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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

High Rising (1933) by Angela Thirkell

💜 High Rising is the first novel in Thirkell's Barsetshire Chronicles - a series of 29 books set in Antony Trollope's fictional English county: Barsetshire. Like her contemporaries, E.F. Benson and E.M. Delafield, Thirkell's works were placed in the comedy of manners genre. It's witty and hilarious - the perfect light domestic satire which I liked very much.

💜 Laura Morland is a middle-aged widow with three children. Two of them had left home to pursue their careers, leaving the youngest, a precocious and boisterous boy named Tony, to be still in her care. The two of them spent Christmas holiday at their country home in a small village of High Rising. Her closest neighbor, George Knox, has just hired a secretary. She turned out to be a scheming woman, and her goal is to be next Mrs. Knox. And Laura made it her duty to help her friend George out of Miss Grey's clutches. Will she be able to do it?

💜 I enjoyed the whole reading - it's a light one, but full of well defined characters, and it never lacks of mild surprises and amusing incidents along the way. Laura, especially, is a lovely woman, full of affection for people around her, energetic, and efficient. It's no wonder that she got a few suitors - even a man younger than her. She is a successful writer, though she daubed herself as a writer of good bad books (who doesn't love this kind of book?!). The others are interesting too - her son Tony, for example, who loved automotive and obsessed with his model railway. Countless hilarious events come from that! And I also loved how the women closed rank in their "fight" against the scheming secretary they nicknamed "the Incubus". Well, not only the women, but also few of the men. And beyond that scheme, Laura still had time to bring a young couple together. On the whole, it's a charming and heartwarming story!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Three Upcoming Reading Events I Can't Wait to Take Part In!

It's the last week of May, and I'm happy to say that... I'm back, baby! (^_^)

The four-months tax certification course is done and dusted! And my weekends will be my own again! While I still have to catch up with reviews (six books behind), I'm eager to be back to my blogging routines. And opening my blog again today, what did I find? There are - not one, not two, but - three reading events that are going to start very soon. I'm thrilled to join in, and here they are with some of possible reads (I missed these - planning and sorting books - things!) 

READING THE MEOW 2025

hosted by Mallika @ Literary Potpourri

9-15 June 2025

#ReadingtheMeow2025

Possible reads:

1. The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie

2. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo

3. Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown

20 BOOKS OF SUMMER 2025

hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel & Emma @ Word and Peace

1st June to 31st August 2025

#20BooksofSummer2025

Possible reads:

1. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

2. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

3. The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

4. The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie #ReadingtheMewo2025

5. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo #ReadingtheMewo2025

6. Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown #ReadingtheMewo2025

7. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden

8. A Picture of Murder by T.E. Kinsey

9. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain

10. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

11. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

12. Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah

13. Garlic, Mint & Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude Izzo

14. Crooked House by Agatha Christie

15. The Swiss Summer by Stella Gibbons

16. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

17. The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin #WITMonth

18. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa #WITMonth

19. The Black Cabinet by Patricia Wentworth

20. The Martian by Andy Weir

PARIS IN JULY 2025

hosted by Emma @ Word and Peace

#ParisInJuly2025

Possible reads:

1. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain

2. Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

4. Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah

5. Garlic, Mint & Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude Izzo

Will you join in one or all of these three fun yearly events?
Have you read any of the books? Let me know what you think!

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: MAY #AgathaChristieSS25

I am sorry for this much belated post for this month's Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025! Like I have revealed in the previous post, I am on a four months tax certification course. On top of that, we've had a tax audit during the last two weeks, which consumed all that left off my time and energy. Hence, this belated post! But the good news is, today is the last day of my course (hurrah!), and so, I will be back to blogging again very soon. There are so much to catch up with (I'm six reviews behind), but I'll take a leisure to do it all. But now, for our two stories this month, here they are...  

THE MILLION DOLLAR BOND ROBBERY

(A Hercule Poirot story)

A million dollars of bonds disappear from under a young man’s nose and now he’s being held accountable. His fiance Esmee appeals to Hercule Poirot to assist him. As only three people had keys to the bond trunk surely it should be easy to solve? Perhaps not if you're not Hercule Poirot! ;)

THE AFFAIR OF THE PINK PEARL

(A Tommy & Tuppence story)

Tommy and Tuppence try to recover a precious pink pearl which was stolen from the houseguest at a party. The most interesting part is perhaps the fact that Tommy investigates, in the guise of Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke, the great medico-legal detective created by R Austin Freeman (1862-1943). Can't wait to read this one, it sounds fun!

You can find the complete reading list here, and please submit link to your reviews of this month's stories on the comment section of this post. Happy reading!


The Reviews:
My own reviews for both stories

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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Love for Lydia (1952) by H.E. Bates #1952Club

💙 This was my first introduction to H.E. Bates, and I read from the synopsis that this was "his own favourite among his Northamptonshire novels", and that this was a semi-autobiographical account of Bates' own life. So, I was excited to read it for my third and final entry for #1952Club - and it's not disappointing! The story was narrated by Richardson, who, at the beginning of the novel, worked as a newspaper reporter. However, he seems to be too dreamy and imaginative, shy and reserved, to be a journalist. On one of his errands, he gets to know a girl called Lydia Aspen, who has just arrived to stay with her two spinster aunts. His first impression of Lydia, is a tall, dark, awkward, and shy girl. Her two aunts wanted him to take Lydia out for skating, to meet people, instead of being isolated with two elderly people.

💙 As Lydia learns to skate, little by little she is out from her shell, so to speak, revealing more of her true nature, which is self-centered, flirty, enjoying her power over men. In short, Lydia is a femme fatale. Richardson was soon fascinated and falling in love with her, so were three other young men, though in different ways and not at the same time. After all the dancing and partying that the group had a lot, Lydia grew farther from Richardson, that when he finally proposed, she rejected him. And at this point, a tragedy occurred - you could actually see it coming, just like in The Great Gatsby - and Richardson, sick of it all, left for London.

💙 After his return two years later, Richardson found that things had changed. How is it changed? Would he meet Lydia again? And what would happen when he actually met her; would he still love her? And what about Lydia, could she finally grasp the pain she had caused the man who really loved her? Will the story be a happy-ending romance, or a devastating tragedy?

💙 What I loved most about the book is Bates' beautiful narration, especially his portrayal of the small English tannery town, located inside a valley. Whether in winter, spring, summer, or fall, Richardson, our narrator, could always describe the scenery picturesquely. Here's one of my favorites: 

"The sun went down a moment later in a plunge of wintry magnified fire that left on the ice, the snowy meadows and the cold sky a wonderful after-glow. A lichen-like green hung above the sunset, and the shadows, all across the snow, became of indigo brilliance before finally dissolving. A biting moment of dispersing day, exhilarating and almost cruel, hung in the pure start air before the first star sparked into green sky above the sunset."

💙 All in all, it is a beautiful romantic coming of age story. A bit sad, perhaps, but beautiful on the whole.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read this book for:

The 1952 Club

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