Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

by CarolNo Comments
New Zealander Gwenda Reed, who thinks she has never been to England, buys an old house on the south coast with her husband, Giles. But when she moves in, she gets this strange feeling that she’s been there before. She remembers things she shouldn't and then has a terrible vision/memory while attending a play. She thinks she’s going mad, and Miss Marple steps in to help. Gwenda and Giles are a lovely couple. They decide they need to investigate what happened in the house all those years ago, even though Miss Marple warns them that they may not like the consequences. The story moves along at a steady pace and the plot is rather clever. Miss Marple stays a bit in the background, but you can see her guidance throughout. She's as shrewd and intelligent as always. The whodunnit made sense, but the whole thing was a little sad. When I first started reading Christie's books (40 years ago?!), Poirot was my...
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Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

by Carol2 Comments
It's been a long time since the last time I read Ordeal by Innocence. It's one of Christie's standalones without any of her regular characters. Instead, we have the dysfunctional Argyle family, and Dr. Calgary who has upset their status quo. Jacko Argyle was convicted of killing his mother, despite his claiming to have an alibi, and died in prison. Now, two years later, Dr. Calgary shows up to provide Jacko's solid alibi - first the doctor had had amnesia from an accident, then gone on a research trip to Antarctica, so had been unable to testify at the trial. Now, the case is reopened, and all the "innocent" are under scrutiny again. This is not my favorite of Christie's books. Most of the Argyles are unlikable and we get to spend a lot of time learning about their odd relationships with their adoptive parents and each other. Rachel Argyle, the victim, had opened their home to children during the...
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By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie

by Carol2 Comments
Tommy and Tuppence are well into middle age here, but still have a wonderful relationship. Tommy’s crotchety old aunt dies, but before she does Tuppence meets another woman at the same nursing home who says a few mysterious things that unnerve her. When the lady goes missing, Tuppence sets off to find her, ostensibly to return a painting. The mystery is a bit convoluted but enjoyable and wraps everything up in the end well. I love that Tuppence is still willing to go on an adventure and that Tommy supports her. I may have to give in soon and get BritBox so I can watch the new Agatha Christie's Tommy & Tuppence series....
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

by Carol2 Comments
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is just fabulous. There's a reason it's a classic. The first time through, you'll be surprised by the twist. On rereads, you'll appreciate how clever Christie is and how entertaining her characters can be. Hercule Poirot has retired to the country to live in anonymity and grow vegetable marrows, which I think are a type of zucchini. It's not going terribly well. But then we have a couple of deaths in town, a suicide followed shortly by a murder, and Poirot gets to put his little grey cells to work. Our narrator is Dr. James Shepherd, the local doctor, who knew both of the dead people quite well. From him we learn about Mrs. Ferrars' suicide, which town gossip is sure was due to the guilt she felt from poisoning her husband. We also learn that she disclosed some information to Roger Ackroyd in a letter the night he was killed. Shepherd acts a little like...
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The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie

The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie

by CarolNo Comments
Poirot has a friend over one evening and the topic of names comes up. The man points out that Hercule Poirot is hardly a Hercules. This gets Poirot to thinking and he decides to prove that he is indeed able to live up to the name by solving twelve cases to rival the Twelve Labors of Hercules. The rest of the book is a collection of short stories featuring cases that connect with each of the Labors. Yes, some of the cases are a stretch, but I enjoyed it. I won't go into detail about the stories. Like most collections, some are better than others. I've read them before, but only remembered a couple of the solutions. Poirot is Poirot, quirky, overbearing, vain, but his caring side comes through in several of these. I listened to the audio and Hugh Fraser does a fabulous job as always. It did make me think I should go back and read about Hercules,...
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A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

by Carol2 Comments
I love that Miss Marple is bored on her vacation at the Golden Palm resort on St Honoré in the West Indies. The weather is always the same, lovely and warm, and the nothing interesting ever happens. She spends most of her time knitting and observing those around her. She also ends up listening to a lot of her fellow guest, Major Palgrave's, stories. When the major ends up dead, apparently of natural causes, Miss Marple is sure that his death was a murder and connected to a story he told her. She puts on her little old lady act and starts investigating. She does rope in an assistant, Mr. Rafiel, a grouchy, wealthy elderly man in a wheelchair. He's really a great character and I love how he and Miss Marple work together - both older and underestimated, but with their own outlooks and resources. We've got a nice batch of varied suspects and a lot of undercurrents of...
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