh.

Marjolein, BT, & Mike, so great to see you all here too, and thanks for introducing yourself to the group.

We're up to 45 members already. That's amazing!

BrokenTune wrote: "I have also discovered Five Little Pigs,One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, A Murder Is Announced, Three Act Tragedy as favourites. It's impossible for me to narrow them down. Sorry, not sorry.

We all have our favorites, don't we! I'm strangely partial to Hickory Dickory Dock, which never makes the list of top Christies.

Moonlight Reader wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "I have also discovered Five Little Pigs,One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, A Murder Is Announced, Three Act Tragedy as favourites. It's impossible for me to narrow them down. Sorry, not s..."

Yes, we do!
I think one of the fantastic things about Christie's books is that they seem to have "first-time impact" and a "re-read impact" and favourites may actually change on re-reads...for completely different reasons. I'm guessing that the mystery is the main focus of the majority of first-time reads.
Re-reads tend to look for how the mystery is aided by the characters and other details - at least that is so for my own reading experience.

Was Hickory, Dickory, Dock a favourite for you from the first time you read it?

BrokenTune wrote: "Moonlight Reader wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "I have also discovered Five Little Pigs,One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, A Murder Is Announced, Three Act Tragedy as favourites. It's impossible for me to narro..."

No, and I'm not sure it will always stay a favorite. There's a couple of things that work in its favor. It's the book where we get the most detailed look at Miss Lemon, and she's a favorite character of mine. And, as well, I absolutely love the Suchet adaptation. The interplay between Poirot and Japp is both hilarious and heartwarming.

The mystery is kind of meh, actually.

Note: I've been feeling like I needed a new Goodreads name - Moonlight Reader hasn't been working for me for a while. I've changed my name to Christine PNW, which is both my real life first name and where I live.

If you want to still call me MR, though, that's fine, too!

Thanks for the invite into the group! I am 50 years old, wife, mother and avid reader. My first memory of reading was when I was in first grade and we would get these little readers out of a box and read them and then get points and move on. I was constantly whipping through those books.

In the last year I have found a love for audio books due to developing tinnitus. Even now that I am getting more used to it and have gone back to reading, I still am addicted to audio books. I usually have one of those and one print book going at the same time.

I have only read one or two Agatha Christie books so I am looking forward to diving in.

Kelly wrote: "Thanks for the invite into the group! I am 50 years old, wife, mother and avid reader. My first memory of reading was when I was in first grade and we would get these little readers out of a box an..."

Many of the Poirot audiobooks are narrated by Hugh Fraser, who played Hastings in the long-running and generally beloved BBC adaptation of the Poirot novels. Any of his narrations are completely fabulous - even better than Suchet's, IMO. Audio is a fantastic way to experience Agatha Christie's books - I own many of them and listen to them often.

I’m Deb. Pip invited me. I’m an avid reader and mysteries are some of the first things I read as a kid. I’m 63 and live in Massachusetts. I don’t know how many Christie’s I’ve read. I have a complete set that I scored on eBay. Believe it or not after the set being here for years, my husband took the set down to our vacation home in a Tennessee 🤦‍♀️. He was supposed to do that years ago. The timing is rather sad.
But I do enjoy sitting near the lake there with a glass of wine and a Christie book.

I’ve lived in four states over the years. Typically volunteer at a cage free cat shelter but Covid put a stop to that. I need something to energize my reading after being safe at home for 21 weeks. I’m hoping it’s this group, 😀

Deborah wrote: "I’m Deb. Pip invited me. I’m an avid reader and mysteries are some of the first things I read as a kid. I’m 63 and live in Massachusetts. I don’t know how many Christie’s I’ve read. I have a comple..."

Welcome Deb, and thanks to Pip for inviting you to join as well!

Hello everyone,
I´m Lillelara, a fellow Agathyte from Booklikes - at least I hope I am one ;). I´m 39 years old and live in the outmost northern corner of Germany, right up at the Danish border.

I´ve picked up my first Christie while visiting the Greenway Estate in Devon. I bought "Murder on the Orient Express", read it and never stopped reading Dame Agathas books. So far I have read approx. 30 Poirot novels, 10 Miss Marple Novels, a bunch of her stand-alones and one Tommy and Tuppence novel.

My favorite Christie novels are Five Little Pigs, Three Act Tragedy and And Then There Were None. However, as a pharmacist, I really appreciate all of Christies "poison murder" novels.

As for Poirot or Marple? I´m a Poirot girl all the way. Especially if Hastings is in the story as well. And I really like all the books featuring Ariadne Oliver. She is the best.
My idea of Miss Marple might be tainted by Margaret Rutherfords portrayal of Miss Marple, which has nothing to do with the book character whatsoever. But I love these movies so much and book Miss Marple is almost boring in comparison to movie Miss Marple.

The book I´m looking most forward to (re-)reading is One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. I only read this book once, but I really liked it. I´m planning on rereading the majority of the Christies as audiobooks. Unfortunately, not all of them have been narrated by Hugh Fraser, but I´m already mentally preparing myself for David Suchets voice for Colonel Race.

