They Do It with Mirrors (1952) by Agatha Christie: A Re-read

 

🔫 This is the fifth Miss Marple mystery novel from the series that I have re-read for my Agatha Christie Perpetual Challenge. The main idea is to perpetually reading Agatha Christie's sixty eight novels. If I can read about three or four novels per year (my current "speed"), I would be rereading each title in every seventeen years - how about that, eh? Anyway, what I don't quite like from Miss Marple mysteries, is that she is usually too "fluffy" and insignificant, despite the fact that she is the main character - the amateur sleuth. This book, though, I happily announce, is an exception. 

🔫 The story begins when Miss Marple was visiting her school friend Ruth, who asked her to check on their mutual friend, Carrie Louise Serrocold, who lives in a mansion house called Stonygates, with her third husband Lewis, her widowed daughter Mildred, and her companion/housekeeper Juliette. Part of the house had been turned into an institution for juvenile delinquent boys. The institution was originally founded by Carrie Louise's second husband - deceased - and is now managed by the current husband Lewis. Ruth had been feeling something was "wrong" when she visited Carrie Louise, and Miss Marple is about to find out the truth behind it. At first things seem normal, but there has been a bit awkward incident with one of the institution boys, a seemingly "not right in the head" young man who believes he's the son of some famous men (when he's actually an illegitimate one). His name is Edgar Lawson. 🔫 Among the visiting guests are Carrie-Louise step granddaughter, her American husband, Carrie Louise' step son (from her second husband), and two nephews (or step sons? I lost counting of whos' who). Then one night, two things happened at the same time. Edgar Lawson took it into his head that Lewis Serrocold is his real father. They quarreled in heated debate in the library; Edward making ruckus by shooting a revolver (but not at Lewis Serrocold, fortunately). All the while, the others were in the living room, listening with apprehension to almost everything happening inside. Everyone, excepting Christian, Carrie Louise's step son. How they were surprised then, to find out later that Christian had been shot when the ruckus in the library was happening. Why Christian, though? Is it because he had found out that someone has been poisoning Carrie Louise? In the end, it is up to Miss Marple to find out what had really occurred. It has something to do with the theatrical system, the murderer is like a conjurer, who do it with mirrors... 🔫 Like I said before, I liked it that Miss Marple is more actively involved in this case. This time, she acted as Carrie Louise's protector because she loves her friend. Her deceiving 'fluffiness' makes her a confidant to some of the suspects, they could pour out their heart honestly to her - an outsider. The plot itself is not one of Christie's bests - I guessed the murderer right away. Whether it's because I have read Christie for so long to suspect little discrepancies, or because the "hole" is too obvious to be missed, I don't really know. While I love murder in close-knitted family house, the premise is rather quirky. Top it off with rather lose plot, this one is not among my favorites.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

They Came to Baghdad (1951) by Agatha Christie: A Reread

🐫 While espionage and political stories don't usually fascinate me much, in term of crime/murder mysteries (my favorite is closed-circle mystery in countryside or manor houses), I found They Came to Baghdad as rather charming and highly enjoyable. It's because the mystery focused more upon a young woman's adventures, than the political side itself - which fell conveniently as mere background. This is a no-detective story, and the heroine is a Victoria Jones, a rather daydreaming-kind of girl who works as typist (not good enough in her job). She met a young man called Edward by chance, attracted to him on first sight, and when he bid her goodbye at the end of the day, because he would go to Baghdad (on duty) the following day, she decided to go to Baghdad herself! 

🐫 Though practically penniless, Victoria somehow procured her way to Baghdad by creating some lies (she's a born liar; and can say deceitful things effortlessly). Fortunately, she read on paper that an archeologist called Dr. Pauncefoot Jones is currently having a dig in Iraq, and since she, conveniently, shares the same surname, Victoria Jones becomes a niece who is traveling to Baghdad to join his archeological uncle. Before she found her Edward, though, strange things happened. A man is dying on her bed in her hotel room - stabbed!; the man was later identified as a top British secret agent, who was carrying a top secret, by which the secret services men tried to uncover and stop a sabotage. Apparently a superpowers summit is going to be held in Baghdad, but a shadowy anti-communist and anti-capitalist group is threatening to ruin the show. The dying man's last words to Victoria was: "Lucifer... Basrah... Lefarge" - or so they sounded to Victoria. Unknowingly, but not without high excitement, Victoria was pulled into the center of this highly dangerous espionage adventure. 🐫 Of course, knowing that Christie's inspiration for this book was her own trips to Baghdad with her archeologist husband Sir Max Mallowan, we were treated with many bits and pieces about its culture, atmosphere, and even the archeological site itself. And what a treat is is, besides, of course, the thrilling adventures. The identity of the villain, is not so much surprising. You'll probably guess it long before our heroine herself realizes it. In short, it's an unusual combination of espionage and lighthearted adventure, that perhaps only Christie could weave into a highly entertaining story.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

A Murder is Announced (1950) by Agatha Christie: A Reread

📰 From the first four (based on publication dates) murder mysteries of Miss Jane Marple, I think this one is my favorite. Miss Marple is less "faded into the background" than the other three. She even arranged a rather theatrical performance to induce the murderer to show themselves, so to speak. Much like what Hercule Poirot often does. It's quite surprising, came from Marple, and I liked that.

