Tuesday Teaser: They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie

"What are you reading?'
Victoria made a slight grimace. 'You don't have much choice of light fiction here. Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice, and The Mill on the Floss. I'm reading the Tale of Two Cities.'
'Never read it before?'
'Never. I always thought Dickens would be stuffy.'
'What an idea!'
'I'm finding it most exciting!"

Books within Books ~ They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie (pg 224)

Agatha Christie Reading Carnival - October 2011

It's been a little while since I referenced Kerrie's Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival. It runs every month and is a place where readers can link up their reviews of all things Agatha Christie.

I read and reviewed Agatha Christie's little known spy thriller, They Came to Baghdad just in time to participate this month. You can read my link here, but be sure to stop by the Agatha Christie monthly carnival to see what other mysteries fellow readers and bloggers have discovered.

Maybe next month you can join in the fun too! Submit your blog article to the next edition (November 24, 2011 ) of the Agatha Christie Monthly Carnival using the carnival submission form.

Happy sluething err... reading!

They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie

280 pages
Published by Dodd, Mead & Company in 1951
Reprinted in  2002 by St. Martin's Paperbacks of St. martin's Press
New York, NY

I must confess I was a little hesitant when I picked up They Came to Baghdad from my local library. All summer long I had suffered from a sort of reading-funk which has kept me from finishing little more than a dozen books. So when I saw this novel, written by one of my favorite authors, was not one of her more famous "who-dunnit" murder mysteries, but instead a little-known adventure/espionage thriller set in post WWII Iraq I was not thrilled.

But determined to give it a chance (after all I am still endeavoring to read my way through all of Agatha Christie's novels in order of publication) I pressed on. And I am happy to tell you my first impression was wrong!

The Plot:
"Baghdad is holding a secret superpower summit, but the word is out, and an underground organization in the Middle East is plotting to sabotage the talks. Into this explosive situation appears Victoria Jones, a young woman with a yearning for adventure who gets more than she bargains for when a wounded spy dies in her hotel room. The only man who can save the summit is dead. Can Victoria make sense of his dying words: Lucifer…Basrah…Lefarge.…" (Harper Collins Publisher)

My Thoughts:
They Came to Baghdad now ranks as one of my all-time favorite novels by Agatha Christie. As I mentioned above, at first I was rather hesitant in reading this novel. I didn't have high expectations that it would be a thrilling read and I really didn't like the heroine, Victoria Jones, when she first enters the scene. But I kept reading and it wasn't long before I was hooked.

As I mentioned above, They Came to Baghdad is not your average Agatha Christie who-dunnit murder mystery, but instead a post-WWII espionage suspense thriller that include a few murders. The main story is set in Iraq during the early 1950s and while it revolves around Victoria Jones there is plenty of time for "sight-seeing" along the way and Christie makes time for it. At this time in her life, Agatha Christie was married to archaeologist Max Mallowan and spent a great deal of her time with him on digs in the Middle East. Her knowledge of the area and the work is woven seamlessly into this story without detracting from the thrilling story plot.

As the story draws to an end I am happy to report I changed my mind about Victoria Jones. Her character truly matures as the story progresses and as the lose ends are tied up I was delighted with the foreshadowing for Victoria that Christie included in the closing paragraph.

All in all, I must admit I was definitely surprised with this novel. In my opinion it's a definite winner and a top favorite for me. I highly recommend it to those readers who are looking for a variant from the typical English countryside murder mystery or those who love a good spy tale.

Up next, I'll return to Hercule Poirot and the English country village in Mrs. McGinty's Dead.

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Related Links:

• Harper Collins Publishers: Buy a copy of They Came to Baghdad
• AgathaChristie.com: They Came to Baghdad
• Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival

My Other Agatha Christie Reviews:

*Novels published from 1920-1923 see note below.

