An Education: Cat Among the Pigeons 2.0

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"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 setting, a fancy girls school on a country estate, Agatha brings her personal twist even to the setting, starting the action out in her beloved Middle East. The fictional state of Ramat is on the brink of revolution, and beleaguered (and #doomed) Prince Ali Yusuf entrusts his family's nest egg, a literal pile of glittering jewels, to his righthand man, Bob, a British secret service type fellow who kind of acts as Ali Yusuf's bodyguard. Before they attempt to escape the revolution, Bob frantically looks for a way to get the jewels out of the country to jolly old England, making a surprising choice at the last minute. But before he can let anyone know where he hid them, Bob and Ali Yusuf meet an unfortunate end, and the jewels are hidden, their location guessed by only a few. 

Following this exciting spy-like episode, the action transitions to Meadowbank, a posh but slightly progressive girls boarding school in the British countryside, with an interesting assortment of educators, from the snobbish French Mistress to the unconventional but enchanting literature teacher, led by the formidable Miss Bulstrode. The students, a meticulously selected blend of sturdy British athletes, glamorous princesses, and clever scholars, and educators are all shocked when their idyllic environs are darkened by the mysterious murder of the unpopular games mistress, Miss Springer, in the school's fancy new athletics pavilion. When this death is followed by others, all the ladies start worrying that there's really a cat among the pigeons, and along with the police and the secret government agent in their midst, they must track the murderer down and figure out their motive before more lives -- and the life of the celebrated school -- are endangered. 

The YOA Treatment:

Audrey read and loved this book during the original year of Agatha, and I totally see why. This tale is classic Christie, her skill in her prime, and the type of story that became a model for other books in the genre for generations to come. Where sometimes mysteries are too obvious (though this is rarely if ever the case for Agatha), or so sneaky that there's NO way a reader to solve it before the author produces the reveal, this one is calibrated perfectly so that the savviest readers might figure out Agatha's clever twists by the end, but most of us can joyously read a long and pick up on some of the clues but enjoy the surprise but retrospective inevitability of the resolution when Poirot maps it out. 

One of the fun things about this book is that although Poirot steps in to help out the folks at Meadowbank and the venerable police wrap things up, for most of the story we get to see lots of new characters working their way through the mystery on their own. We often highlight some of the fun and ahead-of-their-time female empowerment elements of Agatha's work, and this book is a great example. Not only do we see the poised and perceptive Miss Bulstrode outsmart the police every time, but we see Agatha offer some of the cleverest deductions to an intrepid, tennis-loving schoolgirl, who works a huge piece of the mystery out for herself and takes the initiative to travel to London on her own and bring Poirot in on the action at exactly the right moment to protect herself, and her schoolmates, and get to the bottom of the crimes on campus. This one will definitely be among the first Agathas I recommend to friends, especially the ones who like to race the book's crime solvers to the final deduction!

- E.  

Agatha's Short-Story Feast: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding | 1960

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"This book of Christmas fare may be described as 'The Chef's Selection.' I am the Chef!" -Agatha Christie's Foreward for The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, p. 7

The Sum of It:

It's short stories for me this week! I actually enjoyed this collection quite a bit, mostly because of the love you can tell Agatha put into the curation of the collection (more on that later.) This collection features mostly Poirot, with a dash of Miss Marple at the end. While each of the six stories in this book are delightful in their own Agatha way, my favorite by far was the title story: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

It's Christmastime and Hercule Poirot plans to spend the holiday in his modern flat "with its radiators and the latest patent devices for excluding any kind of draught." Do we expect anything less? However, he is persuaded to abandon his hermit Christmas plans to investigate a stolen ruby thought to perhaps be at Kings Lacey - a large home in the countryside. Appeased by the balmy 68 degree interior of Kings Lacey (thank goodness for central heating), Poirot does what he does best: chats up the guests. The Laceys aren't thrilled because their granddaughter, Sarah, is dating an odious young man named Desmond Lee-Wortley (throughout the story he seems like kind of a pill, but honestly not THAT horrific.) Mrs. Lacey has invited Desmond for Christmas because she thinks it will rid Sarah of her urge for a bad boy if it looks like the grandparents could care less about having him around. #smort! Other Kings Lacey guests include Desmond's ill sister, several other Lacey grandchildren, cousin Diana, and old friend of the family, David. 

