Death by Physics: Murder in Mesopotamia 2.0 | 1936

Image from here “Nurse Leatheran has been giving me valuable information about the various members of the expedition. Incidentally I have learnt a good deal - about the victim. And the victim, mademoiselle, is very often the clue to the mystery.” - Murder in Mesopotamia The Sum of It: Matter-of-fact nurse Amy Leatheran is spending some time in the Middle East, and just as she's planning to go home, she's offered a position tending to the...

Un-cancelled Dinner Plans: Lord Edgware Dies 2.0

(image from here) "'I've heard you're just the most marvellous man that ever existed. Somebody's got to get me out of the tangle I'm in and I feel you're just the man to do it.' We got out at the second floor and she led the way along the corridor, paused at a door and entered one of the most opulent of the Savoy suites. Casting her white fur wrap on one chair, and her small jewelled bag on the table, the actress sank on to a chair and exclaimed: 'M....

Small Town Secrets: A Murder is Announced 2.0

Image from here "Ye gods and little fishes," said Sir Henry, "can it be? George, it's my own particular, one and only, four-starred pussy. The super-pussy of all old pussies. And she has managed somehow to be at Medenham Wells, instead of peacefully at home in St. Mary Mead, just at the right time to be mixed up in a murder. Once more a murder is announced -- for the benefit and enjoyment of Miss Marple." - A Murder is Announced, p. 71 The...

Poirot's Mythology Lesson: The Labors of Hercules 2.0

(image from here) "In the period before his final retirement he would accept twelve cases, no more, no less. And those twelve cases should be selected with special reference to the twelve labors of ancient Hercules. Yes, that would not only be amusing, it would be artistic, it would be spiritual."  -The Labors of Hercules, p. 14 The Sum of It:  Poirot is going through one of those phases where he's being kind of dramatic about...

Weekend at Angkatell's: The Hollow 2.0

(image from here) "Then he looked down on the shot man, and he started. For the dying man's eyes were open. They were intensely blue eyes and they held an expression that Poirot could not read but which he described to himself as a kind of intense awareness. And suddenly, or so it felt to Poirot, there seemed to be in all this group of people only one person who was really alive - the man who was at the point of death."  -The Hollow, p....

The Local Gossip: The Moving Finger 2.0

Image from here "You see," he said, "crude, childish spite though it is, sooner or later one of these letters will hit the mark. And then, God knows what may happen! I'm afraid, too, of the effect upon the slow, suspicious, uneducated mind. If they see a thing written, they believe its true. All sorts of complications may arise." -The Moving Finger, p. 15 The Sum of It: Brother and sister duo Jerry and Joanna have absconded from the city...

A Jolly Holiday with Anne: The Man in the Brown Suit 2.0

(image from here) "When I am married, I shall be a devil most of the time, but every now and then, when my husband least expects it, I shall show him what a perfect angel I can be."  -Anne Beddingfeld, The Man in the Brown Suit, p. 202 The Sum of It: The Man in the Brown Suit is one of those delightful early Agatha books that is heavily spy thriller, with a dash of murder mystery, and a lot of exotic locations. Anne Beddingfeld is...

An Education: Cat Among the Pigeons 2.0

Image from this fun blog "I think there is something wrong here," said Eileen Rich slowly. "It's as though there were someone among us who didn't belong." She looked at him, smiled, almost laughed and said, "Cat among the pigeons, that's the sort of feeling. We're the pigeons, all of us, and the cat's amongst us. But we can't see the cat." - Cat Among the Pigeons, p. 98 The Sum of It: Though most of it is set in a quintessential English mystery...

Tea and Scandal: The Murder at the Vicarage 2.0

"I daresay everyone thinks it is somebody different. That is why it is so important to have proofs. I, for instance, am quiet convinced I know who did it. But I must admit I haven't one shadow of proof."  Image from here - The Murder at the Vicarage, p. 213. The Sum of It: The Murder at the Vicarage was Agatha's first introduction of the inquisitive, gossip-fueled, always-a-step-ahead amateur sleuth Miss Marple, and since Audrey read...

Returning to the Scene of the Crime!: The Body in the Library 2.0

(image from here) "A knock came at the door. Automatically from the depths of her dreams Mrs. Bantry said: 'Come in.' ...Out of the dim green light Mary's voice came - breathless, hysterical: 'Oh, ma'am, oh, ma'am, there's a body in the library.'" -The Body in the Library, p. 2 The Sum of It: Much of the delight of The Body in the Library comes from its inclusion of two of my favorite Christie characters, Dolly Bantry and Miss Jane...

The Many Years of Agatha #2018

(William Andrew Loomis, Woman in Yellow Shirt Reading, from this charming blog called Reading & Art.) Hello friends, We are so excited for a new year and all the new ideas bubbling around in our little heads for Agatha and books and you guys and here we are to finally share them! First, regarding Agatha:  We, like you, are clearly having trouble quitting dear Agatha even though we've spent so much time with her already. This...