Bonus Read & Guest Post: The Monogam Murders | 2014

(image from here)

"Ah! Now you think like a proper detective. Hercule Poirot is educating you on how to use the little gray cells." 

-Hercule Poirot, The Monogram Murders, p. 233

We are so pleased to have company this week as we recap a bonus read, The Monogram Murders. Sophia from the utter delightful book blog, Main Street & Maple, joined us as we dug into this 2014 NEW case starring our favorite Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot! For those of you not familiar with Monogram Murders (and the subsequent Closed Casket), it is penned by mystery author Sophie Hannah, who received permission from the Agatha Christie Estate to revive dear Hercule. The result is fairly wonderful, but let's give you a little background first....

The Sum of It:
It's 1929 and Poirot has decided to take staycation to a new level and rent a room at a boarding house literally across the street from his usual abode, #whitehavenmansions. Whilst at Mrs. Unsworth's lodging house, Poirot befriends Scotland Yarddie, Edward Catchpool, and the two enjoy spending time talking crime and working out crossword puzzles by the fire. Poirot has also developed a penchant for Pleasant's Coffee House, a small cafe that apparently has the best coffee in the world, and decent food to boot. On his weekly table for one dinner dates, Poirot encounters a harried and terrified woman (later found out to be named Jennie) in the cafe. Poirot approaches Jennie and asks her if anything is wrong. She ominously tells Poirot there's nothing to be done to help her cause she's basically a DEAD WOMAN WALKING. "Who's after you!?!" Poirot asks. "Lemme help you out!" But Jennie refuses, instead begging him to, when she is eventually found #murdered, to not look for her killer because she deserves to die! #OMINOUS. Poirot is rightly concerned about the situation, particularly when, later that night, Catchpool tells him of not one, but THREE murders that have taken place at a fancy London hotel! All three victims are laid out as if awaiting burial...and each has a monogrammed cufflink in their mouth #creepytown. Is Mademoiselle Jennie among the dead?! You'll just have to pick up and copy to find out AND to see if Poirot and Catchpool hurry to catch the killer before he (or she!) strikes again!

The YOA Treatment:
Since we are nearly finished (EEK!) with our Year of Agatha project, and have only a handful of Poirot stories left, we felt this was a good time to see how we felt about Sophie Hannah's Poirot. We enlisted Sophia's help in reviewing Monogram Murders to also get some perspective from someone new to Agatha Christie's works. Here's her verdict:

This might be a cardinal sin as a guest blogger on Year of Agatha, but I have never read a Hercule Poirot story! Shh, don’t tell them! Having no experience with Hercule Poirot previously, I felt I was getting to know the famous detective along with Detective Catchpool, his partner on the case. Unlike the girls of Year of Agatha, who undoubtedly know Poirot well, to me, he started off as just another detective in a mystery novel. Regardless, without knowing whether Hannah stayed true to his character, I was instantly charmed with Poirot’s quirks and peculiarities. I messaged Audrey & Emily as soon as I was done asking, "Does he always talk in the third person?!"  

In true Christie fashion, the plot weaved throughout The Monogram Murders is captivating and intricate. When I read mystery novels, I am always trying to guess who did it and how it was done (aren’t we all??), but I COULD NOT figure it out in this novel. And while the plot is incredibly complex, I never found myself lost or lagging behind. Poirot has a brilliant manner of keeping the reader up to speed without spoon feeding the answers. 

Adding to the fun of uncovering the mystery in this novel, is the vibrant cast of characters. From Poirot himself to the animated hotel-owner to the esteemed artist, there was really never a dull moment at the Bloxham Hotel (which is almost a character in itself). 

Now that I’ve read Sophie Hannah’s take on Hercule Poirot, I think it’s about time I pick up a Poirot novel done by the queen herself!

Overall, we Year of Agatha girls thoroughly enjoyed The Monogram Murders. Full disclosure, the first chapter was a little off-putting for us - we still aren't totally sold on the idea that Poirot would trust his evening hot drink to a cafe, or that he would be drinking that much coffee since super rich hot chocolate is his usual jam. However, we can buy that if he did go through a coffee shop phase, it would be in his earlier days before he gets too old and fussy! But after the first "scene" at Pleasant's, we were totally hooked. The initial round of hotel murders is presented a bit more macabre than the usual Agatha (seemed a bit more Sherlock than Poirot), but the premise is as much a recipe for a late night page turner as any Christie! While the overall pacing of the book was quite excellent, we were a bit bogged down by the ending. Poirot is famous for his EPIC and often lengthy denouements, but this one felt particularly long for some reason. Sophia's assessment is accurate that, while it was complex, it was thoroughly explained. However, it felt as though Poirot's assembled group of suspects/witnesses/etc. would have had to sit for hours to hear his full explanation!