Poirot is legit ready to see what it's like to have an IRL English Christmas (as well as using that as his cover for spending the holiday with the Laceys), and manages to really get the whole experience: there's a great deal of talk about the Christmas feast, which includes oyster soup, two turkeys (one roasted, one boiled), and, of course, plum pudding! The pudding turns rather ominous when Poirot receives an anonymous/rather grammatically-lacking note warning him against eating the pudding and THEN, when the ensemble is eating, said pudding and finding tiny treasures inside such as sixpence, buttons, etc., one lucky devil finds (GASP) a ruby-esque stone! Everyone laughs it off ("duh it isn't real!", etc.), and Poirot deftly pockets the stone for further sleuthing purposes. This story goes on to include a Boxing Day murder that may or may not be fake, Poirot basically giggling into his pillow as someone breaks into his room in the middle of the night, and a mystery Poirot may not be able to solve!

The YOA Treatment:

This book begins in the most delightful way possible: with a foreword by Agatha describing this book in terms of a three-course dinner:

"There are two main courses: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and The Mystery of the Spanish Chest; a selection of Entrees: Greenshaw's Folly, The Dream, and The Under Dog, and a Sorbet: Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds."

Agatha goes on to describe how The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding is her particular favorite because it reminds her fondly of her childhood Christmases spent with her brother-in-law's family. You can see so many similarities between Agatha's memories of these holidays and the Christmas Poirot experiences with the Laceys - even down to the oyster soup! She talks about their epic feasts with course upon course, and then concludes: "during the afternoon we ate chocolates solidly. We neither felt, not were, sick! How lovely to be eleven years old and greedy!"

Since the latest and greatest Agatha books usually came out at Christmastime (A Christie for Christmas!), I can imagine this one was particularly popular. Hearing about the cozy fires, the midnight church service, the stockings, the snow, and the general merriment certainly made me long for an English countryside Christmas (for real, can it be Christmas already!?!!) Agatha ends her foreword: "And how deep my gratitude to the kind and hospitable hostess who must have worked so hard to make Christmas Day a wonderful memory to me still in my old age."

My deepest gratitude to you as well, Dame Agatha!

-A.

I Saw Three Sons Come Sailing In: Hercule Poirot's Christmas | 1938

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"Mon cher, everyone lies — in parts like the egg of the English curate. It is profitable to separate the harmless lies from the vital ones."
-Hercule Poirot, Hercule Poirot's Christmas, p. 89

The Sum of It:
This week we read, quite out of season, Hercule Poirot's Christmas. Though most of the story takes place on the usually-merry Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, this story focuses on the all-but-happy Lee Family begrudgingly spending the holiday together, with deadly consequences. Patriarch Simeon Lee is a richy-rich who is wealthy enough to keep piles of diamonds in the house (albeit in a safe, but still…) and has spent his life openly cheating on his wife, treating her and his kids pretty terribly, and generally being a super crank. His son, Alfred, and daughter-in-law, Lydia live at home and try to keep tabs on the old man, but this year Simeon Lee wants his entire family home for Christmas. Enter his "respectable" M.P. son, George and much-younger, gold-digger-ish wife, Magdalene, and the once-banished artist son, Harry and wife, Hilda. But the guest list doesn't stop there. Once upon a time Simeon's daughter, Jennifer, married a Spaniard and their now-orphaned daughter, Pilar, shows up to see if her grandpa can spare any affection and/or money. And the son of Simeon's one-time business partner, Stephen Farr, has traveled all the way from South Africa to look up the Lees for Christmas. With the whole family assembled, Simeon acts in true grumpy grandpa fashion by going to bed early, but not before telling his kids they're the worst and not-so-subtly hinting he is thinking about changing his will. Just like horrible Mama Boynton in Appointment with Death, no one is TOO torn up when he is later found rather gruesomely murdered in his completely trashed room (was there a struggle? Did someone have a major furniture vendetta?).

An Inspector Sugden is quickly on the scene due to a pre-death call from Simeon Lee insinuating one of his family members stole his precious diamonds. Sugden teams up with a Colonel Johnson and his Christmas guest, Hercule Poirot, to solve the crime!  But these three have a tough time of it due to the fact that a.) all of Simeon Lee's family had a motive for killing him because he was #THEWORST, b.) his dying screams led his family to find him in his room locked FROM THE INSIDE and yet, c.) no one appeared to have escaped through the window #MYSTERY.

