Agatha Christie

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Yet another book/ author related thread.

Have any of you read Miss Christie? I never have, but am considering her. I’m not usually a mystery “whodunit” buff, but her style I feel would be more appealing to me. I know she’s classic, and wrote her mysteries in the 1920’s.
 
I like AC a lot, bit then, I really like mysteries. And it’s funny, I don’t try to figure them out! I like the logic and seeing it unfold. AC has very *nice *characters, except of course for the very wicked ones. Her detectives remain pretty much the same throughout, unlike some who have a “story arc” through their series, where they get married, etc. She is also very steady and does not become more and more anything (gory, horror) as some do. and every once in a while, there is something very thought-provoking! (At the end of A Pale Horse (or similar), one character notes that the wicked are really rather mundane, for example).

Her books are, to me, excellent and light reading.
 
I recall an episode of Murder on the Orient Express when Hercule reaches into his draw and grabs the rosary and says : “Thank you God for making me a Catholic”.

Not sure if it is in every edition/version but it was in the recent BBC series.

In another episode he captures a murderer by asking where this Irish lass was on March 17 and she couldn’t recall. Hercule said every Irishman knows where they are on March 17, St Patricks Day.
 
I’ve read most Agatha Christie mysteries…Hercule Poirot is my favorite, but
the Jane Marple ones are good, too.
It’s fun to try to figure out the mystery as you read, but the best thing about
her books is that they take you back to that pre- WWII period of England so well.
Reading one of her books is like stepping into a time machine…very enjoyable
reading.
👍
 
Have you read the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayers? Same type of mysteries, set after World War I,very well written,
Also Josephine Tey, whose books are hard to find but excellent,
 
Viki63 said:
Have you read the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayers? Same type of mysteries, set after World War I,very well written,
Also Josephine Tey, whose books are hard to find but excellent,
Click to expand...
No, but I might get around to them. I’m always segueing into different authors. Aren’t Ellis Peters or Elizabeth Peters and Anne Perry Catholic mysteries? I come across many of them, and it seems their covers are always decorated with stained glass windows…unless I’m remembering wrong?
 
Agatha Christie is the reason I wanted to become a mystery writer!

Her books are clean with only passing references (in a very Victorian “behind the hand” whispers) of scandalous behavior.

I’ve never watched any films of her books, TV or movie, but I know Hercule Poirot has occasionally made the sign of the cross (usually after encountering a murder victim) and in “The Pale Horse” (hands down, the absolute BEST book, even Dame Agatha listed it in her top ten!) one of the murder victims is a “Carthlick” priest and even if the other characters “don’t hold to the Roman faith”, they are usually quite respectful, if a little condescending, of Catholics.

Be aware that the language in her books was common in England (and most Anglo countries) during the 1920s and '30s… language we consider offensive today was acceptable at the time (mainly the “n” word as it applies to black people) as were the class distinctions.
Don’t let that put you off. It gives great insight to the characters themselves.

Here is a website that will give you some fascinating insight on the greatest mystery author of all time and her books: agathachristie.com/about-christie/

My favorite Christie novels:

The Pale Horse
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Body in the Library
The Mirror Crack’d
Cards on the Table
The ABC Murders
Murder on the Orient Express
Death on the Nile
Remembered Death
Elephants Can Remember
A Caribbean Mystery
Nemesis
Thirteen at Dinner (Lord Edgware Dies)

… and, no, that’s NOT all of them!
 
I, too, am an Agatha Christie fan! Her mysteries are all very well written and clever. She had so many brilliant ways of weaving a complex mystery together. I love her characters too, especially Hercule Poirot. You become quite attached to them after awhile.

For that matter, I also love the BBC productions of the Poirot mysteries. David Suchet just nails the character perfectly IMO…he is what I always imagined Poirot would look and act like.

So yes, if you are looking for a well done mystery novel, then you can’t go wrong with Agatha Christie. 👍

My own favourites of hers include:

And Then There Were None
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Murder on the Orient Express
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Five Little Pigs
Peril at End House
 
The first victim in the classic Marple novel 4:50 From Paddington turns out to be a young French Catholic who is killed for her beliefs on Marriage. Miss Marple spends the novel trying to find her mysterious nameless victim justice, being one of only two people who believe a murder actually took place. It’s a touching story, and ultimately is the amateur detective’s finest hour.

It’s my favorite AC novel, and the ITV adaptation starring Geraldine McEwan was brilliant television.
 
