Appointment With Agatha discussion

This month we are all getting together for a country weekend with one of my favorite dysfunctional families - The Angkatell's.

I loved it!! Listened to the audio book with the wonderful Hugh Fraser.
The Angkatells are certainly a law unto themselves. I really like Lucy. She is so scatterbrained yet hits the nail on the head with her observations.
I didn't like John Christow at all!!

More information needed to find this book please, author?

Not sure I understand your question but this is the Agatha Christie group.

It looks like this book does go under a different name, "Murder After Hours". But I told my librarian I wanted "The Hollow" by Agatha Christie and she had no trouble at all locating it for me. It is at another branch so I will have to wait for it!

I have it on hold at my library. Soon, I hope.

Teresa wrote: "Not sure I understand your question but this is the Agatha Christie group."

Yes, and we often read other mysteries as well. I was in need of a link, or some substantial help to find the book. Searching 'The Hollow' came up 8619 results on gr. No books by Christie on the first page either. Same with searching the internet.

Jessica wrote: "It looks like this book does go under a different name, "Murder After Hours"..."

That will be it, thanks!

The Hollow AKA Murder After Hours (1946) - Agatha Christie

Now everyone can find it :)

https://bookaudio.online/756-the-holl...

I did add it to the homepage as a current read, so you can also click on it from there!

ah well sorry i didn't see the homepage, i just got a link to this one! I am starting it now :)

Jazzy wrote: "ah well sorry i didn't see the homepage, i just got a link to this one! I am starting it now :)"

No worries - I was just letting everyone know. I hope you like it!

Jazzy wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Not sure I understand your question but this is the Agatha Christie group."

Yes, and we often read other mysteries as well. I was in need of a link, or some substantial help to find..."

Oh right! I get you! I don't do the side reads so didn't think of that.

Christine PNW I read it straight through and totally forgot Poirot was in this story until he appeared! What a treat! You know I have read all the Miss Marple ones but only a few of the others. I do think he's quite an interesting person!

No worries Teresa, sorry if i seemed rude! I certainly didn't mean to be x

Jazzy wrote: "Christine PNW I read it straight through and totally forgot Poirot was in this story until he appeared! What a treat! You know I have read all the Miss Marple ones but only a few of the others. I d..."

Not at all Jazzy. I didn't think that at all!

First, I can believe that I haven't give up on a project that is taking 5 years but i find that I look forward to the monthly reads even if I haven't been posting my thoughts here.

Listened to it! Loved it. I might even read it again towards the end of the month. This one was thoroughly enjoyable and kept me guessing to the very end -- but then again I'm very persuadable and will fall for all of the red herrings always.

I'm listening to the Hugh Fraser audiobook - I'm about 2 hours into a 7 hour book. This is a reread for me, but I've always read the paperback version & I find it interesting how much more I hate John Christow this time around. He's such a pig.

That's interesting. I found him to be bitter, confused, and struggling internally. He wants something to go his way, so he orders the things in his life that he can, even when it makes him unjust and cruel. Pangs of lost love, a life that he could have had haunted him for years, but when he realised he had everything he could have wanted all along - like an epiphany - and just as he had internally vowed to become a new man, his life was cut short in an instant.

I agree with what you say Jazzy but it doesn't make him any more likable! I didn't hate him but I definitely didn't like him. Not only was he cheating on his wife but then he does it to Henrietta as well and he's suppose to really care about her.

Eh, near as I can tell, his idea of a "new life" seemed to be: continuing to lie to & cheat on Gerda, demanding that Henrietta to be 100% focused on him as his mistress, when convenient for him, and complaining that she cares about things not named John Christow, and ignoring his children. The only real change he planned to make was not dwelling on his past relationship with a famous, beautiful celebrity because he previously had a sad, but now he had one final sexual conquest of her and realizes he doesn't actually want her anymore.

I stand by my assessment that he was an irredeemable pig. That doesn't necessarily means I agree with murdering him, but it does mean that I don't think that his death was necessarily a net loss to the universe. Men like John Christow never care enough about other people to actually change. He's the sort of person who thinks that other people don't continue to exist when he isn't in the same room with them, and believes that their worth is entirely derived from their proximity to his brilliance.

