Mini Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS24: December

The Chocolate Box

Poirot is telling Hastings his humiliating failure when he's still a detective in Belgian Police force. At the time when there's struggle between state and church in France, a fanatical anti-Catholic deputy was murdered just one day short of becoming Minister. Reluctantly, for Poirot was a Catholic himself (a surprising fact for me!), he took to the investigation. He found the clue in a new box of chocolate on the table; the mismatched color of the box and the lid was suspicious. The murdered man was fond of chocolate, and one of the house member or his guests must have put the poison inside of those chocolates. But who? Could Poirot solve the mystery based on the evident? Or did he made an incorrect solution?

I liked this one, a very simple and basic murder. Poirot failed this time because he hadn't acquired the art of psychology yet, and just depended on the facts. It is an iconic case too, because "chocolate box" would become Hasting's keyword to remind Poirot to be humble - which he fails all the time! LOL...

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Christmas Tragedy

In a rather similar theme with Poirot's story, Miss Marple lamented that she had once failed to prevent a murder. She met a couple in a Hydro resort, and knew at once that the husband was getting a way to rid of his wife. She had warned the rather foolish but devoted wife, and was cautious not to let the couple alone. But the wife was found murdered one day, when the husband had a perfect alibi. Had Miss Marple, like Poirot, made a wrong deduction after all? Or was this a clever murder?

This one, by far, is my most favorite of Miss Marple's stories. The old spinster appears less vague than ever, and the murder plot is one of Christie's genius - seems simple but very clever.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: DECEMBER #AgathaChristieSS24

Two more stories, and then we will complete our Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024 challenge! How have you fared? I wish you've been having fun with these stories - some are probably delightful, the others are boring. In general, I'm glad I've decided to do this. The question remains, should I do it again next year? But first, let's have a look at our two last stories for December. We'll have a Miss Marple and a Poirot - both are a bit Christmassy, and accidentally, have a similar theme. 

Keep scrolling down to see whether there will be another #AgathaChristieSS or not... 

THE CHOCOLATE BOX

Poirot’s only failed case. A French Deputy is found dead on the eve of becoming a minister. This is a rare example of Poirot acknowledging failure and also an account of his life in Brussels as a member of the police force.

First published as a book in the US version of the collection Poirot Investigates (1925), it wouldn’t appear in a UK collection until Poirot’s Early Cases (1974).

A CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY

Miss Marple meets a couple and immediately knows the husband means to kill the wife. But when the wife is found murdered, he has an alibi. Could our beloved amateur sleuth have made a mistake?

The story was published with its revised title in the 1932 collection The Thirteen Problems, and it has a similar plot device as in one of her famous novels.


Now, what about 2025? Will there be another #AgathaChristieSS? The answer is.... YES! We are going to do #AgathaChristieSS25! I will post the detail, including twelve titles that we will read, in a few weeks. Meanwhile, have fun with the December titles!

Mini Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS24: November

THE GIRL IN THE TRAIN

A young man called George Rowland who has just been disowned by his rich uncle, decided to seek a better luck at Rowland House (he shares the name, it must be a good sign, right?) On board the train a beautiful girl asked his help to hide her, apparently from an angry "uncle". She asked him further to tail an anonymous man and to keep a mysterious parcel for her. Stimulated by the mystery, Rowland did all these. Staying at a hotel, he's confronted by some men accusing him of hiding a royal princess of a small Balkan country. Furthermore he found that the small parcel is missing. What's really going on? Is the beautiful girl really a princess? And what was in that parcel?

It's an exciting story to read; light, humorous, full of action, with a touch of light budding romance, the style of which reminded me a little of Patricia Wenthworth's Benbow Smith mysteries.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

THE DEAD HARLEQUIN

When visiting a painting exhibition, Mr. Satterthwaite found a painting titled The Dead Harlequin; a man is looking from outside the window to a dead body lying on the floor inside the room. The man resembled his friend, Mr. Harley Quin, and the room reminded him of one death in Charnley House. Curious, he bought the painting and invited the painter for dinner, which is also attended by a Colonel who investigated the death. A man shot himself fourteen years ago. 