 📰 The inhabitants of a little village called Chipping Cleghorn (what a charming name for a village!) were not a little surprised one day, finding an odd advertisement in their local gazette: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.’ The early chapters are about several different houses in Chipping Cleghorn - our characters to be - revealing how the advertisement had stirred them. And believe me, after three of them, I could cite the advertisement by heart! The general reaction was exciting; they took it as an invitation for a soiree with murder game as main entertainment. And so, all of the characters did appear at Little Paddock a little before 6:30 p.m., with their own "reason" to stop by.  

📰 The residents of Little Paddock, however, saw the advertisement, and were half annoyed and half amused. That is a nasty prank, who would have done that?! Little Paddock belongs to Letitia Blacklock, a sixty-ish spinster who had worked as secretary to a wealthy businessman. She lives with her companion, Dora Bunner, an old schoolfriend whom she had taken in the year before. A young war widow, Philippa Haymes, is also boarding there; as well as Letitia's cousins she hadn't seen before: Patrick and Julia Simmons. Last but not least, a foreign girl called Mitzi, a hysterical creature but a splendid cook. Annoyed as they all were, they did their best to prepare for the inevitable visits of their curious and highly excited neighbors.

📰 When the clock chimed at 6:30, a succession of events started: the lights went out; a man with a pistol opened the door and shot twice; then he collapsed after another shot. After the men from the guests fixed the fuse, the lights came, and they found the mysterious man dead, while the bullet from his shot had grazed Miss Blacklock's ear. Is it a an attempted murder to Miss Blacklock? But why did the man then killed himself? Suicide out of remorse? Inspector Craddock, who investigates the case, is as appalled as the Chief Constable, when enters Miss Jane Marple, an old gibberish spinster who's visiting her friend at Chipping Cleghorn. Of course there's no further question, it was a murder after all. And not just one, for two more are following as the investigation is progressing.

📰 I remember the excitement excitement of my first reading of this book many years ago. The premise is a clever one: announcement to a murder, then the murder is committed with an audience as eye witnesses. What a daring and cold-blooded kind of murder! My favorite part is when the two spinsters who were guests at the Little Paddock (Miss Hinchcliffe and Miss Mugatroyd) are reconstructing the event (the scene is a bit funny but also thrilling). Although, as usual, we don't get to know the final answer 'till the end, I guessed the murderer correctly! All in all, this was a perfectly-constructed murder mystery (the proportion of mystery and thriller, action and reflection, are so well balanced). I guess I have just found my favorite Miss Marple mystery!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026

hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: Reviews for December #AgathaChristieSS25

The Thumb Mark of St. Peter

My last review for this year's Agatha Christie Short Stories is coincidentally the only story (or case) contributed by Miss Marple at the Thursday Night Club. If her life had seemed to have been uneventful in St. Mead, Miss Marple was by no means bored. As she was observing the life of the inhabitant of that small village, she learned a lot about human character; that would be her foundation to help solving so many cases which otherwise baffled the police. In this story, the case concerned herself. Miss Marple's niece has had an unsuitable marriage with a man with violent temper, who's inherited insanity from his ancestors. Ten years later the husband died suddenly one night, allegedly from mushrooms poisoning during dinner. But rumors soon started circulating that Mabel, the wife, had probably poisoned him by arsenic, so that everyone in the area avoided her.

Upon interviewing the cook and house maid, Miss Marple learned that the deceased had been rambling something about "pile of fish" when he's dying. Baffled that the exhumation result which was inconclusive, Miss Marple said a prayer while taking a walk in the street, and lo and behold... there she found the solution of the case. It has, indeed, something to do with fish. The "thumb mark of St. Peter" refers to the characteristic dark spots on John Dory's fish flank, which are said to be the thumbprint left by the apostle when he lifted the fish from the sea. What an interesting feature Agatha Christie had infused in this story. I can imagine how Agatha Christie, upon learning about the saying, thought instantly how she could incorporate that into a murder story. I always love her ingenuity! An interesting fact: do you know that the John Dory is also called "St. Peter's fish" in some countries?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Fruitful Sunday

One Sunday morning, Dorothy, a housemaid, is enjoying a Sunday drive with her young man with a picnic in the picture. On the way, they are stopping at a small town, where they find a fruit stall. On the display is a pretty fruit basket full of peaches, which Edward, the young man, reluctantly buy for his sweetheart. The seller keeps saying that 'they're getting more than their money's worth'. Dorothy and Edward are soon eating the fruits near the stream by the road, while reading the headline of a stolen ruby necklace worth fifty thousand pounds in the Sunday paper. When they have eaten all the fruits, what do you think they'd found at the bottom of the basket? A ruby necklace with the same specification they had read about in the paper. Is it really the stolen necklace? How did they end up in the fruit basket? And what shall they do with it? Edward is for reporting it to the police, but Dorothy insisting that they sell it.