Perfectly summed up I think Christine :)

This was thoroughly enjoyable! I listened to the audio book straight through yesterday - couldn’t put it down/turn it off.

I was not disappointed that John Christow was the victim. Not at all. Lady Angkatell was a hoot!

(view spoiler)[Was glad Gerda was the one who’d killed him, and was sorry Poirot figured it out. She deserved to live happily ever after. (hide spoiler)]

I understand what you mean C. I feel the same way. I just loved this one!!

I finished this one a few days ago & noticed that I hadn't really appreciated it the last time I read it. This time around, I'm happy to say that I disagreed with past Christine PNW & thought that it was really good.

Christie really focused on developing her characters personalities in this book & I thoroughly enjoyed it. I remembered whodunit, but that didn't detract from the reading experience at all - in fact, it may have actually enhanced it because I was so much more willing to spend time thinking about the character motivations.

I've already talked about the loathsome John Christow, so I won't revisit that opinion.

C - I'm not sure that Gerda was capable of a happy ever after. She was like one of those cult members who is so under the thrall of the cult leader that even removing him from her life won't work to break the spell. I don't (at all) understand people who lose sight of reality in their obsessive adoration for a flesh and blood human being, who is by definition fallible, but that was Gerda, for sure.

I think she was so lacking in confidence and was obviously only tolerated by her family that when he showed interest in her she was bowled over. I agree it's sad when someone lives their life as another person to please someone else. It shows though that a person can only take so much. She had enough in the end.

I also loved the audiobook and I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 only because the ending was so sad and I'm still feeling it. Though, I suppose, that sad feeling is a testament to the power of Christie's writing.

What did everybody think of the sideline romance? I thought Edward was a bit pathetic which was brought out even more by the power of John's personality. Was Christie thinking of that stark contrast when she wrote it?

Edward was a bit pathetic I suppose but he liked the easy life I think and didn't deal well with drama but Mitch loved him and I was so glad it came right for them. She'll be good for him and they'll be happy.

Teresa wrote: "Edward was a bit pathetic I suppose but he liked the easy life I think and didn't deal well with drama but Mitch loved him and I was so glad it came right for them. She'll be good for him and they'..."

I love that opinion of it. Thanks!

Teresa wrote: "Edward was a bit pathetic I suppose but he liked the easy life I think and didn't deal well with drama but Mitch loved him and I was so glad it came right for them. She'll be good for him and they'..."

Henrietta was all wrong for him, even though he was enamored of her. She is mercurial & independent, and he needed someone to ground him. A marriage between he & Midge feels a little convenient - but it may work nonetheless.

I really enjoyed this one. Didn’t figure it out, yet the solution was so simple

Christine PNW wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Edward was a bit pathetic I suppose but he liked the easy life I think and didn't deal well with drama but Mitch loved him and I was so glad it came right for them. She'll be good fo..."

I think he saw the strong character Henrietta was and it's what drew him to her but yes it would have been a disaster if that marriage had happened. I thought of Henrietta as a restless character.

To call someone a pig is disrespectful - to the pig.

LOL!! Yes pigs are lovely creatures. We always had them growing up.

LOL!

That's hilarious!!! Reminds me of a pet pig we had when young. We hand reared it and called it Barney until we discovered she was a girl. But Barney she stayed!!

It seems like everyone really enjoyed this month's Christie! Next month we will be reading Taken at the Flood, which is notorious for it's final chapter. And not in a good way!

I can't wait to see what people think...

I finally received my library copy of The Hollow!

Christine PNW wrote: "It seems like everyone really enjoyed this month's Christie! Next month we will be reading Taken at the Flood, which is notorious for it's final chapter. And not in a good way!

I can'..."

Interesting!!!

Rosemarie wrote: "I finally received my library copy of The Hollow!"

You have two days to blast through it! You can do it!

I hope you like it, haha.

I read the book two years ago but don't remember that much. So far I've read six chapters and don't like any of the main characters!

I've finished the book and it's not my favourite. The character I disliked most was Lucy, and I liked Midge the most.

Yes I liked Midge too. I'm glad she had a good ending.

Yes I was hoping Midge would get her man too :) I'm the opposite, l loved it!