On Site with Poirot: Murder in Mesopotamia | 1936

(image from here) "You would have made a good archaeologist, M. Poirot. You have the gift of re-creating the past."  - Dr. Leidner, Murder in Mesopotamia, p. 226 The Sum of It: With Murder in Mesopotamia, we are finally transported into the Middle Eastern world of archeological digs that was such a HUGE part of Agatha Christie's life. Set at a dig site in Hassanieh, Iraq, Murder in Mesopotamia is written from the point of view of...

ANNOUNCEMENT: #Readalong! | Peril at End House

(image from here) Dear Readers, We are so very excited to be nearing the end of our second month of The Year of Agatha (#timeflies #marchmadness #forgetbasketball #justreadagatha)! Thanks in part to the interest several of you have expressed, one thing we want to sprinkle throughout this year is an opportunity for all of you to join us in reading Agatha. As such, we are so pumped to announce that we are planning to have some read along activities...

Rubies and the Riviera: The Mystery of the Blue Train | 1928

"Some day, who knows, you might be in the thick of things," he went on. "It is all chance." "I don't think it is likely," said Katherine. "Nothing of that kind ever happens to me." He leaned forward. "Would you like it to?"  - Poirot and Katherine Grey in The Mystery of the Blue Train, p. 75 The Sum of It: Even though this one says "A Hercule Poirot Novel" on the front, I found myself wondering if Poirot was ever going to turn up, because...

A Tale of Egg & Mugg: Three Act Tragedy | 1934

(image from here) "My friend, do not ask me to do anything of an active nature. It is my lifelong conviction that any problem is best solved by thought." - Hercule Poirot, Three Act Tragedy, p. 139. The Sum of It: Hercule Poirot is still in retirement, and yet, murder cannot help but follow him wherever he goes. In this case, Poirot has gone to dine at Crow's Nest: the home of aging actor, Sir Charles Cartwright. What seems like...

Le Train Bleu | A Global Legend

This week I am reading The Mystery of the Blue Train (which I claimed because I love the movie version, in spite of Monica and Ross's dad from Friends doing a ridiculous impression of a rich American, and in spite of the fact that Agatha apparently hated this one), so I was moved to see if Le Train Bleu, or the Calais-Mediterranee Express, was still running the route from Calais to the glamorous French Riviera #vacay #lifestylesoftherichandfamous. Some...

Truth Will Out: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | 1925

(image from here) "What one does not tell to Papa Poirot he finds out." -The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, p. 217 Dear Readers. Please hold on to your hats this week, because we read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and we have a lot to talk about. First, a quick note, you may notice that we have been jumping around a bit chronologically with our reads. In an effort to split up Agatha's books (and pick out a few for the two of us to read at...

How Well Do You Know Roger Ackroyd? | A QUIZ!

(image from here) Hello readers! We are busy finishing our book of the week, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and since we are both reading it we are skipping our Saturday post and instead will have just one thrilling recap for you on Monday. HOWEVER, since we know many of you may have read this classic before,  to tide you over until Monday, we wanted to give you an opportunity to test your own Roger Ackroyd skills in a little quiz from...

In Your Eyes: The Secret of Chimneys | 1925

"He was still some distance from the house. Not a sound could be heard anywhere. Some fast yellowing leaves detached themselves from one of the trees overhead and fell with a soft rustling sound that was almost sinister in the stillness. Anthony started; then smiled. 'Nerves,' he murmured to himself. 'Never knew I had such things before.'" - The Secret of Chimneys, p. 226 I had seen the movie version of The Secret of Chimneys before, which...

Halloween in February: The Hound of Death | 1933

(image from here) "The first night of Witness for the Prosecution was not misery. It was one of my plays that I liked best myself." -Agatha Christie: An Autobiography, p. 532 The Sum of It: Today marks the end of three sets of short stories in a row for The Year of Agatha. I had never read The Hound of Death before, so it was fun to have 12 new Agatha stories to digest. HOWEVER, I must be honest about the fact that I didn't exactly...

#sidekicks | Our Six Faves

Hello dear readers! Today we wanted to share a little graphic about our favorite side characters in Agatha Christie books.  (from top left, Bobby & Frances, Joanna, Luke, Dolly, Lucy, and Lenox) See any names you know and love? Let us know if we missed some of your favorites! -A. & E. ...

Quick Draw: Poirot Investigates | 1925

"I rather wished Poirot had been there. Some times I have the feeling that he rather underestimates my capabilities." - Poirot Investigates, p. 40 The Sum of it All: Poirot Investigates is the second in our current series of short story collections, but it is not short on auburn-haired ladies in distress, snappy telegrams from Poirot ("Of course black bearded man was not Havering only you or Japp would have such an idea"), and lightening fast...