This is another of a non-crime-mystery story. There's no mystery at all, just a fun, light story to enjoy leisurely on a Sunday afternoon.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: November Reviews #AgathaChristieSS25

I had a mixed feeling for my November reads for #AgathaChristieSS25. The Poirot one was dull, while the Tommy-Tuppence was as exciting as I would want to be in writing short stories.

The Kidnapped Prime Minister

It was during First World War, and when Poirot and Hastings were discussing about the assassination attempt towards the British Prime Minister, two government officials arrive. They ask him to locate the Prime Minister, who has been kidnapped during his journey to Versailles for a secret conference. His failure to attend the conference would be of immense consequence for the country, and might be, the world peace. The problem is, Poirot only has twenty four hours to do that. 

Once Poirot, Hastings, and two detectives arrive in France, instead of taking immediate actions, Poirot brings them to a hotel, where he sits down for four hours exercising his little grey cells. There are only two main suspects in this case, and after returning to London (what the purpose was of going to France in the first place, eluded me), Poirot makes inquiries to several cottage-hospitals, before locating the Prime Minister! As I said, it was a boring story. I wish Christie would elaborate it a little, sprinkling it with some actions or red herring. I begin to realize that Poirot's strong point is always his understanding of psychology, that his way of investigation isn't quite fit for short stories. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Blindman's Buff

Tommy and Tuppence, on the other hand, are in on an exciting adventure! Business is slacking at Blunt's Detective Agency, and they have just received warning from the Chief that their disguise has been apprehended by the enemies. Tommy, then, proposed to exercising their detecting skills. So, combined with his passion of using methods of fictional detectives, he put on a pair of black eyeshades, and testing his awareness of the surroundings only by the other senses - in short, he's practicing to be a blind man - while Tuppence's acting as his guide. In that manner, Tommy and Tuppence dine out at a restaurant, where two men (a Duke and his servant) approach them. The Duke hires 'Mr. Blunt' to rescue his kidnapped daughter, and insists on bringing both of them separately by car to his house.

The Duke appears to be merely a disguise, and the kidnap is a trap. He's the enemy, and he knows about the Beresfords' disguises. The question is, how would Tommy extricate himself from the enemy's pointed gun and the electrified metal floor which would be exploded as soon as one step onto? In the end, it's a wonderfully fun story to read, although, of course, I already knew the "solution" long before. It's quite childish, even, but still, it has action and suspense, and I always love the witty banters between Tommy and Tuppence. Tommy shines this time, with Tuppence a little on the background.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: OCTOBER Reviews #AgathaChristieSS25

Motive vs. Opportunity

Mr. Petherick, the solicitor, was the next in line to tell his story (or problem, as they called it) for the meeting. The others are afraid that his would be full of legal aspects, but Mr. Petherick confirmed that it's not - it's a simple case. In the end, it proved to be a simple case as promised, with a childish twist.

A client of Mr. Petherick - he named him Simon Clode - was a wealthy man, who's lost by death, first, his only son, and afterwards, the only granddaughter whom he loved dearly. His orphaned nephews and niece were now lived with him. He left in his will, his estate equally to the three. Still on his grief over his late granddaughter, he met a spiritualist called Mrs. Eurydice Spragg, under whose influence he soon found himself. Mr. Petherick was greatly alarmed when, on his dying bed, Simon Clode made a new will, leaving most of his wealth to the spiritualist.
Mr. Petherick did the business, and after the will was signed, he put the document in his overcoat. However, when he opened it after Mr. Clode's death, the will was just a blank sheet. How could it be? Who had replaced the real will with a blank paper? Mrs. Spragg had opportunity, but certainly not a motive; one of the nephews had motive, but not opportunity. At the end, the solution was really a very simple and childish, that it gave Mrs. Marple a good chuckle when it's her turn to offer explanation. What an entertaining little read, and it gives further proof of how fun it would have been to be acquainted with the cheeky Dame Agatha Christie!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Accident

An ex CID Inspector Evans who now lived in an English village told his friend, a Captain Haydock, that he was certain that a Mrs. Merrowdene, was none other than Mrs. Anthony, who had been charged, and acquitted, of poisoning her husband with arsenic, nine years ago. He's theorizing that once a murderer, one will most certainly commit another - in short, there's always a pattern. He found the pattern, and when he met Professor Merrowdene carrying a new life insurance policy, Evans was 100% sure that the woman was ready for action once more. He visited their home, and lo and behold, Mrs. Merrowdene even performed the act before his eyes - what a clever and cheeky woman she was! Now it's up to him to prevent another murder. Would he be succeeded in doing that? Well, I must say that I didn't see that twist coming! That was a genius one from Agatha Christie! The last few sentences implied a good many things that will leave you aghast at the end - it altered the way you se the case, and made it seems like a simple, but complicated one. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: SEPTEMBER Reviews

