Bodies from the Library: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection (2018) ‘Before Insulin’ by J.J. Connington (1936) ‘The Inverness Cape’ by Leo Bruce (1952) ‘Dark Waters’ by Freeman Wills Crofts (1953) ‘Linckes’ Great Case’ by Georgette Heyer (1923) ‘Calling James Braithwaite’ by Nicholas Blake (1940) ‘The Elusive Bullet’ by […]

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The first half of this edition is The Thirteen Problems / The Tuesday Club Murders, which I earlier. The second half has the following stories: From The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939) “Miss Marple Tells a Story” first in Home Journal (1935) [“Behind […]

4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This might be one of my favorite Miss Marple mysteries. It’s definitely one of the most memorable. At that moment another train, also on a downline, swerved inwards towards them, for a moment with almost alarming effect. For a time the two trains ran parallel, now one […]

They Do It With Mirrors (1952) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) Something about this book has never quite worked for me. I never quite feel I have a handle on anything, and some of the characters melt into each other. The mystery itself is interesting, but getting to the solution just felt a little off. The […]

4.50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This may well be my favorite Miss Marple story. Elspeth McGillicuddy is coming home from London when her train briefly runs alongside another train, and she witnesses a man strangling a women to death. The other train sped on, and Mrs McGillicuddy told all the proper people, […]

A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) It was a normal day at work, when they took Rex Fortescue. Then he keeled over, and nothing made sense any more. Who could have poisoned Rex–and filled his coat pocket with grain? His much younger (and beautiful) wife, who has been carrying on with […]

They Do It With Mirrors (1952) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) When asked by an old school friend, Miss Marple visits Stoneygates to check that everything is fine with her friend Carrie Louise. “Me?” exclaimed Miss Marple. “Why me?” “Because you’ve got a nose for that sort of thing. You always had. You’ve always been a […]

A Murder Is Announced (1950) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) In Chipping Cleghorn, the local paper sports an unexpected advertisement: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m.’ One of the bits I found particularly amusing was where people slowly show up for the announced murder–but […]

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) These stories were published between 1927 and 1957. “(S)o many people seem to me not to be either bad or good, but simply, you know, very silly.” The Thirteen Problems (previously published as The Tuesday Club Murders) (1932) The Tuesday Night Club (1927) The […]

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (2013) Agatha Christie From The Thirteen Problems (1953) The Tuesday Night Club The Idol House of Astarte Ingots of Gold The Bloodstained Pavement Motive v. Opportunity The Thumbmark of St. Peter The Blue Geranium The Companion The Four Suspects A Christmas Tragedy The Herb of Death The Affair at […]

The Lighthearted Quest (1956) Ann Bridge I picked up a bunch of books in this series when they were on sale, and then they sat, unread, while I read other things. The book started off well. It’s set post WWII, a time period I’m fond of due to Agatha Christie, and it was amusing. “Where […]

They Do It With Mirrors (1952) Agatha Christie Another Miss Marple mystery–comfort reading for when I’m sick. Miss Marple is asked by her friend Ruth to look into the circumstances of Ruth’s sister, Carrie Louise. Jane Marple and Ruth and Carrie Louise were school mates, and remained in touch through the years. Ruth feels there […]

A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) Agatha Christie Rex Fortescue dies in his office, immediately after drinking his morning tea. Besides the strange poison used to kill me, police are confused by the fact he coat is full of cereal–rye. Miss Marple doesn’t make her appearance until almost halfway through the story, but Inspector Neele […]

4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy is taking the train from London to visit her friend Miss Marple, when she looks into the windows of a passing train and sees a woman being throttled–she alerts the conductor, the station master, and the local police, but–strangely–no body is discovered. Her curiosity piqued, Miss […]

A Murder Is Announced (1950) Agatha Christie Next up on my Miss Marple reading binge was A Murder is Announced. The residents of Chipping Cleghorn are startled when their weekly paper has a strange personal announcement: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m.’ And […]