The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
The Big Four (1927)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
Peril at End House (1932)
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)
Three Act Tragedy (1935)
Death in the Clouds (1935)
The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
Cards on the Table (1936)
Dumb Witness (1937)
Death on the Nile (1937)
Appointment With Death (1938)
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
Murder Is Easy (1939)
And Then There Were None (1939)
Sad Cypress (1939)
One, Two Buckle My Shoe (1940)
Evil Under the Sun (1941)
N or M? (1941)
The Body in the Library (1942)
Five Little Pigs (1942)
The Moving Finger (1942)

Towards Zero  (1944)
Death Comes As the End (1944)
Sparkling Cyanide (1945)
The Hollow (1946) 
Taken At the Flood (1948) 
Crooked House (1949) 
A Murder is Announced (1950)

Absent In the Spring by Mary Westmacott (a.k.a. Agatha Christie) (1944)

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography

* Christie's novels written from 1920 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) through 1923 (Murder on the Links) I read before I began this blog hence no reviews are currently available.

Calling All Mystery Lovers!

Hello mystery lovers, what could possibly be better on a hot summer day than a chilling read by Agatha Christie? Perhaps the chance to win ten of her crime novels as reissued by HarperCollins Publishers.

To learn more (and enter to win) check out the US Agatha Christie website for official information and community and to register to receive the US Christie newsletter, which will automatically enter you into the contest.

And then, while you wait it won't hurt to run by your library and pick up one or two of Agatha Christie's short story collections just to wet your appetite because then on September 15th, Mysteries in Paradise will hosting a birthday celebration in honor of Agatha Christie.

The Hollow by Agatha Christie

288 pages

Published in 1946 by Dodd, Mead & Company

Reprinted in 2007 by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers

The Hollow is the 37th crime novel by Agatha Christie and the 22nd to include Hercule Poirot as lead detective. It also marks the return of Poirot after a four year absence (1942-1946).

The Plot:

"Lady Angkatell, intrigued by the criminal mind, has invited Hercule Poirot to her estate for a weekend house party. The Belgian detective's arrival at the Hollow is met with an elaborate tableau staged for his amusement: a doctor lies in a puddle of red paint, his timid wife stands over his body with a gun while the other guests look suitably shocked. But this is no charade. The paint is blood and the corpse real!" (Summary courtesy of AgathaChristie.com)

My Thoughts:

Overall I enjoyed The Hollow. It is similar to Sparkling Cyanide in that the story holds true to the traditional Christie "who-dunit" mystery with the murder set in the heart of the English countryside, a house party, and a shocking murder. The story plot itself is a twisting puzzle complete with a red herring or two and plenty of interesting characters. I particularly enjoyed the return of Hercule Poirot since it has been months since I last encountered him (Five Little Pigs) and have felt his absence in a few of the Christie novels I've read in the interim.

What I liked best about The Hollow was the fact that even though it has a similar setting to other Christie mysteries and even though the motive isn't exactly unique the story still felt fresh. I found myself puzzling out the answer to the mystery until the last chapters. The only aspect that keeps The Hollow from being a high-rated favorite for me was the combined fault of of the characters and the plot. I never attached myself to any one particular character, thus I was not pulled emotionally into the story, which left me feeling somewhat indifferent to the ending. As for the plot, I was stumped for a time, but not completely. Had it left me guessing to the very end and had I found an attachment with a character I might have loved this story, but as it stands it is in my opinion a mid-level mystery from Agatha Christie's collection. A good puzzling read, but not a complete thriller.

Up next, Taken At the Flood.

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Related Links:

• Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival

Other Agatha Christie Reviews:

*Novels published from 1920-1923 see note below.

The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
The Big Four (1927)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
Peril at End House (1932)
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)
Three Act Tragedy (1935)
Death in the Clouds (1935)
The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
Cards on the Table (1936)
Dumb Witness (1937)
Death on the Nile (1937)
Appointment With Death (1938)
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
Murder Is Easy (1939)
And Then There Were None (1939)
Sad Cypress (1939)
One, Two Buckle My Shoe (1940)
Evil Under the Sun (1941)
N or M? (1941)
The Body in the Library (1942)
Five Little Pigs (1942)
The Moving Finger (1942)

Towards Zero  (1944)
Death Comes As the End (1944)  
Sparkling Cyanide (1945)

Absent In the Spring by Mary Westmacott (a.k.a. Agatha Christie) (1944)

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography

* Christie's novels written from 1920 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) through 1923 (Murder on the Links) I read before I began this blog hence no reviews are currently available.

Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie

278 pages

Published in 1945 by G. P. Putnam's Sons

Reprinted in 2011 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

"At a round table in the Luxembourg nightclub six people sit down to dinner at a table laid for seven. In front of the empty place is a sprig of rosemary – in solemn memory of Rosemary Barton who died at the same table exactly one year previously. No one present on that fateful night would ever forget the woman’s face, contorted beyond recognition – or what they remembered about her astonishing life. But which of those present has the murder of Rosemary Barton on their conscience?" (Summary courtesy of AgathaChristie.com)

Sparkling Cyanide is a classic Agatha Christie mystery novel and for that fact alone I enjoyed it. It's a quick and entertaining read that left me puzzling out the answer until nearly the end. That said, I can't say that Sparkling Cyanide was outstanding amongst all of Agatha Christie's novels. I felt it followed pretty much the same plot formula that she used for several of her earlier works and it left me with a feeling of familiarity that I couldn't quite put my finger on, as if I had read the story already.

During further reading I discovered that prior to publishing Sparkling Cyanide, Agatha Christie actually used the plot in a short story titled Yellow Iris. The differences between the short story and the novel are few, but they are important. When writing Sparkling Cyanide Christie removed Hercule Poirot entirely making Colonel Race the central detective, and she changed the identity of the murder (or murderers) so to give the feeling of a fresh story... and it sort of works. For those who have never read Yellow Iris it is a new story, but somehow even without reading Yellow Iris the whole book felt familiar.

All in all, if you're looking for an entertaining "who-dunit" from the Queen of Crime, this one will definitely pass for a fast and fun read, but if you're looking for something thrilling and fresh, in my opinion it's best to try one of her earlier works.

Up next, The Hollow.

-----------------------------------

Related Links:

• Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival

Other Agatha Christie Reviews:

*Novels published from 1920-1923 see note below.

The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
The Big Four (1927)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
Peril at End House (1932)
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)
Three Act Tragedy (1935)
Death in the Clouds (1935)
The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
Cards on the Table (1936)
Dumb Witness (1937)
Death on the Nile (1937)
Appointment With Death (1938)
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
Murder Is Easy (1939)
And Then There Were None (1939)
Sad Cypress (1939)
One, Two Buckle My Shoe (1940)
Evil Under the Sun (1941)
N or M? (1941)
The Body in the Library (1942)
Five Little Pigs (1942)
The Moving Finger (1942)

Towards Zero  (1944)
Death Comes As the End (1944) 

Absent In the Spring by Mary Westmacott (a.k.a. Agatha Christie) (1944)

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography

* Christie's novels written from 1920 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) through 1923 (Murder on the Links) I read before I began this blog hence no reviews are currently available.

Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie

194 pages

Published in 1944, reprinted in 2002

by Minotaur Books

Although best known for her Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries, it may come as a surprise to some readers that Dame Agatha Christie also penned a historical murder mystery set in ancient Egypt. Because of its setting Death Comes As the End is a unique novel amongst Agatha Christie's canon. It is the only historical mystery novel that Agatha Christie ever wrote and it's creation only came about as a result of Dame Agatha's personal passion for archeology (her second husband, Max Mallowan was an archeologist) and thanks to a very persuasive friend who encouraged her to take up the challenge of writing a murder mystery set in 4,000 B.C. Egypt.

 The Plot:

"...A deadly mystery at the heart of a dissonant family in ancient Egypt. Imhotep, wealthy landowner and priest of Thebes, has outraged his sons and daughters by bringing a beautiful concubine into their fold. And the manipulative Nofret has already set about a plan to usurp her rivals' rightful legacies. When her lifeless body is discovered at the foot of a cliff, Imhotep's own flesh and blood become the apparent conspirators in her shocking murder. But vengeance and greed may not be the only motives..." (Summary courtesy of the publisher)

My Thoughts:

I must admit even months later after finishing this read, I still have mixed feelings about Death Comes As the End. On the one hand I can't say that this story was a favorite -- the setting really wasn't my thing -- but on the other hand the setting is so unique amongst Dame Agatha's crime novels that a reader can't help but find it intriguing.