The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan

Captain Hastings treated Hercule Poirot to spend the weekend at the Grand Metropolitan Hotel in Brighton, where their eyes were feasting with the grand ladies and their sparkling jewelries. One of these ladies is of Hasting's acquaintance, and soon Poirot was introduced to the Opalsen couple. Mrs. Opalsen loves jewels, and offers to show her pearl necklace to Poirot. However, the pearl necklace wasn't in the jewel box where she'd kept it; it had been stolen! The suspects were Mrs. Opalsen's French maid - who had been instructed not to leave the bedroom while the chambermaid's cleaning it - and, of course, the chambermaid. The police searched the two maids, and found not the necklace. But after thorough search of the rooms, they've found it hidden inside the French maid's bed. Mrs. Opalsen cried: "Oh, my necklace!", and Poirot and Hastings left to their bedrooms. Is it over then, just like that? Of course not....

The Grand Metropolitan in London

Poirot continued his investigation; he inspected the room next to the Opalsen's, and asked a few questions to the chambermaid, the butler, even Mr. Opalsen himself. One of these proved later to be the clue to the true robbery, while the other was a red herring. Then, to Hasting's puzzle, Poirot went to London that very night. It was, in the end, a not very sophisticated case. One thing is sure, the police should have learned more about jewelry - but for Hercule Poirot's wide knowledge, it could have been a simple but perfect robbery!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Case of the Missing Lady

The next client of the Blunt International Detective Agency is a famous explorer who has just returned from an expedition to the North Pole. He had been engaged with a widow, Hermione, right before he left two years ago, and now was rushing to marry her. But she's not in her aunt, Lady Susan's, house where she'd been staying, and Lady Susan didn't know, or wouldn't tell him, of his fiancée's whereabouts. Feeling apprehensive that something fishy had been happening, he hired "Mr. Blunt" to investigate and find the missing lady.

Tommy and Tuppence's investigation led them, first to Maldon, from where a telegram from Hermione had been received by Lady Susan, and next to a sinister isolated nursing home in a village. It was there that they finally stumbled to the right trail. But what was really happening to Hermione? And would Tommy and Tuppence succeeded in rescuing her from whatever her predicament was?

This seemingly simple case turned out to be a thoroughly entertaining one to read! The "chase", the thrill, the humorous and witty interchanges of the duo, and especially... the ending. This case ended in much unexpected way that I laughed out loud after finishing it. Such a brilliant job from Agatha Christie, always with her witty and cheeky way!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
 

Crooked House (1949) by Agatha Christie: A Reread #20BooksofSummer2025

🩰 Crooked House is always one of my most favorites of Agatha Christie's, with its memorable 'plot-twist.' It is one of Christie's familycide mysteries - the one I enjoyed most, due too its simplicity. It's really a simple murder, at least from our, readers', point of view. The clues are there for us to see plainly, but only a few, perhaps, could solve it due to its impossibility. Well, it's not impossible, but unprecedented. I love Christie's cheekiness in this one; and it is what made Crooked House a memorable one.

🩰 It's post war, and Charles Hayward was engaged with Sophia Leonides. When her grandfather Aristide Leonides was murdered (poisoned with eserine from his own eye drops), Sophia told Charles that their marriage would never happen unless the murder is solved. Charles' father is Assistant Commissioner in Scotland Yard, and he asked Charles to stay with the family, to investigate "from the inside", along with the formal police investigation. And that's how Charles arrived at the Three Gables, the abode of the Leonides, which Sophia called the "crooked house" - inspired by the nursery rhyme: "there was a crooked man who lives in a crooked house...". Sophia acknowledge that there's the ruthlesness among the Leonides.

🩰 The family consists of Brenda - Aristide Leonides' far younger new wife; Philip (the oldest son) and his wife, with their three children: Sophia, Eustace, and Josephine; Roger (the youngest son) and his wife; an Aunt (Aristide's sister-in-law who came after her sister died); and lastly, a private tutor. One of them was widely believed to have been injecting Aristide with a dose of eserine, instead of insulin. But which one? Everyone has the opportunity - Aristide had practically provided the method of his murder to everyone. And so, the motive is what the police are seeking.

🩰 Brenda and Laurence were the "perfect" suspects. They're outsiders, and how convenient it would be that they are the murderer. But are they? Charles did his job quite nicely, mingling with the family, and got them to talk to him. His concern was for Josephine who likes snooping around, listening at doors, and playing detective. She knows too much (even bragging about knowing whodunnit), and likes to write everything in her black notebook. Charles' father asked him to watch her very closely, for her own sake. But he failed at that, because one day Josephine was found lying unconscious from a blow to her head. The murderer strikes again! They need to find the murderer as soon as possible, but which one?

🩰 Crooked House is one of Christie's fine analysis of the psychology of a murderer. What makes a murderer commit the murder? Charles' father described the characteristics of a murderer; it's a pity that Charles used more of his heart than his 'grey cell' when valuing his fiance's family. Christie also presented the theory of hereditary quite splendidly. Each member of the family, especially the direct descendants of Aristide Leonides possesses certain characteristics - good and bad, either from him or his late wife. All these aspects make this book a gem! I still loved it after this second or third reading, and though I won't ever forget the ending, I'll keep rereading it every some years.