The dinner was interrupted by two women who insist on buying the painting from Mr. Sattherthwaite - two women who no doubt are familiar with what the painting depicted. The question is, was the death really suicide? If not, who was the murderer?

It was unexpectedly an entertaining story with a clever plot. Something that left me thinking hard after finishing it.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: NOVEMBER #AgathaChristieSS24

The last month but one of this year, and I have been pondering whether to continue this Agatha Christie Short Stories challenge for 2025 or not. I decided to do it again next year! Right now I am curating the twenty four titles we'll be reading, and will probably make the formal announcement around next month or early December. In the meantime, here are the two stories we will read in November:

THE DEAD HARLEQUIN

Mr Satterthwaite stumbles across a painting depicting a Harlequin, with his friend Mr Quin, standing in the scene where a man shot himself fourteen years earlier. Mr Quin observes the events from both the picture and the present. Is this event a coincident? We know the answer....

The story was first published in book form in the collection of The Mysterious Mr Quin, published by Collins in 1930.

THE GIRL IN THE TRAIN

A young man, who just fired from the family firm, jumps on a train. As with many an Agatha Christie story, a train is never merely about the destination, the real interest lies in the passengers. The young man meets a girl who is being chased by a mysterious bearded man.

The story appeared in the UK collection The Listerdale Mystery in 1934, and was later published in the US in The Golden Ball and Other Stories (1971).


I'm really excited to read the second one, what about you? Actually, I've had enough with Mr. Quin and Mr. Satterthwaite, that I decided to not included their stories for next year!

Mini Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS24: October

THE HOUND OF DEATH

A man called Anstruther heard from his friend of an intriguing story about the blowing up of a Belgium convent, when some German soldiers invaded it during WW2. The locals said it wasn't caused by high explosive, but by a miraculous power of a nun who brought down a lightning bolt from heaven. What's left from the building was a wall with powder mark in the shape of a giant hound. The nun now lives with a doctor in Cornwall, and is often haunted by her dreams. Visiting the nun, Anstruther suspects that the doctor, who was medically studying her behavior, might not be fully honest. But the question remains, what had really happened? Has the nun been hallucinating, or does she really possesses supernatural power? The story was ended by another "explosion", and this revealed more or less of what had really happened.

This has prospects to become a gripping and intriguing story, but the end was somehow anti-climactic. It's more of a Halloween story than a mystery.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

THE VOICE IN THE DARK

Mr. Satterthwaite is tasked by his friend, Lady Stranleigh, to investigate her daughter's claim that their house, Abbot's Mede has been haunted. "Luckily" for him, Mr. Quin is staying at the inn nearby, and would be available anytime Mr. Satterthwaite needs a chat.

Margery, the daughter, reveals to Mr. Satterthwaite that the last two months she has often been hearing voices in the dark, while she is alone in her bedroom. The voice tells her to "give back what is not yours; give back what you have stolen".

Her mother's maid, Clayton, was Lady Stranleigh's fellow survivor of a shipwreck that took away her elder sister. She, Clayton, was the key to this mystery, which is not just about voices in the dark, but also a murder, as well as an attempt of murder. It's a wonderful one, actually, and Mr. Satterthwaite solved the mystery by himself, for once.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: OCTOBER #AgathaChristieSS24

The two stories we are going to enjoy this month are especially chosen to match the Halloween mood which will be coming soon. Hope you'll enjoy them!

THE HOUND OF DEATH

The first story is a non detective one. A young Englishman visiting Cornwall finds himself delving into the legend of a Belgian nun who is living as a refugee in the village. Possessed of supernatural powers, she is said to have caused her entire convent to explode when it was occupied by invading German soldiers during World War. Sister Angelique had been the only survivor. Could such a tall story possibly be true?