Personally I found the setting (4,000 BC Egypt) a bit of a hang up for the first third to half of the book. As it is an area I am not very familiar with I struggled to keep the characters (especially their names!) and setting straight in my mind, but once this was accomplished I soon discovered I had settled into the story and that was like so many of  Dame Agatha's other novels, a definite page-turner.

As for the mystery itself -- it's less a "detecting" story and more a process of elimination as this plot turns deadly with suspect after suspect falling to the hand of the murderer. In some ways it reminded me of an ancient take on  Dame Agatha's earlier work, And Then There Were None.

Overall I did enjoy Death Comes As the End, but not as much as Dame Agatha's other works. I appreciate the effort she put into writing this novel, as I know it required a great amount of research, time and effort and for this reason I think it is definitely worth the read for any fan of Agatha Christie.

But for the first-time Agatha Christie reader I suggest setting this one aside to read later. Start off with something a little easier. And Then There Were None and Hercule Poirot's Christmas are two similar type stories that are set in 20th century England and thus might be more suted for the novice Christie reader.

Happy sleuthing err.. reading!

Related Links:

• Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival

Other Agatha Christie Reviews:

*Novels published from 1920-1923 see note below.

The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
The Big Four (1927)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
Peril at End House (1932)
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)
Three Act Tragedy (1935)
Death in the Clouds (1935)
The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
Cards on the Table (1936)
Dumb Witness (1937)
Death on the Nile (1937)
Appointment With Death (1938)
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
Murder Is Easy (1939)
And Then There Were None (1939)
Sad Cypress (1939)
One, Two Buckle My Shoe (1940)
Evil Under the Sun (1941)
N or M? (1941)
The Body in the Library (1942)
Five Little Pigs (1942)
The Moving Finger (1942)

Towards Zero  (1944)

Absent In the Spring by Mary Westmacott (a.k.a. Agatha Christie) (1944)

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography

* Christie's novels written from 1920 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) through 1923 (Murder on the Links) I read before I began this blog hence no reviews are currently available.

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie

276 pages
Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 1944
Reprinted in 2001 by St. Martin’s Paperbacks
New York, NY

“I love a good detective story, but they begin in the wrong place! They begin with the murder. But the murder is the end. The story begins long before that." ~ Towards Zero by Agatha Christie

The Plot:
"What is the connection between a failed suicide attempt, a wrongful accusation of theft against a schoolgirl, and the romantic life of a tennis player? To the casual observer, apparently nothing. When a houseparty gathers at Gull's Point, the seaside home of an elderly widow, earlier events come to a dramatic head." (Summary courtesy of AgathaChristie.com.)

My Thoughts:
I actually read Towards Zero at the beginning of December 2010, but with some unexpected changes to my life I wasn't able to review it and one thing led to another until I realized it was almost March and I hadn't even marked the book "read" on my virtual book shelf! Thankfully I keep notes on nearly all the books I read, so refreshing my memory for this review wasn't too difficult even though now nearly four months had elapsed. But please note, my forgetfulness should not in any way reflect upon the book. Towards Zero is a thrilling read that left me guessing up until the very end... To that zero hour.

Although a completely fresh story and setting, I did find that Towards Zero was a little reminiscent of one of Christie's earlier works, And Then There Were None, except for the blessed fact that this story ends on a much happier note than its predecessor thanks to the clever mind of Superintendent Battle.

And speaking of Battle, I found it interesting that Towards Zero is one of only five Christie mystery novels to feature the Superintendent as lead investigator. Another interesting fact is that it is also the last novel to feature him at all. Clearly by the mid 1940s Hercule Poirot was the front-runner in detective stories and it appears other detectives (i.e. Colonel Race, Miss Marple, Tommy & Tuppence, etc.) only made appearances at times when Christie really needed a vacation from the Belgian and his little gray cells.

As noted Towards Zero was published in 1944, which was the middle to end of World War II. While I always enjoy a Christie mystery I've found that this decade wasn't exactly her best. Looking back over the 34 novels she had written by this point most of my favorites actually date from the previous decade, the 1930s. But if I were to pick one with in the 1940s that I enjoyed as much as Towards Zero it would have to be N or M? Still, there are five more novels to read and review before moving into the 1950s so I suppose there's still a chance I could change my mind.