The YOA Treatment:
One of the supplemental books we have read this year is A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie by Robert Barnard. This is a fascinating read for any Agatha lover. Barnard offers several chapters of smart and often very witty analysis of Agatha Christie as an author, and, more importantly, what made her such a successful one. He spends one chapter giving some extra time to what he calls Agatha's "Three Prize Specimens," including Hercule Poirot's Christmas. One of the things Barnard appreciates about Agatha is that not only was she committed to giving her reader a truly suspenseful mystery, she was also committed to playing fair with her reader when it comes to the solution of the puzzle. Even if you can't guess the ending, when Poirot finally fills that drawing room with the suspects and lays out just how the crime was done, you find yourself hitting yourself on the head and saying "well, duh! All those clues WERE right there in front of me!" and you're not necessarily mad at Agatha for having sprinkled enough red herrings to put you off the importance of the clues, you're more mad at yourself for not having put them together. Or, if we're being totally honest, completely okay with not having guessed because it's kind of more fun to be in suspense the whole time, right!?

This week's read reminds us of what we all love most about Agatha: the puzzle. As Barnard says: "All in all Hercule Poirot's Christmas is a highly superior example of Christie's habitual procedures in her classic phase: the plot is meticulously thought through, not a detail is misplaced or without significance in the total scheme, and above all the reader has that satisfying sense that the clues have all been fairly and squarely placed in front of him—even if he has somehow been induced to look out of the window at the crucial moment of placing" (p. 81).

-A. & E.
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Self-portrait of the Artist: Cards on the Table | 1936

" 'Ask Dr. Roberts if he'll be so good as to step this way.' 

'I should have kept him to the end,' said Mrs. Oliver, 'In a book I mean,' she added apologetically.
'Real life's a bit different,' said Battle. 

'I know,' said Mrs. Oliver. 'Badly constructed.' "

- Cards on the Table, p. 25

The Sum of It:

This book establishes an interesting premise for the crime around which it centers; a creepy dude who enjoys dressing up like Mephistopheles and freaking people out bumps into Poirot at a museum and mentions that he's got a collection the detective might be interested in — a collection of murderers who got away with their crimes. When Poirot is invited to attend a dinner party at creepy dude's house (Mr. Shaitana) along with a police superintendent, a secret service man, [one of our favorite recurring characters] mystery writer Ariadne Oliver, and four randoms, Poirot gets a feeling Shaitana has gathered the randoms as his collection. His feelings are confirmed when Shaitana gives a sort of strange speech at dinner about women and poisoning and other crimes. 

Shaitana insists that everyone but him sit down to play bridge, four in one room and four in another, and assigns all the "sleuths" to play together while the other four played in the room with him. When the evening waxes, they discover that their host, who seemed to be sleeping in his chair by the fire, was instead #MURDERED with a little jeweled dagger, stolen from a nearby table top. 

All the sleuths, including the writer Ariadne Oliver, put their heads together to solve this crime. They interview all the bridge players who were in the room with Shaitana when he died, that night and then individually later. They were engrossed in the game, no one saw a thing, not a clue to be found. Poirot realizes the only clues they have are psychological, so he proceeds to investigate, in true Poirot manner, stuff like the bridge score cards and everyone's memories of what the room looked like. Based on what Poirot knew about the four, he knew that each of them had something to hide, something Shaitana presumably knew by including them in his collection. So who could be guilty? 

The YOA Treatment: 

Though Agatha regularly contrasts Poirot's focus on psychology and use of his "little grey cells" with the more prosaic methods of traditional police officers, this book offers an opportunity for Poirot himself to contrast with a few different types of sleuths. Though sometimes such contrast serves to make Poirot a bit surly and judgy, he seems to enjoy this little crime solvers club, and works closely with the police superintendent especially. 

One of the most enjoyable things about this clever mystery is the presence of Ariadne Oliver, who first joined the Christie canon in Parker Pyne Investigates, and in this tale provides another fun foil to our beloved Hercule. 

In 1956, Agatha told a magazine, "I never take my stories from real life, but the character of Ariadne Oliver does have a strong dash of myself." Little hints of Agatha herself are sprinkled throughout the character and comments of Mrs. Oliver, including her love for driving, lack of talent at bridge, exasperation at readers who are sticklers for accuracy about things like what type of flowers bloom when, penchant for apples, distaste for dictating her books to a secretary, and her frustrations with her most famous detective, Sven, whose Finnish homeland Mrs. Oliver knew actually nothing about (akin to a certain Belgian we know Agatha was often annoyed by). Mrs. Oliver is even given credit for having written a mystery with a name familiar to Agatha fans, The Body in the Library, a title Agatha actually gave to one of her own books about six years later.

At one point in Cards on the Table, Mrs. Oliver is talking to another character about being a mystery writer, and they have the following exchange: 

"...It must be wonderful to just sit down and write off a whole book."

