Throwback Thursday: The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

Author: Agatha Christie
First published in 1939 by Dodd, Mead and Company

A diamond worth several fortunes is stolen as a dinner party trick, and then stolen from the thief...How lucky that Mr. Parker Pyne is also a guest at the party. The incomparable Hercule Poirot proves that a crowd is the best place for a murder. And Miss Marple solves a crime that stumped the police without ever leaving her fireside. This superb collection assembles all of Agatha Christie's top detectives to solve the most challenging cases of their careers.

This short story collection contains the following: The Regatta Mystery, The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, How Does Your Garden Grow?, Problem at Pollensa Bay, Yellow Iris, Miss Marple Tells a Story, The Dream, In a Glass Darkly and Problem At Sea.

Anthologies are always a nice change from novels when you want something quick to read.  After not reading much that has excited me lately, I was looking for a change of pace, The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories is a great set of short mysteries by the queen of mysteries.  

I really enjoyed this set of stories.  There is a mix of novellas featuring each of her three detectives.  I had never read anything with the detective, Parker Pyne.  That was a real treat.  My favorites of the bunch were The Problem at Pollensa Bay and In a Glass Darkly.  Both of them had a nice little twist that I didn't expect. The real interesting part was that neither one of them featured my favorite detective, Hercule Poirot.  If you haven't read this set, I highly recommend it.  

Throwback Thursday: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Author: Agatha Christie
First published in 1939 by Collins Crime Club

First, there were ten; a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal; and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

I commented in a recent review that this has been a so-so year for me when it comes to mysteries.  So, who do you turn to when you want a good mystery?  The queen of mysteries herself, Agatha Christie.  I know that I read And Then There Were None a long time ago, but I couldn't remember the exact ending.  I also know that the ending in the 1945 movie was very different from the book. I read that Ms.Christie admits that this was the hardest book to write out of all of her books. Given the complexity of the plot, I could understand why she would say that.

I enjoyed this re-read.  The characters were interesting enough to keep my attention.  Despite having 10 people to keep track of, it was a relatively easy book to keep straight.  I loved how the author got into the heads of each character so you could feel the fear and doubt they felt as each person dies.  The plot is pretty straight forward, but one that I had a hard time figuring out how it worked until the "confession letter".  Then it made a lot of sense.  10 people on an island and all 10 die.  How was it done?  Read it to find out!

Throwback Thursday: BLog Tour: The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

Author: Sophie Hannah
Publisher: William Morrow
Date of publication: September 2014

Since the publication of her first novel in 1920, more than two billion copies of Agatha Christie’s books have been sold around the globe. Now, for the first time ever, the guardians of her legacy have approved a brand new novel featuring Dame Agatha’s most beloved creation, Hercule Poirot.

‘I’m a dead woman, or I shall be soon…’

Hercule Poirot’s quiet supper in a London coffeehouse is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified – but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done.

Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at a fashionable London Hotel have been murdered, and a cufflink has been placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim…

The Monogram Murders isn't really a Throwback Thursday book since it's a new novel. But since it involves a throwback character, I thought I would make this my Throwback Thursday book for the week,  Everyone has heard of Hercule Poirot, right?  Author Sophie Hannah received special permission from Christie's estate to write a new adventure featuring the famous detective.  

I thought overall that the mystery was pretty enjoyable.  It flowed pretty well.  Having said that, I'm not sure the book really worked for me.  I think that fans of Christie's Poirot will be a tad bit disappointed in the book.  It didn't really have the same feel as a Christie mystery, which is something I thought the author was shooting for with this book.  It was missing something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  I also wasn't sold on the new character, Catchpool.  I didn't really care for him and I don't think he really worked as a second to Poirot. How that man ever made it into Scotland Yard is beyond me.  Too wimpy!

Would I recommend the book?  Yeah, sure I would.  But I think you really have to go into with the thought that it's a period mystery with a detective named Poirot.  Don't expect an Agatha Christie mystery.  You won't get it here.

About Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976.

Learn more about Agatha Christie through her official website.

About Sophie Hannah

Internationally bestselling author Sophie Hannah breathes new life into the incomparable detective. In this thrilling tale, Poirot plunges into a mystery set in 1920s London—a diabolically clever puzzle that will test his brilliant skills and baffle and delight longtime Christie fans and new generations of readers discovering him for the first time. Authorized by Christie’s family, and featuring the most iconic detective of all time, this instant Christie classic is sure to be celebrated by mystery lovers the world over.

Connect with Sophie Hannah through her website, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Sophie’s Tour Stops

Monday, September 15th: A Bookish Way of Life

Wednesday, September 17th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, September 18th: The Road to Here

Thursday, October 2nd: From the TBR Pile

Friday, October 3rd: My Bookshelf

Tuesday, October 7th: A Bookworm’s World

Wednesday, October 8th: Jorie Loves a Story

Thursday, October 9th: BoundbyWords

Thursday, October 9th: Wordsmithonia

Friday, October 10th: Books in the Burbs

Wednesday, October 15th: Olduvai Reads

TBD: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Throwback Thursday: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Author: Agatha Christie
First published in 1934 by Collins Crime Club (UK version) 

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. One of his fellow passengers must be the murderer.

Isolated by the storm and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer amongst a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again...

I will admit to having seen several versions of Murder on the Orient Express on TV, but have never read the book.  For the most part, the movies I have seen have gotten the facts correct and stayed fairly true to the book.  It is also one of my favorite of this author's tales.  I am a huge Poirot fan in general.  I prefer him to Miss Marple. 

This one is a hard one to review because I think I would give away too much.  And if you haven't read the book or seen the movies, giving away the twist would ruin everything.  Having said that, even though I knew the killer's identity, I did enjoy listening to the  audio book.  The narrator, Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey fame,  did a wonderful job with the voices and even managed to make his "Poirot" sound like David Suchet's TV version of the detective.   You really can't go wrong with anything by Ms. Christie, so I do recommend this one, especially if you haven't read it!