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2025

hosted by Annabel and Emma

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: Reviews for JULY #AgathaChristieSS25

The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb

It is always a treat when Christie indulged in her fascination about archeology and ancient Egypt. In this short but engaging story, an excavation of the tomb of the Pharaoh Men-her-Ra had suddenly became public's fascination after two men involved died one after another in just a fortnight - one of a heart failure, the other blood poisoning. People had been questioning whether the curse of the Pharaoh hunted the excavation, when the third death occurred, this time a suicide.

The widow of the excavation's leader, Sir John Willard, asked Poirot's help to protect her son, who now led the excavation. So Poirot and Hastings left for Egypt, and stayed the night at the camp. They felt the forces of evil in the air - Christie used this a lot in her novels. Things began to be out of control when Poirot choked on the tea brought by the servant. Was he being attacked by the desperate murderer, or this was just one of Poirot's theatrical acts to reveal the murderer?

On the whole, it's fun to read. The exotic expedition in Egypt, the superstitions, and the little dramatic act. It was what I always expect from Christie's shorties.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger

It's a boring day at Blunt's International Detective Agency. The blue letter or number 16 that they must be wary of, had, so far, never come. But three arrivals broke the dull; the first was a package, the second a letter, and the third a client. The package contained Tuppence's purchase, a silver cigarette case with "to Francis, from Tuppence" engraved on it, which was a gift for a General Francis, whom Tuppence drove for at war. The letter was the blue Russian letter that they've been looking forward to. However the client's arrival checked their discussion. Moreover, the client seemed to be eyeing on the letter, longer than he should have been. Was he a real client, or the disguised enemy?

This one was a highly entertaining story, a reminiscent of The Secret Adversary, albeit the tiny-weeny version of it. Friend-turned-foe, deception, decoy, fast-paced action - all was packed into a well-proportioned short story. My favorite part is the different fictional-detective-style that the Beresfords always adopted on each case. This time they adopted Francis and Desmond, the Okewood Brothers, created by Valentine Williams (1883-1946). Usually these were just to add humor to the story, but this time, it was key to their victory. A clever move by Christie!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: Mini Reviews for June #AgathaChristieSS25

Ingots of Gold

It's Raymond West's turn to tell a mysterious story when The Tuesday Night Club next re-convened. It involved his newest acquaintance, at whose abode in Cornwall, Raymond had been invited to spend the Whitsun. It was an unsolved mystery, and which he expected the club would discuss and find a solution.

John Newman had bought rights from Spanish Armada to salvage the wreck of a sunken ship, which he believed contained of treasure. On the way to Newman's, Raymond met a Police Inspector, who was investigating another, more recent shipwreck with ingots of gold in it which had been stolen. Throughout his stay, Raymond felt a foreboding of something bad about to happen; with the menacing pub's landlord, and big storm. On top of it all, Newman was missing - apparently abducted, and witnessed a smuggling. Was this the answer of the stolen ingots of gold? In the end, it was, as usual, the meek Miss Marple who solved the mystery. Quite an entertaining one!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sing a Song of Sixpence

I have found that the stories from The Listerdale Mystery collection are by far my most favorites. This one is no exception. Sir Edward Palliser received a visit from a young woman, Magdalen, whom he'd known years ago, and whose plead for help he couldn't refuse. Magdalen's eccentric aunt had been murdered, and the household - consisted of Magdalen, her brother, the aunt's nephew and his wife, and a devoted servant called Martha. To clear her family's reputation, Magdalen asked Sir Edward to investigate.

From his visit to the house, and his interview, Sir Edward found himself with a puzzle, but without nothing to suggest how to proceed, until, by chance, he caught a sight of a shop. And then, eureka! He saw how the murder had been committed. The key is the nursery rhyme which Christie used as this story's title. I loved the solution and twist, which I would've never guessed by myself. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Taken at the Flood (1948) by Agatha Christie

💜 It was during a raid in The World War II, that Hercule Poirot, sheltering in a club, had heard an interesting story from a Major Porter. He was reading a news about the death of one Gordon Cloade, and how his new wife would inherit his estate. He - Major Porter - befriended the wife's former husband, a man named Robert Underhay, who was believed to be dead in Africa, though Major Porter was sure the man wasn't dead, and surely, one day he would appear in England. The story quite intrigued Poirot, and he was reminded to it several months later when he was asked to identify a mysteriously murdered man.

💜 The Cloade family (the late Gordon Cloade's siblings and their family) had been dependent to Gordon; he financed their expenses, provided them with capitals to start a venture - in short, he always told them to never think about money, as his wealth would someday be divided amongst them all. And so, his sudden death left the family vulnerable, and in want of ready money for their household expenses, or to continue on their ventures. They started asking Gordon's widow - a young and naive Rosaleen - for money. Her brother David protected his sister like a lioness protecting its cub.