"It doesn't happen exactly like that," said Mrs. Oliver. "One actually has to think, you know. And thinking is always a bore. And you have to plan things. And the one gets stuck every now and then and you feel you'll never get out of the mess — but you do! Writing's not particularly enjoyable. It's hard work like everything else."

"It doesn't seem like work," said Rhoda.

"Not to you," said Mrs. Oliver, "because you don't have to do it! It feels very like work to me. Some days I can only keep going by repeating over and over to myself the amount of money I might get for my next serial rights. That spurs you on, you know."

This conversation is quite reminiscent of Agatha's own attitude towards writing once she became a "professional," as she described it in her autobiography, following her heartbreaking separation from #HORRIDARCHIE during the time she was trying to write The Mystery of the Blue Train (her own least favorite book): 

"I assumed the burden of a profession, which is to write even when you don't want to, don't much like what you are writing, and aren't writing particularly well. I have always hated The Mystery of the Blue Train, but I got it written, and sent off to the publishers. It sold just as well as my last book had done. So I had to content myself with that — though I cannot say I have ever been proud of it." 

Later in her autobiography, a more cheery but still practical professional Agatha echoed these statements by Mrs. Oliver further, writing of the days following the publication of The Seven Dials Mystery:

"The nice part about writing in those days was that I related it directly to money...This stimulated my output enormously. I said to myself, 'I should like to take the conservatory down and fit it up as a loggia in which we could sit. How much will that be?' I got my estimate, I went to my typewriter, I sat, thought, planned, and within a week a story was formed in  my mind. In due course I wrote it, and then I had my loggia."

Perhaps we have home decorating needs to thank most for how prolific dear Agatha became over the course of her career! Regardless, Cards on the Table gives us a delightful glimpse at perhaps her own view of herself as a writer and sleuth, all wrapped in a typically twisty-turny mystery which ONCE AGAIN made me gasp with surprise at the resolution — outwitted by the Dame again. 

- E. 

#YOAreadalong Discussion 2: Murder on the Orient Express

Hello dear readers!

We wanted to give you some details about our second #YOAreadalong of the year: Murder on the Orient Express!

As with our first readalong, we are also having a little giveaway (we love spreading the Agatha love!)

THE PRIZE!
For this giveaway we will be sending our lucky winner a copy of And Then There Were None as well as a print of the amazing Agatha Christie bookshelf by artist Jane Mount (see below!)

RULES:
Okay so how do you win this cool stuff?

1.) Leave a comment on this blog post before 11:59pm EST on Friday, May 19th 20th! OOPS!
2.) We will randomly select a winner on Saturday, May 20th 21st
3.) This giveaway is open internationally (yay!), but only to our readers age 13+ (cause we'll need your address to send you your prize and stuff like that!)

Readalong Deets:
Okay so you're reading Murder on the Orient Express. What do you think? We have a few general questions below to guide our thoughts and feelings, but of course welcome ALL your thoughts and feelings!

Characters:
>there are a lot of characters in this one! anyone stand out as particularly shady?
>no Hastings to be found in Orient Express! is Poirot the same for you without him?
>what would Hastings add to the mix if he was in the story?
>what about the Hastings-stand-ins? Aka M. Bouc and Dr. Constantine?

#MURDER:
>who is your initial suspect for the murder?
>stabbing vs. poisoning? Which does Agatha do best?

Story:
>thoughts on the inclusion of the backstory (#cassetti #armstrongs)?
>what about the train setting? is Orient Express train life better than The Mystery of the Blue Train?

As with last time, be advised: everyone is reading at their own pace so spoilers may be inevitable! Post and read at your own risk! :)

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

-A. & E.

Death by Fish Paste?: Sad Cypress | 1940

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"One does not practice detection with a textbook! One uses one's natural intelligence." -Hercule Poirot, Sad Cypress, p. 166

The Sum of It:
We begin this week's first book, Sad Cypress, in the company engaged-to-be-married cousins (#cousinlove #ohlala) Elinor Carlisle and Roddy Welman. The pair is slightly distressed because they have received an anonymous letter indicating a mysterious someone is nosing their way into their very sick aunt's favor. As it is likely that their aunt will die soon, they should be, the letter says, a bit concerned about the large inheritance they will inherit from said ill aunt. Elinor and Roddy don't really think much of the letter, but decide they should pay a visit to Aunt Laura anyway. Off they go, and find a house full of nurses and doctors and housekeepers and a childhood friend of theirs, Mary Gerard, who is all grown up now and has become very attractive. Roddy, not necessarily being Britain's best and brightest to begin with, turns into a complete goob, becomes entranced by lovely Mary, and basically forgets he has a cousin fiancee at all. Elinor tries to push aside the drama of brazenly unfaithful Roddy and focus on dying Aunt Laura who does, in fact, die like right away, but does so WITHOUT A WILL. So Elinor inherits all, but wins the award for Being the Bigger Person, and agrees to give fiancee-thief Mary Gerard a chunk of cash because Aunt Laura liked her so much. Elinor and Roddy break up and Elinor decides to clean out Aunt Laura's house and have one last quick tea party of fish paste sandwiches with Mary Gerard and one of her Aunt's former nurses, Nurse Hopkins. At the end of the tea party, who turns up dead? MARY GERARD! Since they all ate the same things at #deadlyteaparty, the police surmise that Elinor must have, in a jealous rage, secretly put poison in Mary's favorite sandwich paste, ensuring her demise.