Now, on to what we loved. Poirot did truly feel like Poirot in Monogram Murders. Hannah has done a wonderful job of capturing the Hastings/Poirot relationship in Poirot's interactions with Catchpool, with the latter playing the pivotal Hastings role of saying a small, innocuous phrase that sets off Poirot's little gray cells into a spiral of understanding. Poirot was full of his usual bizarre requests, sending people on random errands that end up producing vital pieces of evidence, and interviewing witnesses like a pro. We heartily recommend this as a read for any Agatha Christie fan, and think the Queen of Crime herself would be pleased with this fresh Poirot success!

A huge thanks to Sophia for reading along with us! If you're in the market for a non-Agatha mystery to read, be sure to check out her reviews of recent thrillers for some great recommendations!

-A & E.

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Beginnings & Ends: Poirot's Early Cases, Miss Marple's Final Cases, & Problem at Pollensa Bay | 1974, 1979, & 1991

(image from here)

(image from here)

(image from here)

"Remember it, and if you think at any time that I am growing conceited - it is not likely, but it might arise."

I concealed a smile.

"Eh bien, my friend, you shall say to me, 'Chocolate box.' Is it agreed?"

"It's a bargain!" -Poirot & Hastings, "The Chocolate Box," Poirot's Early Cases, p. 139

The Sum of It:

We are getting deep into the land of We Have Read All These Short Stories Before In Other Collections...but never fear! The good thing about revisiting short story collections is coming across one you really enjoy. This time, that story for me was "The Chocolate Box." 

The story begins with Poirot and Hastings having a cozy night in, sipping warm drinks (Poirot has what sounds like a truly tasty cup of hot chocolate, and yet Hastings observes he would basically rather poke his own eye out than drink the stuff #sillyhastings) and reminiscing on Poirot's old cases. Poirot says uh, you know there was this one time when I actually got the case WRONG. And Hastings is like GASP, tell me everything. 

Back when Poirot was in the Belgian detective force, there was a big old row going on in France between the Catholic church and the state. One true anti-Catholic baddie guy named Paul Deroulard was a French politician with a Belgian wife who died from falling down a flight of stairs (#yikes #handrailsplz.) After her death, Paul inherited all her money and her house in Brussels. While living there, old Paul ALSO dies rather suddenly. Poirot recalls that he was about to go on vacay, and, being a "bon catholique," was not too devastated by this guy's death. However, he received a visit from a beautiful young woman named Virginie, a cousin of the late Mrs. Deroulard, who requested Poirot's assistance in solving the death of Paul. For all Poirot makes fun of Hastings being star-struck by the beautiful ladies, Poirot himself really can't say no when they ask him for help.

Poirot's investigations lead him to the Deroulard home, where he poses as a journalist to get some answers from the household, which includes several servants, Paul's elderly mother, an English friend named Wilson, and a French neighbor named Saint Alard. Paul Deroulard died suddenly as he had retired to smoke and drink with his guests after dinner. Dinner seemed to have been partaken by all and untampered, same with the after-dinner refreshments. However, the case takes a turn when Poirot discovers that Paul Deroulard alone was a major chocoholic, and always had some after dinner. A quick pose as a plumber, and a rifle through some medicine cabinets make the whole case clear to Poirot. However, as he returns to the Deroulard home to announce the murderer, he finds that he was completely wrong! Poirot has oddly fond memories of the case, as he imagines it keeps him humble. But we all know that Hercule Poirot will never be as humble as he imagines, and that is precisely why we love him.

Miss Marple's Final Cases is made up of several short stories, nearly all of which we have already discussed here on the blog. However, I do heartily recommend giving it a read, especially if you want to read more about Miss Marple in her St. Mary Mead everyday life!

And speaking of St. Mary Mead, it was intriguing to read what smacks of a first run at The Murder at the Vicarage in "The Love Detectives" from Problem at Pollensa Bay & Other Stories. Mr. Satterthwaite & Mr. Quin team up with Colonel Melrose to discover who has coshed cranky old Sir James Dwighton over the head in his library. Of course the initial likely suspect is his beautiful young wife and the Dwighton's houseguest turned Mrs. D.'s boyfriend turned ex-houseguest, Paul. However, additional injured parties come out of the woodwork as the investigation continues, and it seems like there is no end of motives for the murder of Sir James. Do Satterthwaite and Quin work it out in the end? You'll just have to pick up a copy to find out!

The YOA Treatment:

We have several exciting things coming up over the next few weeks as #PHASEONE of The Year of Agatha comes to a close! We are very much looking forward to a guest blog post by the delightful Sophia from Main Street & Maple book blog, as well as a little Cyber Monday deal in our Etsy shop #AgathashirtsforChristmas #Poirotpresents! Be sure to stay tuned in the next few weeks for more details.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-A.