💜 One day a stranger called Enoch Arden came to the village's inn and blackmailed David that he knew how to find Rosaleen's first husband. This conversation was heard by the landlady, who then told one of the family members. The next day, the man was found dead with his head smashed. Of course, David was instantly suspected. He had the strongest motive, since, if Robert Underhay was found alive, his sister wouldn't inherit the estate after all. But was he the real murderer? And why did Rowley Cloade asked Poirot to find the whereabout of Robert Underhay? Has that something to do with the fact that Lynn Marchmont, his fiance, seemed to be attracted to David Hunter?

💜 All in all, it was an interesting case. I loved that Poirot was not involved in the case until about half the story. If gave Christie ample opportunity to focus on the family dynamic, giving each character (suspects) to reveal their true selves, but without giving up too much to keep us in the dark of the murderer's identity until almost at the end. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: Mini Reviews for May

The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

This is a Hercule Poirot story, where Poirot and Hastings were asked to investigate a bond robbery. The story opens with Hastings remarking how often one reads about bond robbery those days. Then a young woman came with exactly the same case. Her fiancee, a bank clerk, had been asked by his boss to take a packet of one million dollars of Liberty bonds on board a ship, for sale in the United States. The packet was placed in a trunk, of which, only the trusted clerk and two managers had the key. Later on the clerk found attempts to force-opening on the trunk, and the packet gone! The ship was thoroughly searched to no avail. Who the theft is, and how they did it?

Upon investigation, Poirot found that the bonds were instantly bought by a broker. And that fact convinced him of the solution to the mystery. This has been a straightforward case, and not hard at all to guess.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Affair of the Pink Pearl

The third story in Partners in Crime collection found Tommy as the star detective for a change! He has just bought a camera "for taking photographs of footprints and "all that sort of thing", while a client arrived. She's a young woman from Wimbledon, whose house guest had lost a valuable pink pearl. Her necklace had been laid aside on a table after the clasp broke, and she forgot to take it upstairs at night. The following day, the necklace was there, but without the pink pearl pendant. There's no doubt that someone inside the house had stolen it, but who? And how did they hide it so that the search revealed nothing?

As Tuppence questioned the servants, Tommy took photographs of the whole room. Both efforts weren't fruitless. Tuppence found a kleptomaniac who'd been hiding spoons on their muff, but Tommy deduced correctly the theft of the pink pearl. On the whole, it's a satisfactory story. I've been waiting to read one where Tommy outwits Tuppence, and here it is!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS25: April

The day finally come when I can say that I loved very much BOTH of the stories I read for #Agatha ChristieSS25! Here are my (belated) reviews: 

The Idol House of Astarte

This might be one of my favorites in Miss Marple's short stories collection - so far. You know how Christie could infuse the evil atmosphere into the story, that you could even feel it yourself surround you while reading? This story is just that. 

When the Tuesday Night Club was meeting again, it was Dr. Pender's turn to tell his story - and it was an amazing one. It happened during a house party where he was invited by Sir Richard Haydon. The house is called Silent Grove, near which there's a grove, thick of trees, which Sir Richard believed to be the grove of Astarte (an ancient Egypt goddess), and where he had built a stone summerhouse as a kind of 'temple'.

It was the midsummer, and Sir Richard with his guests visited the grove. Instantly they felt the evil atmosphere was closing on them. One of the guests was an enchanting society beauty called Diana Ashley, whom most of the men were attracted to, including Sir Richard. She suggested a dress party at the grove, and there they went. But when the others approached the temple, Diana disappeared and later appeared in front of the temple dressed magnificently as priestesse of Astarte. Despite her warning to not approaching, Sir Richard walked towards her. He suddenly collapsed, dead with a knife stabbed into his heart, though no one had approached him, nor the weapon found near him. The police suspected Diana, though couldn't find out how she could have committed the murder. Only Miss Marple could solve the mystery, as correctly as what Dr. Pender had learned years ago after the murderer confessed to him through a letter.

What a wonderful mystery, well plotted and geniusly written!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Philomel Cottage

A thirty something Alix Martin is newly married to a man she met at a friend's house: Gerald Martin. She's a typist, and had had an understanding with a fellow clerk Dick Windyford. The latter was annoyed when Alix's fortune changed after a cousin died. But much chagrin after her marriage with Gerald, warning her that Alix didn't know anything about her husband. 

Meanwhile, the Martin's moves to Philomel Cottage, a picturesque house. Strange things began to happen. The gardener told Alix that Gerald told him she's going to London the next day - which she's not - and that the cottage costs two thousand pounds - when Gerald told her three. Her recurring dreams of Dick murdering Gerald didn't help either. She began to be suspicious. Finding Gerald's diary and picture were the last straw, Alix was sure that her husband was a murderer, and he's going to murder her! What was she going to do?