Occult and science fiction are two interests developed by Agatha Christie at that time. In an interview with Nigel Dennis in 1956, she professed her keen interest in science fiction. And there is that touch in this story. Interesting, right? Hopefully it's not one of Christie's zonk stories...

The story was first published in the Oldhams Press edition of The Hound of Death in 1933, available only by collecting coupons from a magazine entitled The Passing Show. It was included in the US collection The Golden Ball and Other Stories in 1971, and was adapted for radio in 2010 by the BBC.

THE VOICE IN THE DARK

For our second story, we are back with Mr Satterthwaite, whose old friend, Lady Barbara Stanleigh, asks him to investigate her daughter's claim that the family seat is haunted. She appears to be hearing voices. Is it her imagination or is the sinister demand for something stolen a warning?

Mr Quin glides into the picture, dropping clues and setting Satterthwaite's thoughts along the right path, as always leading him towards a resolution. The story was first published in book form in the collection The Mysterious Mr Quin, published by Collins in 1930. 


How excited are you to start reading them? Have fun! ;)

Mini Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS24 - September

 
The Herb of Death

🌿 It's another story told around a dinner table of Colonel and Mrs. Bantry. Same as in The Affair at the Bungalow, the guests are Sir Henry something, ex-Scotland Yard or something, a doctor, an actress who "provided" the story in The Affair at the Bungalow, and of course, our dear Miss Marple. This time, Mrs. Bantry told an intriguing event when the Bantrys were guests at Clodderham Court.

🌿 The duck they had for dinner was wrongly cooked with foxglove leaves instead of sage, and everyone was ill from digitalis poisoning. But one girl, Sir Ambrose's ward, was dead. It was supposed as an accident, but of course it's a murder. Everyone gave their opinions from every angle, but in the end, it's Miss Marple who guessed correctly.

🌿 Agatha Christie "strikes" again with a poisonous murder, which is always her forte, and which I always love for its simplicity.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Bird with the Broken Wing

🕊 Here is my most favorite Mr. Quin's story so far. On a seance, Mr. Satterthwaite "received a message", apparently from his old elusive friend, Mr. Quin. It instructs him to go to Laidell, where he was initially invited but thought of skipping. But now he decided to go, as something would surely  happen.

🕊 An "enchanting" girl was strangled by her ukulele string. Everyone thought it's a suicide, but Satterthwaite knew otherwise; though he couldn't say to the police about Mr. Quin, but still... Moreover, the girl had confided to him that night, that she was very happy - that something is coming that would make her happy. So suicide is beyond question. But who's the murderer? Mr. Satterthwaite knew whodunnit, as well as I, though I didn't guess the how.

🕊 A very enjoyable mystery, and that, I guess, is because of Mr. Satterthwaite's confidence. Mr. Quin's involvement is almost zero; he only appeared in the end after the mystery's solved. That is just the right amount for me...

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Mini Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS24: August

The Gate of Baghdad

Parker Pyne is on holiday in the Middle East. During a long motor trip journey from Damascus to Baghdad, just when everyone is sleeping of boredom, one of the passengers, a Captain Smethurst is found dead, stabbed at the back of his neck. This time Parker Pine must use his brain, not to solve a romantic or household affair, but a murder! Luckily he has a useful habit of listening to people's talk, that it helps him this time to point out the murderer. A simple, clever, and amusing mystery.

The Man Who Was No. 16

Tommy and Tuppence are helping Inspector Carter to catch the great Russian spy, the number 16. Tommy shines in this case, after borrowing Poirot's famous method of using his grey cells, to locate the villain and releases Tuppence. A good story involving disguises, some actions, red herring, and some clever and hilarious scenes. I loved the smart conversation between No. 16 and Tommy, using a lot of the number sixteen as the password. If you haven't realized yet, I also purposely posted this mini review on the 16th! I think this is going to be my favorite from Tommy & Tuppence stories - clever, witty, with perfect proportions of actions, mysteries, and humour. And it's nice too that once and a while Tommy shines over Tuppence - though in this case she was powerless to do anything, but still.... Finally, Tommy could be the Poirot of Tuppence's Hastings! :D

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: AUGUST #AgathaChristieSS24

One of the two short stories we're going to read for August is of Parker Pyne's (I'm quite excited with this... a murder story - which is rare with Pyne). The other one brings us back with our lovely couple: the Beresfords - Tommy and Tuppence!