Everyone assumes that Elinor is super guilty, except darling Dr. Peter Lord, who has a tiny bit of a crush on Elinor and enlists the help of Hercule Poirot to find the truth! Note, as Poirot tells Dr. Lord to on several occasions, that might mean confirming Elinor's guilt. Poirot embarks on his usual Interview Tour of all those involved, and does in fact, find the truth. The book is in three parts, the first all the events surrounding Aunt Laura and Mary Gerard's deaths, the second part focusing on Poirot's investigation, and the third is from the perspective of Elinor Carlisle during her trial for murder. The third part is particularly interesting, because it is another instance (like Witness for the Prosecution) where Agatha shows her compelling skillz for courtroom drama!

Agatha is said to have thought this book would have been better without Poirot. I highly disagree. I enjoyed this book immensely, and it made complete sense to have Poirot as the investigating mind to prove Elinor Carlisle guilty or not guilty, because this is just the kind of case he would enjoy solving.

The YOA Treatment:
One of the side Agatha Christie books we are reading this year is Poirot and Me by David Suchet. I highly recommend this book for any Agatha lovers (particularly those who enjoy the television adaptations as well!) because David Suchet gives such delightful insight into the process of becoming an on-screen Poirot for nearly 25 years. One particular story stood out to me from his memories in his chapter about filming Sad Cypress. Suchet talks about visiting a local hospice while filming and visiting many of the elderly residents in costume (and character!) of Poirot, most of whom were huge Poirot fans! (#preciousmoment #GodblessDavidSuchet) Suchet was still getting used to being famous for being Poirot, but his iconic-ness didn't totally hit him until a moment that happened around the same time. He was on the Tube in London and a nun came hurrying up to him, yelling "It's Poirot!" He was slightly mortified at first, but the nun went on. I'll let him tell the rest:

The nun explained to me that she had just 'come out of silence' and could not wait to express her joy at seeing me. She then went on to tell the entire carriage, pretty much at the top of her voice, that she and the other nuns at her convent liked to watch Poirot after dark on Sunday evenings, even though the rules of the convent did not really allow them to do so.
'It is one of our forbidden secrets,' she chortled, with a broad smile on her face. 'It is quite wonderful.'
...Looking back, it serves to remind me just how lucky I am to have so many different kinds of fans around the world, all of whom seemed thrilled by Poirot.

Thrilled by Poirot! We couldn't agree more.

-A.

100 Years of Poirot!

(image from agathachristie.com)

Happy Thursday, readers!

Did you know that the world's favorite Belgian detective (#HerculePoirot) is turning 100 this year!? Neither did we! Thank goodness the good people at Agatha Christie Limited are on top of things and have a fantastic collection of information on this beloved #DameAgatha character on their website. Of particular note is Hercule Poirot's Autobiography which is a for real thing that is absolute magic! Be sure to check out their website to read all the goodness.

For the two of us, Hercule Poirot means the terrific actor David Suchet.

Audrey says: I remember being very small, getting to stay up late and watch Poirot on Masterpiece Theater and falling in love with Agatha Christie's stories because David Suchet brought them completely to life. Even now Suchet's adorably fussy, but at the same time cunning and kind portrayal of Poirot holds a very special place in my heart.

Emily says: Suchet IS Poirot. He himself feels so personally attached to the character, it's incredible to watch some of the behind the scenes conversations with him and listen to him talk about Poirot like a best friend. I've tried to appreciate other Poirots (so sorry, Peter Ustinov) but they just don't get it quite right. The voice, the walk, the facial expressions, the accent; Suchet is the  master, for sure. Though I had read some Christie books as a teenager, I didn't start watching Suchet's Poirot until my mid-twenties, when dear Audrey realized my lack of awareness and insisted on correcting it (thank goodness for #mindtwins!) Suchet brings the stories to life in such a wonderful way, he is the perfect Belgian detective.

