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EVIL UNDER THE SUN
by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot's holiday is once again interrupted by murder. Can a gentleman not rest quietly? But it's a good thing he is on the spot, as there are many at the seaside resort who are not too deeply saddened by the loss of the stunningly beautiful, man-eating Arlena Marshall and had plenty of reason to have done the deed him- or herself.
Evil Under the Sun
was full of wonderfully quirky characters and was a lot of fun to read. It was most entertaining to hear the aging Poirot's and elderly Mrs. Gardner's thoughts on the habits of youth as they watched them frolic on the beach. And the mystery is pretty darn good, too! :-)CROOKED HOUSE
by Agatha Christie
Second-generation Scotland Yarder Charles Hayward steps in to assist when the grandfather of the woman he loves is murdered, and he finds that his close-knit future in-laws have plenty to hide.
Crooked House
is a darker story than is generally found in Christie's novels. The ending is quite shocking after a diet of Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple tidiness! I very much enjoyed the unique atmosphere of this one.And that completes 10 Agatha Christie novels to finish up 2008!
What I've learned:
I was proud of myself when I knew what was meant when the term "Myrmidons" was used in "Crooked House".
Agatha Christie had an affection for the word "adenoidal". She used it or some form of it at least once in nearly every book I read for the Anything Agatha Challenge.
Next year I need to space my Agatha Christie books out more. While I love them, they need to be digested in small doses as a break from heavier reading.
And that finishes not only the Anything Agatha Challenge, but all of my Challenges for 2008! And by "all" I mean all except for the three that I decided to abandon in November. ;-) Now to get my eyeballs in shape for all those 2009 Challenges I signed up for! I am aiming to actually finish each and every one this time, and the first load of library books is on the desk as we speak, ready for duty on Jan. 1. I'm so excited!!
is my favorite Miss Marple book so far. The odd thing is, she is barely in it! The story is told from first person point of view by a man convalescing in the village after an airplane accident, and he has very little contact with Jane Marple. We just get to hear how she solved the mystery after the fact, almost as if she was put in as an afterthought to correct the police. Detection while knitting. It's a great job if you can get it! :-) Despite the stretch to call this a "Miss Marple Mystery", it was a very, very enjoyable read.
contains the most complicated plotting I think I have seen in a Christie novel so far. I had a hard time believing Poirot's celebrated description of his methods and conclusions this time around. It was a little too convoluted for me. It's pretty ingenious, but I had a little trouble following it.
is the second full-length Tommy and Tuppence mystery. It finds our heroes years after their adventures in 
. They are now middle-aged and bored. Their children are grown and away, and Tommy and Tuppence are desperate to find a way to help England's war efforts and feel useful once again. Do you think they'll find hunting traitors exciting enough?
was Christie's first Miss Marple book after a ten year break from the endearing old lady from St. Mary Mead. In this caper, the dead body of a woman no one seems to know is found in the library of Miss Marple's friends, the Bantry's. The police are stumped, but they don't pay attention to the town gossip the way Miss Marple does!
is reported to be "Agatha Christie's favorite among her books with a foreign background" (The Agatha Christie Companion by Sanders & Lovalo, p. 152). I liked that I got to know many of the characters better than is usually the case in Christie's mysteries. The murder doesn't take place until well into the story, so there is a lot of background material that gave this novel more depth than I was expecting. A nice surprise!
is a good, light read, but I don't think it's one of her best. I didn't find this case quite as engaging as some of the others. It's not at all a bad book. In fact, it's a fine way to pass an evening. However, with somewhere in the area of 90 mysteries to her credit, I would expect that there will be a couple here and there that I feel don't measure up to my personal favorites. This just happens to be one of them.
is the most clever book of Poirot short stories I have come across. I never got the feeling the stories were unnaturally condensed, and the parallels to the tales of Hercules were magnificently drawn. I enjoyed each one of them immensely, and that doesn't usually happen for me with a book of short mystery stories. If you're looking to get your feet wet with Agatha Christie, this would be a fine place to start!
is a great example of her ability to twist an ending so many times it leaves the reader dizzy. I've read probably a couple dozen of Christie's mysteries, and this is one I would recommend for newbies to her work.