THE GATE OF BAGHDAD

Parker Pyne is touring the Middle East when one of the officers, Smethurst, tells Pyne he’s worried about something. Smethurst is killed before he can reveal the full story and it's up to Pyne to find out why.

This is one of the few Parker Pyne mysteries to involve a murder, his cases generally revolving around romance and unhappiness. The story references one of Agatha Christie’s favourite poems The Gates of Damascus by James Elroy Flecker (1884-1919). 

THE MAN WHO WAS NO. 16

The only reason I've chosen this particular story was that this would be our 16th short story for #AgathaChristieSS24! So... "no. 16" in the title of the 16th story. Oh I know it's lame. Nonetheless, I'm glad to get to read another Tommy and Tuppence, aren't you? And this one has a special little surprise! ;)

This is the final case in the collection Partners in Crime. Having received a warning from Mr. Carter, the Beresfords prepare for another encounter with their rival, Russian agent and master of disguise, No. 16.

In the face of danger, the Beresfords decide to tackle this case using their “little grey cells” to arrange facts “neatly, and with order.” Agatha Christie surely enjoyed poking fun at the great Hercule Poirot, almost as much as the Beresfords enjoyed aping him. At the end of the case, however, Tommy is presented with some news from Tuppence that the real Poirot would not have found amusing.

They are both rather amusing, right? Can't wait to read them!

The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

🗞 It's another Tommy and Tuppence story. This time, a murder case, where Tommy and Tuppence were happened to be on the crime scene. A lady has been stabbed at a costume show, and her last words were accusing her lover.

🗞 Inspector Marriot brings the victim's husband, Sir Arthur Merivale, to meet Tommy and Tuppence the next day. Despite the strong evidence which pointed to Bingo Hale - lover to the lady and best friend of Sir Arthur, he doesn't believe him guilty. Besides the lady's last words, the weighing evidence is the piece of torn newspaper in the lady's hand. It was torn from the accused newspaper costume he wore at the show.

🗞 So exact the evidence are, and yet, Inspector Marriot isn't confident - hence his bringing the case to Tommy and Tuppence. It's rather interesting to see how our beloved sleuth-couple - or rather, Tuppence - could reveal the true solution to this murder case.

🗞 It's a simple murder case - I guessed whodunnit correctly - and a short one. Too short, I think. It's hoped Christie would have elaborate it a little further. But on the whole, it's quite fun.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Manx Gold by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

💰 Cousins, as well as lovers/fiancées, Fenella and Juan, gets a surprise from their deceased uncle. He bequeathed his gold to his next of kin, but in competition. He had hidden the gold in four locations, and whoever of the four candidates (Fenella and Juan counted as one, and there are two others) can find them, the treasures will be theirs.

💰 Fenella and Juan get 24 hours advanced start because their Uncle knew the others are cunning and unscrupulous. He was right. Just after first treasure was found, one of the two was murdered. So now, the treasure hunt turned to a dangerous game.

💰 To be honest, this is a disappointment for me. Judging from the synopsis, I thought it would be a proper, albeit short, treasure hunt with a murder. In reality, there was a hunt, but the readers didn't know what's going on most of the time. After getting a clue in rhyme, for instance, it would run like this: "I think it's located at (...). Then they went to the spot, searching for a while, and then "I found it! Let's go to the next clue". Just like that, and the readers were not involved in the searching at all. It read like a news about a treasure hunt, not a story. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024 JULY #AgathaChristieSS24

Halfway through our #AgathaChristieSS24, we are going to have double fun: a treasure hunt and a party. Yeah baby, bring it on! 🥳

MANX GOLD

Two cousins eagerly return to the Isle of Man for the reading of their uncle's will. Having grown up hearing tales of buried treasure on the island they are excited when the will reveals their uncle had found it. But where?