Poirot is one of Agatha's most famous characters, and has been portrayed on stage and screen many times. Though we're clearly biased to Suchet, do you have a case to make for a different Poirot? Or share our attachment to dear David? Let's also not forget precious Hastings, who shares this anniversary, and a place in our hearts, as does Hugh Fraser, our favorite Hastings of all)!

Conferences! Stockings! Fox Hunts!: The ABC Murders | 1936

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"A madman, mon ami, is to be taken seriously. A madman is a very dangerous thing." -Hercule Poirot, The ABC Murders, p. 5

The Sum of It:
This week, we present to you, dear readers, our recap of what has become one of our favorite #DameAgatha novels: The ABC Murders. We begin with the dynamic duo of Poirot and Hastings reunited again (it seems like Agatha decided these two just weren't as great without each other and has decided to keep them together #4eva). Poirot is dying his hair (#scandal!) and Hastings pretends to be shocked, but has also adopted the combover technique for his own sparse locks. Having tried retirement and not liking it too much (since he always gets pulled into solving murders anyway), Poirot is back in London and looking for the cream of the crop of crime to solve. Just such a crime comes his way in the form of a mysterious letter announcing a murderer's intention to commit a crime in the town of Andover in a few days. Poirot is skeptical of the taunting note because there is something that just doesn't seem right to him about the whole thing. But sure enough, the appointed day rolls around and an elderly shopkeeper named Ascher is found #coshed with an ABC railway guide near her body! The game is afoot!

Before long Poirot is receiving more letters with dates and locations of future murders and they are all in a sinister pattern following the alphabet (#clever). Betty Barnard is belt-strangled in Bexhill! Sir Carmichael Clarke is #coshed in Churston! (and so forth). At each location an ABC railway guide is found, reinforcing the murderer's devious plan to work his or her way through the alphabet of towns in England. (Also causing the question to be asked "uh...what's gonna happen when they get to the letter X?" #goodquestion). Poirot becomes more and more frustrated as he attempts to get one step ahead of the killer, and yet the bodies keep piling up. Along the way, he collects a legion of family members of the victims who attempt to make sense of the crime, and do their part to stop the murders. Just when you think Agatha has given you some resolution (#ABC), SHE DOES THE UNTHINKABLE! Another twist! And a better ending than you could have hoped for. This is truly one of Agatha's most ingenious plots, and deserves to be in the top "To-Reads" for anyone looking to read more of the Queen of Crime.

A Brief List of Hilarities:
This recap would not be complete without noting some truly excellent Poirot & Hastings moments found in The ABC Murders:
>At one point, Poirot teases Hastings about his general extreme love of women by singing (in what appears to be a fairly grating manner) #hastingsinlove #poirotthesinger
>Poirot also suggests that Hastings should think about joining a nudist colony (Hastings is not amused).
>Hastings, trying to be considerate of Poirot's extreme need to "think things over" aka engage the Little Grey Cells! that he (Hastings) literally falls asleep rather that disturb his friend (#friendshipgoals).
>In the end, Poirot must admit that, though his friend Hastings has a rather basic mind, he is the Belgian's good luck charm once again! A stray, obvious observance from Hastings ultimately leads Poirot to solve the crime.

The YOA Treatment:
It's interesting to think in today's society full of TV show, book, and real life serial killers, that the notion of such a murderer was not common when The ABC Murders was written. agathachristie.com notes that, at the time of ABC's publication, the term "serial killer" was not even yet coined! It is this serial killer plot that caused critics at the time of its publication to initially question the book's significance, and yet ultimately to hail its brilliance. Edward Powys Mathers asked himself in a 1936 review: "Is Agatha Christie going to let me down? Does she think she can give us this kind of tale as a detective story and get away with it?" Of course she isn't and IS and even Eddie PM must admit that "Ingenuity...is a mild term for Mrs. Christie's gift."

Cruella de Boynton: Appointment with Death | 1938

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"You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" 

- Unknown Whisperer (until the end of the book...), Appointment with Death, p. 1

The Sum of It:
We turn, dear readers, once again to the Middle East for our second book of this week: Appointment with Death. Set first in Jerusalem, this story focuses on the most depressing family of all time: The Boyntons. The Boyntons are a rag-tag group of emotionally abused, American step and half brothers and sisters who are (basically, literally) under the thumb of their disgusting (the exact words used to describe her are "the grotesque, Buddha-like figure" with fat hands, among other things) and super, duper psycho mother. #Yikes. These grown adults are constantly at their mother's beck and call, are not allowed to leave their home (uh...except on this random vacay), are not allowed to get jobs, and can only talk to people their mother says they can. Her list of Okay People most definitely does not include young hot shot doctor, Sarah King, who has developed a bit of a crush on Raymond Boynton. We see most of the first half of the book through the eyes of Dr. King, or Dr. Gerard, a French doctor who is also having a Middle East tour. These two are fascinated by the prisoner-like Boynton children and their crazy mom and the psychology behind the hold she has on them.