I’ve read almost every book except for a few featuring her less popular protagonists (but I’ll read those too). I’ve read a number of mystery novels but the “fair play” mystery gets me the most excited. I appreciate being giving the chance to play along and be clever rather then simply taken for the ride.

Unfortunately “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Death on the Nile” were among my first books (and they are still my favorites). Knowing how tricky she can be, it made guessing the murderer in other books much easier. Sometimes I knew who the murder was going to be after the circumstances around the death were revealed. One time I guessed the murderer by the time I was at page 3 and nothing had actually happened yet. But *solving *the murder is another matter. Even though I knew the “who” within 3 pages, it was still exciting to read about the “how”, “when”, and “why”.

The only book I’ve managed to *solve *before Poirot (with the exception of what item was used as the murder weapon) was Thirteen at Dinner/Lord Edgware Dies. As a result, I found I didn’t like it as much as I might have otherwise. 😊
Be aware that the language in her books was common in England (and most Anglo countries) during the 1920s and '30s… language we consider offensive today was acceptable at the time (mainly the “n” word as it applies to black people) as were the class distinctions.
Don’t let that put you off. It gives great insight to the characters themselves.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I can confirm all of this. Some insensitive language regarding race here. Some insensitive language regarding women there. But at the same time I agree it DOES provide insight to characters.
 
Crown_of_Stars said:
No, but I might get around to them. I’m always segueing into different authors. Aren’t Ellis Peters or Elizabeth Peters and Anne Perry Catholic mysteries? I come across many of them, and it seems their covers are always decorated with stained glass windows…unless I’m remembering wrong?
Click to expand...
Ellis Peters (real name Edith Pargeter) wrote the Brother Cadfael mysteries. Cadfael is a former crusader who gave up his sword and retired to a Benedictine monastery. It takes place during The Anarchy, the civil war in England during the reign of King Stephen – he usurped the throne from his cousin, Empress Matilda (daughter of King Henry I and widow of the Holy Roman Emperor), who was fighting to get it back. Various people noble and common end up dead under wide-ranging circumstances, and Cadfael roots out the truth.

There are also the Sister Fidelma mysteries – she is an Irish religieuse, daughter of a minor Irish king, and a trained bard. It takes place in the 7th century.
 
If you’re looking for a Catholic sleuth, try the Sister Agatha mysteries by Aimee and David Thurlo. I’ve talked about them on various threads over the last few years and I highly recommend them! Aimee passed away about a year ago and I count her as a good friend and a mentor. I guarantee you’ll love them! 👍
 
I LOVE Dame Christie!!

I’m not sure what steered me in her direction - but the first one I read was Ten Little Indians and I was blown away and forever hooked! I stumbled upon a house that was filled to the brim with books and they were selling them all and bought quite a few Christie paperbacks. A while ago I decided I was going to read them in published order and when I got to one I didn’t own, go and get it. Well I got two in and got to the third book which I didn’t have. I started reading something else. Now I’ll have to go back and continue my quest.
 
UnumCorpus said:
I, too, am an Agatha Christie fan! Her mysteries are all very well written and clever. She had so many brilliant ways of weaving a complex mystery together. I love her characters too, especially Hercule Poirot. You become quite attached to them after awhile.

For that matter, I also love the BBC productions of the Poirot mysteries. David Suchet just nails the character perfectly IMO…he is what I always imagined Poirot would look and act like.

So yes, if you are looking for a well done mystery novel, then you can’t go wrong with Agatha Christie. 👍

My own favourites of hers include:

And Then There Were None
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Murder on the Orient Express
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Five Little Pigs
Peril at End House
Click to expand...
I happened to catch a documentary of David Suchet traveling on the Orient Express–very entertaining and insightful into Poirot’s character and the setting for the novel. Anyway, Mr. Suchet said as he read AC’s Poirot he decided to make him as close to her creation as possible. He considered the best way to portray Poirot from AC mentioning how he walked–with little mincing steps. Mr. Suchet said the minute he read that, he knew who Poirot was and could play him. Just thought it interesting that how a character walks could tell an actor so much about him. Such little details are why we love AC’s characters. We can picture how they’d act and react in any given situation, which brings them to life.

I’d heard that no one had been able to guess who the killer was in “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” except AC’s mother, as I recall. So, when I read it for the first time I figured I certainly wouldn’t be able to guess. But something the killer says alerted me to their true character, and then I had them. I was so pleased that I’d managed to guess right–it was the first and only time I’d done so with AC. Usually I’m completely stumped until the final reveal. 🙂
 
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