This story is probably the most exciting we've read so far. Not only about the story itself, its background is no less interesting. So, in 1930 Christie accepted the grand sum of £60 to write this story. It came as a request from the people responsible for boosting tourism on the Isle of Man. The clues were written in a ‘treasure hunt’ format and were published by Manchester’s Daily Dispatch, and distributed in pamphlet form to hotels throughout the island. Imagine what an exiting moment it was for the visitors! But no worry, we would be able to have a little taste of the excitement by reading and review this story!

THE GENTLEMAN DRESSED IN NEWSPAPER

From a treasure hunt to a party. And we're going to it with Tommy and Tuppence, who discovered a secret invitation to a ball in the newspaper.

Tuppence was in boredom. She wants to go dancing and is reading the paper in search of a party. That is until she discovers a secret message in one of the articles. Just what does it mean to “finesse the king”? This story, which was published by Collins in the collection Partners in Crime, 1929, does sound like a jolly one to read, does it?

The Blue Geranium by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

💙 We meet once again with Miss Marple in this short story we are reading for June. And as usual, she only appears as a secondary character; like a shadow in the room that no one noticed at first, but then it shines for just a few seconds, to be faded into the background again.

💙 Miss Marple was invited to a dinner party at the Bantrys only to even the number of the guests. It was first suggested by one of the guests, and even Mrs. Bantry was skeptical at first. But she was invited, attended the dinner, and solved the mystery that Colonel Bantry told the guests after dinner about his friend.

💙 George Pritchard's late wife was an invalid with difficult character - you know the type - who always fuss about her health and prone to have tantrums. Many nurses had come and gone, and the last one was Nurse Copling. Mrs. Pritchard was also fascinated by fortunetellers. One calls Zarida warned her to avoid blue flowers: "Beware of the full moon. The blue Primrose means warning, the blue Hollyhock means danger, the blue Geranium means death."

💙 Days later, during full moon, some primroses in the wallpaper pattern in Mrs. Pritchard's room turned blue over night. It made her afraid, though her husband thought it's just a childish joke. On the next full moon she went to sleep in her locked room in apprehension. The next day she found, as before, the Hollyhocks in the same wallpaper turned blue.

💙 You know the rest. The next full moon, Mrs. Pritchard - who had been resigned to her faith by that time - was found dead inside a locked room, with a faint smell of gas and some Geraniums in the wallpaper turned blue. It was Miss Marple who eventually offered the solution. All in all, it's a fun mystery to read; light and simple - I guessed it quite right though not the details.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24 #ReadingTheMeow2024

🐈 First of all, I don't know why I had thought this was an Hercule Poirot story, while it's not. It's another of the "no detective stories", but what a story it had been! It has an element of cat, so I included this to my #ReadingTheMeow2024.

🐈 Sir Arthur Carmichael is a twenty-three year old young man, an heir of his father's estate, who hasn't been well these last two weeks. In fact, his case so perplexed his doctor, that he invited his colleague Doctor Carstairs, a renown psychologist, to give his opinion. What the problem was, the doctor didn't tell his friend so that he would form his own impression after seeing the patient by himself.

🐈 Arriving to the estate, Carstairs saw a young girl, Arthur's fiancée in fact, with a grey Persian cat walking by her legs. But why did his friend grew pale when he mentioned the cat? And not just the doctor, the others at the house were automatically silent when he mentioned the grey cat, which he continually heard at night meowing or scratching at his door, but there's no one around when he opened it. And no one saw it either - or rather, there had been a grey cat in the house belonged to Arthur's step mother, but it's been dead two weeks ago!