After several chapters of Truly Awful Things Happening to all the Boynton Kids, the group moves their vacation to a more remote location in Petra, along with another American woman (who has married a fancy Lord Downton-Abbey style), Lady Westholme, and old-maidy-type named Miss Pierce. The group is gelling as well as can be expected when, of course, one afternoon the horrid Mrs. Boynton is found #DEAD alone in her lawn chair! As you can imagine, none of her kids are terribly torn up and everyone seems cool with saying "oh yeah she def just died of regular heart stuff"...except for Hercule Poirot. With basically everyone having a motive for knocking old sourface Boynton off, Poirot needs to know if they are dealing with just #DEATH or #MURDER. Commissioned by a Colonel Carbury to solve the crime in just 24 hours, Poirot sits down for some long chats with each person involved and, of course, in true Poirot fashion, finds the truth with time to spare.

The YOA Treatment:
I must admit (without giving any spoilers), that the end of the book was slightly disappointing. And by the end I mean the solution. But while the ending might not be 100% satisfying, the ride truly is. Appointment with Death features a lot of the Poirot order and method we have come to know and love. For example, at one point he writes out a list of nine items that are just simply interesting about the case, and then goes back through to see if he can reconcile all of them together or if there are any that conflict (you guessed it, there are!) But Poirot also spends a great deal of time thinking through the psychology of this #MURDER. He considers each suspect and decides to prove each of them innocent if he can, and if he cannot...well they most certainly must be the guilty party. Appointment with Death shows the maturity #DameAgatha was reaching as a writer, not necessarily (in this case) with stunning plot development, but in a very logical and convincing understanding of psychology.

Another interesting tidbit - Appointment with Death mentions not one, but two of Poirot's previous cases! The work he did on the A.B.C. Murders and, most notably, his success with that little affair on the Orient Express. Now, I shall not reveal the context in which this case was brought up, for it shall spoil the end of that book which is considered one of Agatha's finest! But for those of you who are familiar with the ending of Orient Express, you will no doubt be able to sniff out the connection made between the two cases...

-A.

A Quartet of Red Herrings: Murder in the Mews | 1937

(image from here)

"Leave it to Hercule Poirot. The lies I invent are always most delicate and most convincing." 

-Hercule Poirot, Murder in the Mews, p. 116

The Sum of It:
We have returned, dear readers, to the short stories this week. Murder in the Mews is actually the name of the first short stories in a collection of four, all of which feature the most darling of the Belgians, Hercule Poirot. I shall give a petite summary for each below:

1.) Murder in the Mews: a young woman returns home one evening to find that her roommate has shot herself. However, there is not a single suicide note to be found, and a mysterious man was perhaps the last one to see her alive...smacks something of murder rather than suicide, does it not? Hercule Poirot teams up again buddy cop style with Chief Inspector Japp and it's the most the delicious fun: Japp is always telling Poirot to "stop jabbering to yourself" and Poirot educates Japp on fine French cuisine (Omelette aux Champignons?! #YASPLEASE). Oh and did I mention this whole thing started because the two of them were out celebrating Guy Fawkes' Day together? #BFFs

2.) The Incredible Theft: it's your typical weekend house party of an eclectic mix of government big wigs, various Lords and Ladies, and (#wildcard) a super hottie woman who is definitely maybe a spy. But of course some very important documents will be stolen! Hercule Poirot is summoned quite literally in the middle of the night to sniff out the culprit. This story contains one of my favorite Poirot moments to date as he attempts to recreate the cry of a maid which startles a suspect:

"Here I scream," said Poirot helpfully. He opened his mouth and emitted a shrill bleat. Lord Mayfield turned his head away to hide a smile and Mr. Carlile looked extremely uncomfortable.
"Allez! Forward! March!" cried Poirot. "It is your cue that I give you there."

3.) Dead Man's Mirror: Poirot receives a rather vague letter from a Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore (the names, Agatha, the names!) inviting him to his huge estate to talk about a "family matter." Poirot shows up, but only to find Sir Gervase already dead. Oh, it's suicide? Of course it's not! #MURDER Poirot works through a vast cast of very eccentric characters to find the truth of who killed Sir Gervase, and, more importantly, what exactly happened to his mirror.