In the meantime, I definitely recommend Towards Zero as a mystery read. It has an excellent story plot, an interesting setting and array of characters, and an exciting and somewhat challenging psychological puzzle to solve. In summary, it is clever enough to feed your thirst for thrills yet not so great that you won't find yourself passing up the chance to read more novels by the Queen of Crime.

Up next, Death Comes As The End.

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Other Agatha Christie Reviews:
*Novels published from 1920-1923 see note below.

The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
The Big Four (1927)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
Peril at End House (1932)
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)
Three Act Tragedy (1935)
Death in the Clouds (1935)
The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
Cards on the Table (1936)
Dumb Witness (1937)
Death on the Nile (1937)
Appointment With Death (1938)
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
Murder Is Easy (1939)
And Then There Were None (1939)
Sad Cypress (1939)
One, Two Buckle My Shoe (1940)
Evil Under the Sun (1941)
N or M? (1941)
The Body in the Library (1942)
Five Little Pigs (1942)
The Moving Finger (1942)

Absent In the Spring by Mary Westmacott (a.k.a. Agatha Christie) (1944)

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography

* Christie's novels written from 1920 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) through 1923 (Murder on the Links) I read before I began this blog hence no reviews are currently available.

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

201 pages
Published in 1942 by G. P. Putnam's Sons
Reprinted in 2007 by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
New York, NY

It is said that Agatha Christie considered The Moving Finger to be one of her best novels. I can't say that it's one of my top favorites, but it is an enjoyable read. And I know this much, it's good enough that one can read it, wait a few years, and then re-read it and still be caught up in the mystery.

The Plot:
A series of poison-pen letters has shattered the peaceful way of life in the quiet village of Lymstock. No one is safe from the scathing accusations and alarming threats contained in these vicious notes, and everyone is wondering who the sinister mind is behind them. Neighbor suspects neighbor, and it seems that no one is free of motive -- not the village doctor, not the vicar, not the servants, not even the newcomers, narrator Jerry Burton and his sister, Joanna. The stakes are raised when one victim apparently distraught over the content of the letter she received, takes her own life.

Fortunately, Miss Jane Marple is staying on as the vicar's houseguest. With her keen insight into the mysteries of human nature, she is the only one able to sort through the finger pointing and put an end to the terror." (Summary courtesy of the publisher.)

My Thoughts:
As I mentioned above this was actually my second time reading The Moving Finger. Normally I steer clear of books I've read before for the simple reason I remember too much. I have a strong photographic memory, especially when it comes to books. I find that long after I've read the story I can remember plots, characters, and even sometimes specific dialogue or details. (This is problematic when reading a mystery. What's the point if you remember who committed the crime?)

The Moving Finger was an exception to this. I first read it over four years ago (in July 2006), but when I picked it up to read this month I didn't remember anything about the story, at least not at first. I dug into the story not remembering anything and was enjoying the story for it's different setting, but then the vague recollections began. At first it was a character or a scene, but by the end of the book it was like I was having a case of reading deja vu. I could remember the outcome of a conversation or scene before I had finished reading it, yet I still couldn't remember everything. It was indeed a very strange feeling!

Nevertheless, I still found myself wrapped up in the excitement of the end when the murderer is caught and Miss Marple explains the crime. Some might consider all this to mean the novel is forgettable and not worth reading, but I don't think that is true. I think the fact that I had read over 260 novels between my first reading of The Moving Finger and my second has something to do with my foggy memory. Overall I enjoyed the read, even if it wasn't a total surprise.

The one aspect of the novel that disappointed me has to do with Miss Marple. The Moving Finger is considered a Miss Marple mystery; even the publisher's plot summary leads the reader to believe so, but if you are expecting Miss Marple's involvement to be on par with that of Hercule Poirot you are in for a surprise. The story is narrated by Jerry Burton and it is from Jerry's point of view that the entire mystery unfolds. Miss Marple doesn't appear until 50 pages before the END of the story and even then her involvement is secondary at best. She appears in only a few scenes and her longest set of dialogue is at the last pages of the final chapter when she explains the crime.