🐈 But the doctor put it aside for the time being, and he soon got to the mysterious condition of the patient. The young man wasn't himself, and Carstairs noticed that his manner had become so similar to.... a cat! He behaves exactly like cat, even pounding over a mouse! So, there's a cat that no one but Carstairs saw, and there's a healthy young man who turned into cat. What mystery lies beneath it all

🐈 It's actually quite an interesting read, though not surprising, considering the era's fascination over occultism and superstition. Agatha Christie herself had elaborated these themes with the Mr. Quin stories. I quite enjoyed it, the solution of the "murder" might be unusual, but on the whole, it's quite entertaining.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read also for:

Reading the Meow 2024

hosted by Mallika @ Literary Potpourri

The Crackler by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

💸 Tommy and Tuppence are longing to have a bonafide case - the kind you'd read from Edgar Wallace - and their wish came true when Inspector Marriot arrived with a new mission: tracking down a gang of bank notes forgers. And with that, Tommy coined the word 'crackler' that points to a money forger - the word derived from the crackle of a bank note.

💸 The case is a straight forward one. Inspector Marriot gave them a hint that the bank notes seemed to circulate around the Laidlaw family. Major Laidlaw was often involved with racing and gambling, while his beautiful French wife always gathered some men on her entourage. They seemed to have plenty of money. So, after learning to spot forged bank notes from the Inspector, the couple got themselves into the Laidlaw's circle, and took action.

💸 Like I said, it's a pretty straightforward case. There's a tiny plot twist and a little bit of action, but the main interest of the story is only from the witty banters of the Beresfords. Not a memorable case, but a nice little reading nonetheless.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Sign in the Sky by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

💙 Here is another story of Mr. Satterthwaite solving a murder mystery with the help of his enigmatic friend Mr. Harley Quin. It begins when a young man was sentenced for murdering a lady with whom he had had an affair. Mr. Satterthwaite attended the trial and wasn't satisfied with the result, though he didn't know why, and would have never thought of doing anything about it if he hadn't bumped into Mr. Harley Quin.

💙 The meeting took place in a restaurant Mr. Satterthwaite frequented. Their conversation was around the murder case, and slowly but subtly Mr. Harley Quin guided Mr. Satterthwaite to act quickly before the young man was hanged.

💙 It apparently happened that all of the servants had given evidence at both the inquest and trial; all but one. And this was the one lead that Mr. Satterthwaite should follow to reveal the truth. It's rather funny how Quin encouraged Mr. Satterthwaite to take a journey to Canada, which he (Satterthwaite) refused indignantly at first, but in the end enjoyed the trip.

💙 It's the kind of mystery we are familiar with from Christie - simple, reasonable, and clever. And that is why, I think, I begin to enjoy these short stories - the satisfaction of completely following the case's detail (which are more straightforward than novels because of the shortness of the story) and finding the solution by my own. I mean plot twists are exciting, but sometimes it feels good to have guessed a mystery correctly!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: MAY #AgathaChristieSS24

May is finally here, and I am looking forward to a milder weather here where I live, and a calmer month in general. Let's see what kind of stories we are going to read!

THE SIGN IN THE SKY

It's another Harley Quin's story, in which Mr. Satterthwaite attends the trial of a young man accused of murder. Shortly after the guilty verdict is returned, Satterthwaite runs into Harley Quin. Can they prove the man innocent? Or is he actually a murderer?

The story was first published in book form in the collection The Mysterious Mr Quin, published by Collins in 1930, which altered the title slightly from the original magazine publication's A Sign in the Sky. The collection was dedicated to its eponymous hero and is the only book of Agatha Christie's to be dedicated to a fictional character!

THE CRACKLER

Tommy and Tuppence are sleuthing again after a clever counterfeiter who has been flooding both sides of the Channel with phoney bank notes. This story sees the Beresfords as the Busies, in an Edgar Wallace-type adventure, which parodies Wallace’s slapdash, action-laden thrillers. "We need several hundreds of yards of extra book shelf if Edgar Wallace is to be properly represented" Tuppence says at one point, referring to Wallace’s vast output.