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#DETECTIONCLUB GUEST POST | Double Review: The Sinking Admiral and The Floating Admiral

Photo courtesy of our guest blogger, @bookishsteph1 on Instagram!

We (Audrey and Emily) are so excited this week to have a guest post from one of our #bookstagram friends, Stephanie Russell, from @maidensofmurder! We'll be collaborating with them on a few things this year, and when Steph offered to write about a revival of one of Agatha's most interesting projects, we were thrilled! So, without further ado, take it away Steph!

First, The Detection Club
As an avid yet fairly new reader of Agatha Christie, I'm still in the stage of wanting to know everything and anything about the Queen of Crime. During one of my regular searches for information, I came across The Detection Club, which Agatha Christie was a founding member of in 1930, right up to being the President between 1957-1976.

I found the idea of The Detection Club fascinating! A group of crime writers getting together for dinner a few times of the year and discussing their craft. From these meetings the idea for The Floating Admiral was born. The basic set out of the book is that each of the 14 members would each write a section of the book, making 12 chapters (husband and wife duo G. D. H and M. Cole wrote a chapter between them) and a prologue by G. K. Chesterton, as well as an introduction by Dorothy L. Sayers. Each author would carry on from the last chapter, working up to the conclusion by Anthony Berkeley, making a collaborative novel. A great feature of the book is the alternative endings from the other authors at the back of the book. Agatha Christie's alternate ending is fabulously outrageous and a little far-fetched but super fun.

The Sum of It:
A brief synopsis of the book: a body is found in a rowing boat floating down the river in the town of Whynmouth. Inspector Rudge must clear up all the details, which include the vicar, who owns the boat, the victim's niece, who has disappeared, and many more characters who could all be withholding information.

The YOA Treatment:
What I liked about this book the most was the unexpectedness of each chapter and the anticipation of what each author would bring, what character they could introduce, and what bombshell they might leave their chapter on for the next author to clear up in the following chapter. This really added to the suspense and made it quite impossible to guess with any degree of accuracy whodunnit. There are many possibilities of the ending, as shown with the alternate endings.

Getting to know all the authors was also a plus point. I really found it quite fascinating to see how well this book worked with all these different authors and their individual voices and whether those voices would get lost or stand out too much, how they would vary from the most popular author to the lesser known authors. I'm happy to say that the format worked really well and there were no major shifts in perspective, atmosphere or character. This is a testament to how well these authors could adapt and add their own style without overwhelming the story.

I found the ending impressive and thought it was in keeping with what the previous authors had developed.  But for me, the alternate endings were even more intriguing. The many possibilities of how a story could end. Christie, I think, had the best and most creative alternate ending and it is worth reading for that little page and a bit of summing up.

My rating for this book is 4/5 stars. I couldn't give it the full 5 stars as I found the prologue by G. K. Chesterton a bit obscure and long winded. I also disliked one of the chapters, which was a list of evidence. It was helpful, just not the most riveting. I would highly recommend this for Christie fans and lovers of classic crime books.

The Sum of It:
Now, 85 years after the publication of The Floating Admiral, the current Detection Club have taken inspiration from it to produce the collaborative novel, The Sinking Admiral (published by Harper Collins),  released this year on June 16th. I was lucky enough to receive a copy from Harper Collins and read it straight after I finished The Floating Admiral!

The basic storyline is that the local pub, The Admiral, is threatened with closure due to falling takings. A TV crew arrive to make a documentary. Then the owner of the pub, also nicknamed The Admiral, is found dead in his tethered boat. Suicide is the assumption. But all isn't as it seems.

The YOA Treatment:
Firstly, the not so good things. It isn't set out the same as The Floating Admiral and you do not know which writer is writing each chapter, an added whodunnit element, as Simon Brett, President of The Detection Club, states. Which is great if you are familiar with each authors style. Which I am not. There's also no alternate endings, taking out the fun of seeing different perspectives.

Where this book does succeed is the actual storyline which is engrossing and kept me guessing. The book has some good twists and fun characters and kept me reading, so I gave it a solid 3/5 stars. Again, great for lovers of classic crime but with a modern take.

There are several other Detection Club books available, some which have a contribution from Agatha Christie!

Thank you for reading my review and a big thank you to Audrey and Emily for featuring me.

- Steph (@bookishsteph1, @maidensofmurder)

This month over at @maidensofmurder on Instagram and at www.agathachristie.com/ @officialagthachristie we are reading The Thirteen Problems. This Miss Marple book of short stories makes me wonder whether Agatha Christie was inspired by The Detection Club or The Detection Club formed around the basic premise of these stories of a group of people, The Tuesday Night Club, getting together and discussing unsolved crimes. A bit of life imitating art? These stories were published together in 1932 but written between 1927-1928, a few years before The Detection Club was formed. You can also read the Year of Agatha post about The Thirteen Problems here!