Perhaps this has something to do with why I've never been a great fan of Miss Marple. I love the concept of her character, but in all the novels that I have read where she appears her role is almost always secondary. I much prefer the detective to play a leading role. I think I could have been happy if The Moving Finger had been just Jerry Burton and the local police.

Still, as I said it was an enjoyable read. I thought it a clever mystery with a good share of wit and romance interwoven. In the end all the lose ends are tied up and as one character ironically states: "everything turns out for the best."

Definitely a worthwhile read for those new to Agatha Christie. And I think even a good read for those who have enjoyed it in the past... so long as it was the distant past.

Up next, Towards Zero a Superintendent Battle novel that I've not yet read!

It's Saturday! And we have a winner!

It's Saturday AND it's the 23rd of the month and that means...

Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books. Each week readers and bloggers head to Semicolon's blog to link up their reviews for books they read in the previous week. I already linked up my review from this past week, have you? Join the 47+ bloggers and link up! Or head on over to see what other bloggers have to say about what they just finished reading.


Tomorrow is the October edition of the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival! In addition to linking up blogger reviews of Agatha Christie's novels ACRCC highlights a particular blog each month. I was excited to learn earlier this week that yours truly, A Library is a Hospital for the Mind, has been chosen and will be highlighted in this month's ACRCC. In addition to this there will be a number of links to other bloggers' Agatha Christie reviews.

Didn't know about this reading challenge? Want to participate? If you have read a Christie novel and want to participate in the November carnival then head to the Carnival collection page to enter your blog link. I've been participating for over a year and I can honestly tell you it's a lot of fun.

Last, but certainly not least it's time to announce the winner for this week's Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge give-away.

This week the winner will receive Straight from the gift shop of the Betsy-Tacy Society -- a 3½" x 8½" "Betsy making lists" notepad!


And now, once again with thanks to Random.org and my husband's uneducated assistance we have have a winner. The winner this week is:

Congratulations Shari! Please email me your mailing address so I can get the notepad on your way.

For everyone else, thanks for participating! We have one final give-away, which I will post tomorrow. (Check back before the end of the day.)

I can hardly believe we're into the final week of October, which means we only have one more week of the Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge. Thank you all for participating, for sharing your thoughts, and spreading the world. Enjoy your reading this week! Don't forget to come back here throughout the week for my final MHLRC posts and on Sunday to link up your reviews or final posts.

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

216 pages
Published in 1942
by G. P. Putnam's Sons
reprinted by Berkley Books in 1984
New York, NY

I love reading a fresh story and Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie (also published in the USA as Murder in Retrospect) is certainly that. Five Little Pigs, one of Christie's little-known Poirot novels is also the first novel where the murder occurs in the past; in retrospect to the detecting by Poirot. This alone makes it a unique read for Christie fans.

The Plot:
"Amyas Crale's passion for painting and women made him famous. His murder made him infamous. Sixteen years earlier his jealous wife was tried, convicted and sentenced to life for a notorious slaying. Now their daughter Carla, a young woman convinced her mother is innocent, has presented Hercule Poirot with a brilliant challenge: to clear her mother's name by returning to the scene of the murder and finding the fatal flaw in the perfect crime." (Summary courtesy of AgathaChristie.com)

My Thoughts:
Five Little Pigs was a captivating and quick read. As I read several clues seemed to jump off the page. Maybe this is due to the fact I just finished reading Agatha's autobiography last month, or maybe I've just read enough of her books to pay attention to the details that matter. Either way it was a fun read and although it is a tricky mystery I puzzled through drawing conclusions and in the end I was pleased to find led me to solve the "who" and "why" before Poirot had a chance to assemble the witnesses and begin his methodical recreation of the crime. I count this a victory for me as a reader even if I missed a few minor details.

Something else that I noticed while reading was the little bits of Agatha's personality sprinkled throughout the story. Intended or not, these details appear in the form of certain character personalities or in observations and opinions made by the characters or in some cases the unseen narrator. The two strongest examples both involve Hercule Poirot. At one point Poirot contemplates the the frequency in which he encounters crimes with a nursery rhyme theme (i.e. One, Two Buckle My Shoe and now Five Little Pigs). This was something Agatha Christie also observed within her autobiography. Another such instance is when Poirot remarks on his preference for psychological crimes versus those revolving around a romance, which was popular amongst readers and publishers. Again, this was how Agatha felt. While I must admit to personally enjoying the relational aspect of her mysteries it was in her mind a disruption to the scientific aspect of the crime to include the distraction of a romance.