4.) Triangle at Rhodes: Poirot is on vacay by the sea, mostly hanging out with the other single randos, when in stumbles a love triangle of a beautiful aging actress Valentine, her jealous husband, and a handsome young potential boy toy. Poirot watches from the sidelines as the jealousy escalates from not only from Valentine's brooding husband, but boy toy Douglas's mousy young wife as well until Poirot can take no more and attempts to prevent the inevitable #MURDER. Alas, the lovely Valentine is poisoned in full view of everyone, but of course, Hercule has already worked out who has slipped a little something into her glass.

The YOA Treatment:
One thing #DameAgatha does very well is the red herring. Or, as Poirot likes to call it, the "kippered herring." While Agatha (like many mystery novelists) employs this tactic in many of her novels, it's a particularly prevalent mechanism in this set of short stories. It also seems like Agatha was doing some trial runs of some of her ideas in this book - most obviously Triangle at Rhodes. The setting and characters are nearly identical to her later full length novel, Evil Under the Sun (although much of the murder plot line is different.)

I do enjoy many of Agatha's short story collections, but this was not one of my top favorites. In a review of this collection from 1937 in The Times Literary Supplement, Simon Nowell-Smith also felt this was not Agatha's best work and astutely observed: "The fact is that the reader of today demands to participate in a detective story, and no living writer, unless occasionally Miss (Dorothy) Sayers, can find room in a short story for this extra detective." I completely agree with Mr. Nowell-Smith. These four stories were fun, but I didn't feel the same excitement of following along the trail of clues with Poirot and Japp as I do in so many of her novels that I love.

-A.

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 fairly straightforward dinner party turns into a tragic evening when unassuming Reverend Stephen Babbington takes a sip of his first cocktail in years, and promptly drops dead. Who could possibly have a reason to kill an adorable old cleric?!, says Poirot and just about everyone else. But when nearly all the same guests get together a few weeks later and their host, Dr. Bartholomew Strange, dies under similar circumstances, Poirot is forced to eat his words and agree to look into the case. Poirot joins a merry band of crime solvers, namely Sir Charles, his crush Hermione "Egg" Lytton Gore (this has to go in the books as one of Agatha's best character names), and Mr. Satterthwaite, a character Agatha fans will know from his work with Mr. Harley Quin in The Mysterious Mr. Quin.

Three Act Tragedy (also published as Murder in Three Acts) features some very mysterious elements INDEED including, but not limited to people poisoned from glasses with NO TRACES OF POISON, a disappearing blackmailing butler, and an intriguing new arrival at a local mental institution.

The YOA Treatment:
I'm going to be honest - this read is probably not going to go on my favorites list. The main reason being: not enough Poirot. The book is categorized as A Hercule Poirot Mystery, and yet most of the detective grunt work is done by Sir Charles, Egg, and Mr. Satterthwaite, with the latter giving the majority of the perspective of the story. Poirot pops into the story about halfway through and offers up his little grey cells to ruminate over all the clues the other three have gathered and give his customary dramatic reveal speech to stun his audience with the killer's identity.

In her Autobiography, Agatha says that Mr. Quin was one of her favorite characters, as well as his "emissary," Mr. Satterthwaite. It is obvious in Three Act Tragedy that Agatha is fond of Satterthwaite, giving him quirky little observations about the other characters, such as "Merciless, these modern young women, and terrifyingly alive" as well as making him very nearly the central character of this book. I admire Agatha for trying out different characters, and for paying special attention to those she liked the most, but I also applaud her for, in the end, sticking with the sleuth that her readers loved so much: M. Poirot.

I leave you with this funny observance between Mr. Satterthwaite and Poirot, which answers a question I have always had about Poirot:
"Why do you sometimes speak perfectly good English and at other times not?"
Poirot laughed.
"Ah, I will explain. It is true that I can speak the exact, the idiomatic English. But, my friend, to speak the broken English is an enormous asset. It leads people to despise you. They say, 'A foreigner; he can't even speak English properly.' It is not my policy to terrify people; instead, I invite their gentle ridicule. Also I boast! An Englishman he says often, 'A fellow who thinks as much of himself as that cannot be worth much.' That is the English point of view. It is not at all true. And so, you see, I put people off their guard. Besides," he added, "it has become a habit."
"Dear me," said Mr. Satterthwaite. "Quite the cunning of the serpent, M. Poirot."

Quite cunning, indeed.

-A.