This is another success for April's #AgathaChristieSS25. Thriller isn't often found in Christie's collection, and this one is my favorite. We know who the murderer is - it's not a tough guess - and how he'd planned to execute it, and it's only how the victim would survive it. In short, it's what a good thriller should be, and short though it is, Christie managed to write it so well!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another Belated Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS25: March

The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge

Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings were invited to stay with a Mr. Havering. Their host received a telegram from his wife that his uncle was shot to dead the night before. And so, Havering went with Hastings, serving as Poirot's assistant, as the detective was indisposed. Hastings acquired information from the housekeeper, a Mrs. Middleton, that prior to the incident, a bearded man had visited the deceased. She and Mrs. Havering, who were outside the room, then heard a shot from within. But entering the room, they found the body, while the pistol and the murderer were missing.

The case might not have been solved at all, were it not for the amazing deduction skill of Hercule Poirot. When Hasting wired him the facts, he saw clearly what might have happened, and asked Hastings to inquire about what seemed to be trivial, but proved to be the key to the mystery. This is one of Christie's stories with unsatisfactory ending - I rather hate it everytime she "lets" providence took over the police's authority in way of punishment. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

A Pot of Tea

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have been settled in the detective agency they were asked to take over by the secret service (it's a camouflage for the secret service). So far they've been receiving divorce cases, and Tuppence was dissatisfied. It couldn't go on much longer, they got to start having serious cases. But the arrival of a Lawrence St. Vincent, the heir of an Earl, changed everything. He asked them to investigate the disappearing of a girl he's been engaged to, who's working at a hat shop. They took it, and Tuppence found the girl, and solved their first case wonderfully.

The interesting point of this case isn't in the mystery solving, but in Tuppence's ingenuity -- atta girl! On the whole, it's a funny, witty, entertaining story, with an unexpected little twist. I loved the arrangement of the detective agency - Tommy posing as Mr. Blunt, to create confidence in potential client; while Tuppence as the efficient secretary, who's actually the main brain of the establishment.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Much) Belated Reviews for #AgathaChristieSS25: February

It's end of April, and I am still struggling to catch up with my reviews, especially for #AgathaChristieSS25, which I am hosting! Shame on me, but that's life. Sometimes you seem to have all the time in the world to blog, but sometimes it needs determination - a lot of them - to just continue on. Here I am, still writing reviews for short stories I've read two months ago, which I completely forgot, and must depend on Wikipedia to refresh my memory. But, the bottom line is, I determine to catch up, albeit slowly. So, here are the two stories for February; the March ones will follow soon.

The Tuesday Night Club

The first story in Miss Marple's collection of Thirteen Problems is the "founding" of the Tuesday Night Club. It comprises of Joyce Lemprière (an artist), Sir Henry Clithering (a former Scotland Yard commissioner), Dr. Pender (a clergyman), Mr. Petherick (a solicitor), Miss Marple her self, and her nephew, a writer called Raymond West. These six gather every Tuesday (hence the club's name) to try to "investigate" past unsolved mystery. The first case was brought by Sir Henry, a mysterious food poisoning case. Three people dined the same meal of tinned lobster, bread and cheese, and trifle, but only a Mrs. Jones who died, apparently of poisoning; while the other two: the husband, Mr. Jones, and the maid, Miss Clark. 

It was a simple case, I think. We might guess the whodunnit, but might not the howdunnit. Only Miss Marple, through her huge experience and understanding of human nature, who could precisely solve the mystery. The one person whom nobody even thought of asking the opinion of, is the one who shed a light on the case in the end.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Listerdale Mystery

After Mr. St. Vincent died, his widow and two children are, financially, in the mud. They live presently in a boarding house. But someday Mrs. St. Vincent read in the advertisement, about a charming little house, furnished (even with a butler!), which was let for very row rent. She's taken with the house, although the son suspected something foul beneath it. But in the end they moved in. They learned that the house belonged to Lord Listerdale, who disappeared eighteen months previously and turned up in East Africa. Mrs. St. Vincent lives comfortably in the house, and life goes on amiably for the family. But the mystery perplexed Rupert, the son, completely. Was Lord Listerdale perhaps been murdered, and his body was buried somewhere inside the house?....

This turned out to be a charming mystery in the end - quite unexpectedly too. It's the kind of story which, when finished reading, you would say: well... "all's well that ends well". Loved it!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Daughter's a Daughter (1952) by Mary Westmacott aka Agatha Christie #1952Club

🟢 I am still struggling to catch up with my reviews, but I can't possibly skip submitting one or two for the #1952Club, can I? So here's the first, an audiobook of a Mary Westmacott's novel. Though I've been reading Agatha Christie's crime novels since teenager, this was actually my first of Westmacott's. I've heard that some of them are rather bleak, and this one confirmed that.

🟢 Ann Prentice is a middle-aged widow who lives with one daughter and a servant-slash-companion. She's been leading a quiet and happy life, and it seems that her only worry, at present, is what she's going to do after her daughter became independent as a young woman. That's when a complication is thrown on her, in the shape of a widower called Richard Cauldfield, with whom she's falling in love, but of whom, her daughter Sarah is disagree.