Overall I really enjoyed Five Little Pigs. For some writers it would be difficult to tell a story where the main event occurs 16 years in the past, but Agatha is successful in weaving the past and present together to give readers yet another entertaining and suspenseful mystery.

Up next, Miss Marple in The Moving Finger.

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Click here to read my other reviews of Agatha Christie novels.

All About Agatha - Part II

When I decided to write twice for the Agatha Christie Blog Tour I originally planned to make my final post a Q&A of sorts -- or at the very least I thought it might be a "Did you know" type post that was full of fascinating and little known details about one of the most famous authors of all time. To help with my writing I began my research. I decided I needed to read a biography on Agatha Christie... And that's when I discovered something even better -- her autobiography!

Some people may think it's rather narcissistic to write the story of your own life, but I don't agree. Who better to tell about your life, your experiences, thoughts, conversations, and memories than you? Yes, you might be tempted to paint yourself in a better light than some objective researcher, but there is the indisputable fact that they will never be able to capture on paper the emotions and memories that you have unless you previously expressed them.

From page one of Agatha Christie: An Autobiography I was immediately captivated. Her writing is light and refreshing, interesting and descriptive. Unlike some autobiographies and historical nonfiction pieces this book is a page-turner. Each time I picked it up I felt as though I was stepping through the pages of time and seeing historical events unfold through her eyes as they happened. At 519 pages it is a very thorough, though admittedly not entirely complete story (she leaves out any reference to her infamous disappearance). Still, the result of this large volume is a book that masterfully weaves together a personal life story with first hand accounts of life in a time and place so completely foreign to life when the memoir was published in 1965 (and even more so today in 2010).

Agatha Christie, when referring to her own memoir said:

"This is not a travel book -- only a dwelling back on those memories that stand out in my mind; times that have mattered to me, places that stand out in my mind; times that have mattered to me; places and incidents that have enchanted me."

And so it is from the first page to the last I found Agatha Christie: An Autobiography absolutely fascinating. And safe to say probably one of the most fascinating reads I've picked up all year.

Here are some of the highlights:

* Agatha Christie had a vivid and very creative imagination as a child. She reminded me a lot of the fictional Anne in L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, only with a happier childhood.

* As a child she loved math and problem solving, story telling and reading. Much to her mother's horror (who thought it bad for the eyes for a child to read before the age of 8), Agatha taught herself to ready by age 5. All these are just glimpses of gifts that would help her later in life.

* The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope was Agatha's first romance read. She was completely smitten with the poor king imprisoned in the dungeon. During this age she had many impossible crushes, including one on the young and handsome King Alfonso of Spain. (Yes, this is the same King that Betsy, Tacy and Tib fall in love with in Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown). Later these crushes bloomed into opportunities for true love. Agatha relates what life was like in an era when ladies hid their ankles and kissing was saved for only those in a serious courtship.

* Agatha was an avid reader all her life. She enjoyed Dickens and claimed Bleak House was her favorite of his works. She also was a great fan of May Sinclair and claimed that she was "one of our finest and most original novelists... I cannot help feeling that there will be a revival of interest in her some day."

* She gives a descriptive and interesting narrative of life in an upper-middle class British home in the early 20th century. The details of marriage and family life, of a young girl's education, friendships and courtships, and the interaction of master and servant. It is an era and a people now long gone.

* As a child Agatha's nanny taught her etiquette. Agatha wished to one day be "Lady Agatha," but Nanny said that she could never be -- you have to be born a Lady -- little did either of them know that little Agatha Christie (nee Miller) would one day be both Dame Agatha AND Lady Agatha.

* Agatha took music lessons and sang a little opera. She was once told she was good enough to become a concert singer if she so desired, but she lacked the strong lung capacity needed to sing opera professionally.