I´m with MR (Christine) when it comes to the most dreaded book in the Christie canon: Passenger to Frankfurt. This book is so bad, a lot of liquid encouragement is needed for that one.

I´m really looking forward to reading these books with a group of Christie enthusiasts :).

Lillelara wrote: "Hello everyone,
I´m Lillelara, a fellow Agathyte from Booklikes - at least I hope I am one ;). I´m 39 years old and live in the outmost northern corner of Germany, right up at the Danish border.

..."

LoL. To be honest, I look forward to several things about Passenger to Frankfurt:

1. Seeing other people react to the book.
2. Taking bets on how soon people will reach for wine...and harder stuff.
3. Seeing people react to the book as a whole after finishing it.

I am not looking forward to re-reading it, even tho I will because ... I don't even know why, but I am sure I'll have stocked up the bar and convinced myself of a reason by the time we get to it.

And of course you are an Agathyte! :)

BrokenTune wrote: "Lillelara wrote: "Hello everyone,
I´m Lillelara, a fellow Agathyte from Booklikes - at least I hope I am one ;). I´m 39 years old and live in the outmost northern corner of Germany, right up at the..."

Tbh, I had such a blast posting all these status updates for Passenger to Frankfurt. But yes, a stiff Gin & Tonic is much needed ;)

BrokenTune wrote: I look forward to several things about Passenger to Frankfurt:

1. Seeing other people react to the book.
2. Taking bets on how soon people will reach for wine...and harder stuff.
3. Seeing people react to the book as a whole after finishing it.

I tend to agree with you here - it's a very provoking book, and reading it with a group seems like potentially the best way to get through it.

And, Lillelara, you are one of the OG Agathytes!

Christine and BrokenTune wrote : I look forward to several things about Passenger to Frankfurt:

1. Seeing other people react to the book.
2. Taking bets on how soon people will reach for wine...and harder stuff.
3. Seeing people react to the book as a whole after finishing it.

I tend to agree with you here - it's a very provoking book, and reading it with a group seems like potentially the best way to get through it.

You've made this VERY intriguing!!! I'll be looking forward to reading this one.

I'm not new to Christie, but unfortunately have read very few of her novels. I appreciate those of you here that have read many if not all of them and bringing your passion to the group. I only found out recently she wrote the Tommy & Tuppence, I'd only known it as something on the BBC. And if I'm not mistaken, she has a bit of variety with her mysteries, some can be quite dark, yet she seems to have a bit of a sense of humor sometimes as well, at least I can see it a bit in Poirot.

Brenda wrote: " Christine and BrokenTune wrote : I look forward to several things about Passenger to Frankfurt:

1. Seeing other people react to the book.
2. Taking bets on how soon people will reach for wine...a..."

Christie had a wicked sense of humor, but yes, she could be quite dark, too. I love her her darker stories a lot. She also wrote a number of short stories that feature the supernatural and this is often left out when talking about her work as most people will think of her as a mystery writer.
And then there are the Westmacott novels...
All to say, she was an incredibly versatile writer and had a lot more to her than formula.

I am really looking forward to seeing how people react to her books who are reading them for the first time or are re-reading them after a long pause.
This group promises to be a lot of fun.

Brenda wrote: "I appreciate those of you here that have read many if not all of them and bringing your passion to the group. ."

I appreciate the charitable designation of "passion." My husband often refers to it as an obsession, lol!

I have been so excited over the last five years or so to see Agatha Christie really having a revival because she has brought so much joy to my life. I think she got a bit of a bad rap in the waning years of the twentieth century by people who dismissed her books as formulaic and considered her a one trick pony.

Her books do have elements of formula to them - of course, how could they not? She writes in a genre with conventions. But, at the same time, as readers will see as we go through her books, a lot of those conventions exist because of her skill. And she did a lot of experimentation within the genre that has made crime writing what it is today. There are very few things within the genre that she didn't do decades ago.

Interesting - Joan Hickson is far and away my favorite Miss Marple. (David Suchet is the definitive Poirot.)

Also, Margaret Rutherford is not playing Miss Marple as written, but gosh those movies are fun.

As for Tommy & Tuppence, the 1983 version with Francesca Annis and James Warwick - the other I have seen is the one made in 2015, and it's pretty bad, starting with a heavily miscast Tommy (David Walliams - Jessica Raine is a believable Tuppence).

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads wrote: "Also, Margaret Rutherford is not playing Miss Marple as written, but gosh those movies are fun.

As for Tommy & Tuppence, the 1983 version with Francesca Annis and James Warwick - the other I have..."

Joan Hickson plays an excellent grumpy housekeeper in Rutherford's Murder, She Said. ;)

But yes, Hickson is definitely the one that brings book Marple to life. ... But any other actor who played Marple that I have seen was way more fun.

I've somehow managed to miss the Walliams/Raine T&T, and you know what? I have not felt like rushing out to find it. Good to know that Raine gives a believable Tuppence.