🟢 Richard Cauldfield is a shy, stubborn, insecure man, who in general dislikes modern women. Naturally he dislikes Sarah from the first, but feels the need of being kind to her, resulting in a series of blunders, which makes Sarah hates him even more. Confronted with constant quarrels and bickering between the two, Ann is torn between her love for her daughter and her lover. The first would mean she'll have to sacrifice her own happiness. What will a mother do in this circumstance?

🟢 The plot seems like a simple one, and honestly, I had never expected that this book would be a thought-provoking psychological drama. I'm already familiar with Christie's psychological analysis in her crime stories (it's this side that made me loving her in the first place), and this one feels like she was presented at last with an opportunity to freely play with it. And didn't she do it wholeheartedly! The result is a very powerful, poignant phycological dissection of each character, in a conflict. And it's the kind of process that we could relate much - the sacrifices we make for our loved ones; the lies we make that what we do are for others' good; and the denials that we are fine. We just live with it thinking that everything's fine, until a clear-headed someone bluntly scolds us and opens our eyes. This someone in this story is Dame Laura Whitstable, an old friend of Ann, and an expert in psychology - whom I suspect was Christie's own voice.

🟢 It's a brilliant, thought-provoking story that makes you reflect about happiness. Is it worth fighting for one's personal happiness, even if it means making others uncomfortable or even unhappy?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read this book for:

The 1952 Club

hosted by Simon @ Stuck in a Book & Karen @ Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings

The Hollow and The Pursuit of Love: Mini Reviews

The Hollow (1946) by Agatha Christie

🔫 I'm sure I've read Agatha Christie's The Hollow, though I don't understand why I couldn't remember it being that good. It's a Poirot's story, though his involvement wasn't much. He even appeared midway through the story. Poirot happens to be a neighbor of the Angkatells' country house, where John Christow and his wife, Gerda were staying for the summer. Also staying are Edward and David Angkatell, Henrietta Savernake, and Midge Hardcastle.

🔫 John Christow was shot dead near the pool, only minutes before Poirot was about to arrive for dinner. Poirot felt that the scene was staged for his eyes. And this proved to be a crucial point in the investigation of this, apparently, crime passionell. Three women loved Doctor John Christow differently. His wife Gerda worshipped the ground he walks on, Henrietta provided intellectual mind he could discuss his works with, while Veronica Cray is an actress and his old flame. Who, of the three, was the murderer?

🔫 I loved a psychological mystery like this one. A crime within the closed circle of relatives, where we, the readers, could investigate the case by following the thoughts and gestures of each suspect, while Poirot was in the background, guiding us to the right path. Excellent! My new favorite, too!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Pursuit of Love (1945) by Nancy Mitford

❤ Having read two satisfying Mitford's before (Pigeon Pie and Wigs on the Green), I was looking forward to read The Pursuit of Love, which, some synopsis daubed as Mitford's funniest. I was disappointed. It's not remotely as funny as I've expected, though I think it's unexpectedly more poignant than the two, especially in the end.

❤ The story is told from the POV of Fanny Logan, who had been brought up alongside her cousin, Linda Radlett, whose pursuit of love made the center of the story. Living between the two wars in England, the Radletts from Alconleigh is an eccentric and rough-on-the-edges family. Linda and Fanny had been forming their ideals of love from childhood. And it is quite interesting to follow the realization in life of these, especially Linda's, views and ideals of love and marriage. It's a wickedly satirized misguided love adventures, with the main attraction of eccentric characters. The jokes were mainly dry, and it's not something I'll cherish for a comfort reading.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Mini Reviews: Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025 - JANUARY #AgathaChristieSS25

The Adventure of the Cheap Flat (1924)

Hastings told Poirot that a woman called Mrs. Robinson had told him at dinner party, that she had just acquired an incredibly cheap flat. Everyone else thought it good luck on behalf of Mrs. Robinson, but Poirot smelled rat, there must be something goings on. He rented another flat in the same building, and at night watched the suspicious flat, together with Hastings. His suspicion was not unfounded. 

It's perhaps my least favorite from Poirot's short stories so far. Similar to any other Poirot-Hastings stories, this one is also a bit hilarious. The pair using the coal lift to reach the suspicious flat, for instance, was a quite funny scene to imagine. But other than that, the solution is just okay, it left no impression at all.

 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

A Fairy in the Flat (1929)

This one, in fact, was the first (very short) story in Partners in Crime. It took place six years after Tommy and Tuppence's adventure in The Secret Adversary. They were married, and Tuppence was bored - life has been dull. If only something exciting would come their way. The answer to her wish came when Tommy's boss offered them to take over a detective agency. It would serve as some kind of post for the secret service, but they were free to take on any case that may come their way. They were only to be wary of the number 16.

I realized right after finishing the twenty something pages, that this story served as introduction to the the whole collection. There's nothing going on in it, besides the news from Tommy's boss. It should be pairing with the following one: A Pot of Tea. Well, we will get to it in March, so I will be patiently waiting. Meanwhile, I will not rate this one, because there's no mystery whatsoever to rate!

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

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