This story was published by Collins in the collection Partners in Crime, 1929, and the title was changed from The Affair of the Forged Notes to The Crackler. It was adapted for radio in 1953, starring Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim. It also featured in the 1983 TV series Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime, with Francesca Annis and James Warwick.

Both stories seem quite fun, don't they? Happy reading, and enjoy!

Have You Got Everything You Want? by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

💎 A recently-married young wife is on board the Orient Express to Constantinople to join her husband, who had been there some days before. She recognizes a man whose name is familiar to her from The Times ad she often notices: 'Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne.' Well, Elsie is unhappy right now, so she consults Parker Pyne.

💎 A week before her husband left for Constantinople, Elsie found on the blotting paper few lines of her husband's writing: 'wife', 'Simplon Express', and the most curious one: 'just before Venice would be the best time'. Elsie is naturally worried, and Parker Pyne takes the matter in his hand.

💎 Near Venice, a little incident happens, and during the confusion, Elsie's jewelries were stolen. A Slavic woman is their suspect, but they find nothing on her. Where the jewelry could have been? At one point Elsie can't trust Mr. Pyne any longer as he didn't deliver what he had promised. But Parker Pyne proofs he's a good detective besides his skill of making people happy.

💎 It is a light story, and the perpetrator isn't hard to guess. Nonetheless, it's an entertaining piece of story with a bit of cuteness. I guess that's what makes every Christie's a comfort read for me. It's not just about the mystery (and they are usually simple-clever), but Christie seems to always promote love as the greatest mystery of human being. And she delivers them with a humorous cheekiness. ❤

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2024: APRIL #AgathaChristieSS24

How have your #AgathaChristieSS24 so far? I am enjoying mine. Reading short stories as standalones is well worth it! But now we are in the second third of our journey. Here are two stories we are going to read:

HAVE YOU GOT EVERYTHING YOU WANT?

Boarding the Orient Express at the Gare de Lyon, a young woman discovers the presence of the detective Parker Pyne on the train, who is there to solve a jewel robbery that hasn’t happened yet. She thinks she might know the intended victim…

Published in 1934, this story first appeared in the US in Cosmopolitan magazine, and later in the collection of short stories, Parker Pyne Investigates. One interesting fact about this story is that Parker Pyne seems to become Poirot's shadow. Like Poirot, Pyne travels down the Nile and encountered murder. He's travelling on the Orient Express, meeting people in crisis, and even collaborating with Ariadne Oliver to solve the mystery. Not mentioning the appearance of another figure who usually appears in Poirot's stories...

THE TRAGEDY AT MARSDON MANOR

Elderly Mr Maltravers is found dead in a field, with his grieving wife claiming it has been natural causes. But as he recently took out life insurance, the company bring in Poirot to establish if it was suicide. The story was first published in 1924 as a book in the collection Poirot Investigates by Bodley Head.

Which one are you more excited to read? I think I will read the Poirot first, as it sounds rather boring. Then end it with the seemingly more fun Parker Pyne. What about you? ;)

The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl by Agatha Christie #AgathaChristieSS24

🧣 Anthony Eastwoods is a crime writer who is in, what we call "a writer's block". He has come up with a catchy title for his next book: "The Mystery of the Second Cucumber" - one that will interest many readers - but couldn't get on with matching plot. Then, one phone call solved his problem.

🧣 Anthony receives a call from a foreign woman asking for help as she's in great danger, mistaken him for somebody else. She gives him an address, and a password: "cucumber". This single word and the weird coincidence pique Antony's curiosity, so he goes there to meet the girl. I won't tell you what he will face, as it will ruin the whole mystery.

🧣 Suffice to say, that this is the most interesting story I've read so far for #AgathaChristieSS24! The adventure is highly engrossing, and the element of surprises are delightful. Anything that you'll imagine is going on, well... I bet the truth will be far away from that. Guess what title and plot Anthony did eventually decide to write! 😉

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2