The Year of Agatha 2017 Gift Guide!

(photo from our Instagram)

One of the questions we get asked the most is: “which Agatha Christie book should I start reading?”

Our answer is usually a mix of "oh these are some generally good ones" or "oh these are our favorites!" But we’ve come to realize that sometimes our favorites are not necessarily the books everyone should start with. We created a few Buzzfeed quizzes (see here and here!) to help guide Agatha newcomers to some fun reads, however, with the holiday season upon us, we thought it would be fun to put together an Agatha Christie Gift Guide complete with specially curated recommendations for all the special people in your life!

For your mom: Murder at the Vicarage

It’s classic, straightforward, got some stuff about church in there. A fun and funny Miss Marple romp with a classic Christie plot twist. 

For your dad: The Murder on the Links

Dads are generally into golf, right? Well even though Poirot isn’t, this book has a lot of caper-y fun and some great golf banter to boot! We feel that Poirot books that include Hastings are often the best version of Poirot, and this is a Hastings tour de force #HastingsLovesLadies.

For your cousin who loved Serial: Mrs. McGinty’s Dead

Oh boy. Who among us didn’t love Serial?! Mrs. McGinty’s Dead also follows the trials and tribulations of a potentially wrongly convincted man...

For your crush: The Secret Adversary

It's a love story, baby, just say yes. This one is lots of fun and very caper-y, plus it has an adorable side plot about falling in love with an old friend. What's more romantic that kidnapping and international spies??

For your uncle who watches horror movies exclusively: And Then There Were None

Honestly, this one can be a good gift for basically anyone, because it is absolutely brilliant and was a total revelation for the way stories are told, but it's particularly good for those in your life whose entertainment preferences lean towards the group-in-a-house-trapped-with-a-killer #UltimateLockedRoomMystery.

For your maiden aunt who hates children: Crooked House 

Per our recent blog post, we are a bit over-the-moon for the new Crooked House film adaptation, so why not pick up a copy for that aunt or cousin who is looking for a reinforcement for their dislike of bratty children, since this book is basically about an entire family of bratty children?

For your dog-loving bff: Dumb Witness
Bob the dog is basically the star of the show in this classic Poirot who-dunnit. Agatha dedicated this book to her dog bestie, Peter, who she called "the most faithful of friends and dearest of companions, a dog in a thousand." THAT'S ADORABLE.

For your office gift exchange-ee: Cat Among the Pigeons

This book practically screams BE NICE TO YOUR CO-WORKERS, so send a message and give a gift at the same time! 

For your history buff grandfather: Death Comes as the End

In case you forgot, Agatha tried her hand at historical fiction once upon a time and set this particular mystery in ancient Egypt. It has everything the history buff in your life will love: facts and dates, complicated family trees, and, of course, MURDER.

For your nemesis: Nemesis

Enough said. 

For your mother-in-law who does crosswords: The Thirteen Problems

This short story collection is a delightful introduction to Miss Jane Marple. While not as intricate as Agatha's full-length novels, this reads almost like a chocolate box of fun puzzles! 

And, finally, a safe bet for anyone else you may have left on your list: The Body in the Library 

Agatha wrote in her foreword to this book that she had always wanted to take a stab at this cliche-sounding mystery setup. The Body in the Library isn't too long, isn't too short, has a tantalizing mystery from the start, offers several good laughs, and ends with a very satisfying conclusion - overall, a perfect Agatha gift!

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A Triumph, My Dear!: Crooked House | 2017

(image from here)

The Sum of It:
Thank goodness for our #bookstagram community because they did us a SOLID by letting us know that Crooked House was available on iTunes and Amazon in the US ahead of the theatrical release later this year! Since Crooked House was a favorite read for both of us during our #yearofagatha, we both bought the film right away. We've organized our thoughts and feelings below:

*BE ADVISED: many spoilers to follow! You are legit not allowed to read this post unless you've read the book or seen the film!*

THINGS WE LIKED:
Audrey: Guys. This movie. Was. So. GOOD.

Emily: GUYS IT WAS SO GOOD. So good that we and many of our fellow fanatics have tentatively evaluated it as possibly the best Agatha film adaptation...ever. With ZERO offence meant to the iconic David Suchet. From the minute the movie started, I was basically cackling into my magic mirror about how much perfection it was, from the absolutely perfect house (how did they find that place??) for the crooked house, the ideal level of creepiness from Josephine, the costumes, the perfectness of Max Irons as Charles, and the completely pitch perfect level of noir-ish tension throughout. Christina Hendrix's Marilyn Monroe impression as Brenda was legit, and Gillian Anderson totally nailed the drama queen that is Magda. Likely the best of all, though, was Glenn Close being an absolute total smokeshow and completely killing it (pun intended?) as Aunt Edith, the English country lady with an edge. The costuming and sets were all gorgeous, and I really liked the way the adaptation blended the noir-ish detective storyline in with the classic mystery. The family dinner scene was so on point in conveying how toxic this group is together I basically had my hands in the air. Honestly the FEEL of it was just so right, to me, this is up there with Endless Night in terms of the darker plotlines and adaptations, but this one is even more perfect (I KNOW - Audrey is shocked to hear it too).

Audrey: One of the things I loved the most about this movie was the attention to making the family dysfunction seem so real. Throughout the Crooked House book, Sofia is trying to describe to Charles how her family is just not normal. The performances from the actors (along with a truly stellar screenplay #thankyouJulianFellowes) captured this sentiment COMPLETELY and truly made me believe that a twelve-year-old killer could be among this group of people. And don't even get me started about the production design in this film - I was literally gasping with delight as Charles entered each new room in the mansion. I die for that beautiful conservatory space where Roger and Clemency lived (#HEARTEYES).

THINGS WE DID NOT LIKE:
Emily: Damn, Audrey, can you think of anything? I guess one thing that I felt could have been handled a bit better was the very abrupt ending to the film. In the book, there's a bit more of a sum-up, where people are like "yeah...Josephine was sort of terrifying in retrospect..." It was genuinely stunning to see the demise of Edith and Josephine on the screen (perhaps one reason this adaptation is only just now happening), and I guess they wanted to leave you with that impact, but it might have been nice to wrap it up a little more.

Audrey: I was also not really fond of the abrupt ending. Like Emily said, the book ties everything up quite nicely as Sofia and Charles's father (VERY MUCH ALIVE) both admit they had wondered if Josephine could be the killer. Another point I was just a bit confused about was leaving Charles's father out of the film, when he is kind of a central character in the book. I will say they handled the change fairly well in that it didn't seem jarring, however, I did miss the rapport between those two as they attempted to solve the case together in the book.

Overall, we give this film all the stars out of stars and hope that each of you have the chance to see it ASAP! Please comment below and let us know what you thought!

-A. & E.