Appointment With Agatha discussion

Looking forward to tracking my reads here.

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Rating: B (four stars)

Getting caught up finally with my reading for this group! Overall, I enjoyed Christie's first novel, which featured Poirot, Captain Hastings, and Inspector Japp. Christie debuted her successful model of Poirot assembling everyone in a room to discuss how he thought his way through to the correct identification of the murderer. Despite the red herrings and the unveiling of a critical piece of evidence at the end, I loved going through the puzzle and sifting through all the clues, right along with Hastings. I feel this is one of those books I will enjoy re-reading in the future.

2. The Secret Adversary
Rating: B-

Two young things, Tommy and Tuppence, form a business and quickly get embroiled in international intrigue as they search for a secret draft treaty and a missing person that was the last person seen with it. The story benefitted from two appealing main characters and the energy with which they threw themselves into their adventure. Christie kept me guessing who the villainous Mr. Brown was, so overall I enjoyed this story and look forward to more Tommy and Tuppence adventures.

3. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories
Rating: B+

I have never read a Miss Marple story until now, having always deferred to Poirot stories. But I'm glad I filled in this gap in my Christie readings. This collection of 20 short stories showcased Miss Marple's extraordinary ability to understand human nature just from observing the inhabitants of her village. Some of the mysteries were truly innovative and all of the stories withstood the test of time.

Mary wrote: "3. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories
Rating: B+

I have never read a Miss Marple story until now, having always deferred to Poirot stories. But I'm glad I filled in this gap in m..."

I'm so glad you liked them! :) i prefer Miss Marple to Poirot -- to me somehow she is more relatable.

I agree! Miss Marple was a real delight.

Mary wrote: "I agree! Miss Marple was a real delight."

Was this your first experience with Miss Marple at all, or just your first set of MM short stories?

This was my first time reading any Miss Marple at all, thanks to this group.

Mary wrote: "This was my first time reading any Miss Marple at all, thanks to this group."

Ooh, hooray! :)

4. The Murder on the Links
Rating: C+

In this second novel featuring Poirot and Hastings, Christie provided a story that stood up well until the end. At that point, I felt there were too many coincidences and far-fetched activities. The twists and turns came rapidly then, but Poirot was able to solve the murder ahead of his rival detective, Giraud, in a satisfying way.

5. The Man in the Brown Suit
Rating: B-

This novel is an early Christie creation that follows the adventures of Anne Beddingfeld from England to Africa as she tries to solve a murder that turns into a case of international espionage. Anne was a dutiful daughter while her anthropologist father was alive, but once he was deceased, her impulsive, emotional personality was unleashed. Her energetic character kept the action flowing, although a few too many coincidences flung the story into the realm of disbelief.

What I loved about the book was the 1920s ambience. Ocean liners to exotic destinations are always fun, especially when you don't know who is a villain and who to trust. Christie also did a wonderful job in keeping me guessing to the very end, so I found the story to have plenty of entertainment value.

6. The Secret of Chimneys
Rating: B+

I have been enjoying Christie's espionage novels, including this one. Here, Anthony Cade is a young man who makes a living as well as he can while seeking out his next great adventure. An old friend offers him a simple task to do for a nice amount of money, and Anthony agrees. The task is to deliver to a publisher the memoirs written by a statesman of Herzoslovakia, a fictional country where monarchists are battling populists. Anthony's effort becomes complicated by these competing groups who are ready to kill to advance their side's ambitions.

Anthony teams up with a scrappy Englishwoman and together they head off to Chimneys, one of those Edwardian manor houses where politics were negotiated back then. Murder ensues, and nobody seems to be who they claim they are, including Anthony Cade.

7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Rating: A

This year’s re-read of this well-loved Poirot mystery reminded me how surprised I was initially that the book started out with the Belgian detective retired in an English village and taking up gardening. Fortunately, the blood bath started soon after Hercule’s meltdown with his vegetable marrows (zucchinis) and I gratefully immersed myself in the gossip, innuendo and accusations flying around King’s Abbot.

Because this time around, I knew who the murderer was, I could pay more attention to the clues that Christie always said she left for readers. In fact, I liked the novel more this time around because I could appreciate Christie’s abilities to weave an intricate plot around a large cast of suspects and other characters. The ending remains unsettling for me, as I always felt that Poirot going rogue was out of step with his strong belief in the law.

8. Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries
Rating: C

Finally finished this collection of British railway mysteries. I appreciated the historical significance of some of the authors, some of whom I had not known before, but I found this to be a mixed bag of stories.

9. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
Rating: C+

An enjoyable read overall. The dull middle section and mediocre mystery gave way to some excellent writing in the final chapters when Sayers described a massive flood threatening the village.

10. The Big Four
Rating: C-

One of Christie's espionage novels, this one featured Poirot and Hastings along with a large cast of characters and plot events that often didn't connect to each other or make much sense.

11. The Mystery of the Blue Train
Rating: C

While I always appreciate a classic mystery that takes place on a train, this Christie mystery was a difficult one to follow. Still, I had fun going along with Poirot's thought process. I did not guess who the main perpetrator was but in fairness, there was a long list of characters to choose from and Christie did not share vital information until the end.

Which brings me to the muddled ending. I am still not sure what was the purpose of the re-enactment of the crime and, now that I have finished the book, some of the key characters seemed mostly unnecessary, such as Katherine and Lenox.

Mary wrote: "11. The Mystery of the Blue Train
Rating: C

While I always appreciate a classic mystery that takes place on a train, this Christie mystery was a difficult one to follow. Still, I had ..."

I also wondered about the re-enactment. I thought this book lacked focus. I think I'll watch the TV version with David Suchet just to see what changes they made to make the story work.

Good idea, Mike! I will have to look up that episode myself.

12. The Seven Dials Mystery
Rating: B+

This novel is one of Christie's espionage novels, which I have come to enjoy. Bundle and Inspector Battle are back at Chimneys and work sometimes independently and sometimes together to solve two murders and to thwart theft of an innovation poised to benefit both military and commercial interests. With energy and humor, Christie introduced multiple characters to keep me guessing right up to the unpredictable ending.