* Although Agatha Christie is now a world-famous author it was her sister, Madge, who was initially considered the "writer" in the family having published several short stories in Vanity Fair magazine. But Agatha's fate was sealed the day her mother suggested she take up writing. Sick and bored in bed, Agatha began a story which she finished a mere 24 hours later. It was titled The House of Beauty and she later recalled, "I think on the whole that it is good; the first thing I ever wrote that showed promise... Amateurishly written, of course, and showing the influence of all that I had read the week before. This is something you can hardly avoid when you first begin to write. Just then I had obviously been reading D. H. Lawrence..." (Pt IV, Chpt 5, pg 181)

* Agatha began plotting her first detective novel (The Mysterious Affair At Styles) while she worked in the hospital pharmacy during World War I. It was partially because her sister said she couldn't do it (they were just too difficult to write) and partly because she was bored that she even began plotting the story. It was also at this time that she gained her vast knowledge of poisons, something that would later come in handy in her career as a crime story writer. And it was the Belgian refugees who fled to England during this time that inspired her most famous detective, Hercule Poirot.

* After World War I, Agatha and her first husband, Archie Christie did a little globe trotting. They left their daughter with Agatha's sister and traveled around the world, stopping over in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Canada. During their time in South Africa and Hawaii Agatha and Archie spent many hours surfing. (Imagine Dame Agatha Christie on a surf board!)

* In the years leading up to World War II and post World War II Agatha spent a great deal of time in the Middle East. Her second husband, Max Mallowan was an archaeologist. She drew from her life with him and used it in several of her books both as Agatha Christie and under her pen name Mary Westmacott. Because she loved this part of her life so much she even wrote a short little book about their experiences titled Come, Tell Me How You Live.

* One of their archaeologist friends pressured Agatha to write a historical detective novel, something set in ancient Egypt. Hesitant at first Agatha eventually gave in and with the assistance of this friend she researched and then wrote her only historical fiction novel: Death Comes As the End.

* Agatha did not like that she had to include a romance within her mysteries and thrillers. She felt it was forcing a "love motive into what should have been a scientific process" and it went against the grain. So why did she include them? In that era it was expected for that genre. Personally I am glad, I've always loved that aspect of her thrillers.

* Contrary to rumors that she wrote her final Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot books for the insurance of future money, she actually wrote them during World War II and gifted the proceeds of the books to her daughter and husband upon her death. She was certain she would be killed during the war as she spent so much time in London. In the end these two novels were not published until her death in the mid 1970s.

* Agatha once said she was inspired every day, every where in every way. Sometimes ideas came when she was eating lunch and overheard a conversation. Other times she was looking in a shop window. Clearly she had her eyes wide open and her mind constantly engaged. She was alive and alert. Everything in life had the potential to influence or be a story.

To me it is no wonder Agatha Christie has won the title of "Queen of Crime"and is considered the all-time best-selling crime writer. She was an interesting person who led a full and fascinating life. She had a spectacular imagination and was a gifted storyteller. Whether you are like me, a fan of Agatha Christie's novels, or just a fan of the mystery genre in general, or even someone who is merely interested in learning more about life in England and Europe during the first half of the last century then you really should read Agatha Christie: An Autobiography. It is most definitely a worthwhile read.

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Related Links and More about Agatha Christie:

Agatha-Christie.com
Fun Trivia - Agatha Christie Quizzes
Hercule Poirot Central And Other Agatha Christie Info
Agatha Christie Reading Carnival

Tuesday Teasers: Agatha Christie

"So it was that I made my own world and my own playmates. I really do think that it was a good thing. I have never, all through my life, suffered from the tedium of 'nothing to do.' An enormous number of women do. They suffer from loneliness and boredom. to have time on their hands is a nightmare and not a delight. If things are constantly being done to amuse you, naturally you expect it. And when nothing is done for you, you are at a loss." ~ Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, Chpt 5, pg 47

Check out the Agatha Christie Blog Tour (September 1-30, 2010)

Tuesday Teasers: Agatha Christie

"There is no greater mistake in life than seeing things or hearing them at the wrong time. Shakespeare is ruined for most people by having been made to learn it at school; you should see Shakespeare as it was written to be seen, played on the stage. there you can appreciate it quite young, long before you take in the beauty of the words and of the poetry." ~ Agatha Christie (An Autobiography, Part IV, Chapter 1, page 160)