THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY

Author:  Agatha Christie

Genre:  Mystery, Miss Marple Series #2

Published:  1942

Personal Rating:  3.25/5 (just okay +)

Format:  Audiobook

Yearly Count:  36

A body is found in the library of a well-respected couple.  Who is she and why is she in their library are questions that come to their mind.  Miss Marple is invited to help solve the mystery.

It was nice to get back to an Agatha novel, but I didn't think it was anything special.  I do like how Miss Marple thinks, though.  I'd like to give another one of Agatha Christie's series a chance soon, because most of the Miss Marple books (and short stories) have been just so-so.  I know that I have really enjoyed a couple of Agatha Christie's standalones, so I'm eager to try something different.

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OCTOBER - DECEMBER

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JULY - DECEMBER

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The Non-Fiction Five Challenge has expired!

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34th Challenge Completed!

This challenge was created due to my lack of Agatha Christie reads.  I thought this would be a good jump start to further adventures.  While I only read 2 books and the rest were short stories, I do feel like I have had a decent introduction to Agatha Christie's mysteries.  I am not enthralled with her work, but I did enjoy what I read.

Anything Agatha Challenge Reads:

The Tuesday Night Club (Short Story)

The Idol House of Astarte (Short Story)

Ingots of Gold (Short Story)

And Then There Were None (Novel)

Murder on the Orient Express (Novel)

The Bloodstained Pavement (Short Story)

Motive V. Opportunity (Short Story)

The Thumbmark of Saint Peter (Short Story)

Blue Geranium (Short Story)

The Companion (Short Story)

Here is my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorite:

The Tuesday Night Club (Short Story)

Least Favorite:

The Companion (Short Story)

(only because I had to reread a little)

THE COMPANION

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre: Short Stories

Published: 1932/1985 Collection

Personal Rating: 3/5

(ss) Yearly Count: 36

Now the doctor from the dinner party (Arthur's home) tells a story from when he was in the island of Grand Canary.  Two women were out swimming and one was in trouble, so the other tried to save her.  They were rescued by a man in a rowboat, but one of them did not survive.  Was this an accident or was it murder?

Okay, this one was a tad bit confusing.  I had to reread a little to make sure I was on the right track.  Then, at the end, the dingbat of the group says she's not sure about who did what and I thought - great, now I think like a dingbat!

THE BLUE GERANIUM

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre: Short Stories

Published: 1932/1985 Collection

Personal Rating: 3/5

(ss) Yearly Count: 35

Miss Marple joins a dinner party and is entertained by Arthur's (the host) ghost story.  The story revolves around the wife of Arthur's friend, Mr. Pritchard.  Mrs. Pritchard sought out a psychic who convinces her that blue flowers are dangerous - even as dangerous as death.  Mrs. Pritchard takes the warning to heart.

This was just another typical Miss Marple mystery - enjoyable, but not fantastic.

THE THUMBMARK OF SAINT PETER

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre: Short Stories

Published: 1932/1985 Collection

Personal Rating: 3/5

(ss) Yearly Count: 34

It's Miss Marple's turn to share a story for the group to figure out.  She chooses to tell about her niece, Mabel.  Mabel's husband dies quite suddenly and rumors begin to fly that Mabel murdered her husband, even her friends won't talk to her any longer.

Another interesting short story, but nothing spectacular.

MOTIVE V. OPPORTUNITY

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre: Short Stories

Published: 1932/1985 Collection

Personal Rating: 3/5

(ss) Yearly Count: 33

Appropriately titled for a lawyer, Motive V. Opportunity is Mr. Petherick's story regarding a rich man named Mr. Clode.  Upon Mr. Clode's death, his will reveals that his estate will be given to his three relatives . . . until Mrs. Spragg, a medium, comes into the picture.  In his death bed, Mr. Clode rewrites his will to include her, but when the time comes to read the will - it's missing!

I'm getting the hang of Agatha's style.  I figured this one out early on.  Even though I've rated most of these short stories in the "just okay" category, I'm still enjoying them.

THE BLOODSTAINED PAVEMENT

Author:  Agatha Christie

Genre:  Short Stories

Published:  1932/1985 Collection

Personal Rating:  3/5

(ss) Yearly Count:  32

Joyce Lempriere, the artist, tells the story about her sketching vacation in a picturesque village.  While sketching and visiting on the porch, she happened to notice some bloodstains on the pavement.  That was not very disconcerting, until she was informed about the village's superstition if you see the bloodstains. 

Nothing too fancy came of this story, but it was still okay.  As always, there was a clue that was right before me.  I had the right idea, but didn't figure it out exactly.

JULY

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DECEMBER

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Your URL: http://thoughtsofjoyblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/r-author-based-z-reads.html

JULY - DECEMBER
ANYTHING AGATHA CHALLENGE READS:

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Agatha Christie

Genre: Mystery

Published: 1934

Personal Rating: 4.25/5

Yearly Count: 59

Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective, is called back home from a holiday, so he makes arrangements to take the Orient Express. During the trip, an American man is brutally murdered. Poirot takes the case.

This was my first introduction to Hercule Poirot and I liked him. The investigation was played out right before my eyes, but he was always way ahead of me. He gathered all the clues there were to gather, then he didn't rely just on the facts alone. He developed reasonable guesses and tested those guesses out on the suspects. Eventually, he arrived at not just one answer, but two.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

Agatha Christie

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Published: 1939

Personal Rating: 4.5/5

Yearly Count: 47

Ten strangers have been invited by a mysterious host to stay for a visit in the host's luxurious house. This house resides on a private island. Once they all are settled in, they are confronted with the reason why they had been chosen for the occasion. The reason has each member in the house looking at each other with apprehension - and rightfully so. Unfortunately, their time together as a group is limited due to the one-by-one elimination of each house guest.

I really enjoyed this! Throughout the entire book, the level of suspense was kept high by all the twists and turns. It made me eager to get back to it as soon as I could; I was definitely hooked. However, I have to say that the very ending wasn't as exciting as the rest of the book. For some reason, I expected to be wowed and I wasn't, but it was still a very good read and I'm glad I finally made time for it.

INGOTS OF GOLD

Agatha Christie

Genre: Short Story

Published: 1932/1985 Collection

Personal Rating: 3/5

(SS) Yearly Count: 5

The storyteller this time is Raymond West. He is Miss Marple's nephew and is a writer by profession. His story involved his visit to a new friend's home that was high up in the cliffs, with a good view of the sea. Six months prior, a ship carrying gold was wrecked upon the rocks and when searched, the gold was missing. One question is, was the gold stolen before the wreck or afterwards? Miss Marple, with her general knowledge, was able to answer that question.

This story was just okay. I think it was the topic that didn't interest me. The idea of diving for sunken treasures or looking for gold doesn't thrill me and that was the feeling behind this tale. Also, the resolution wasn't that exciting either . . . just okay.

THE IDOL HOUSE OF ASTARTE

Agatha Christie
Genre: Short Story
Published: 1932/1985 Collection
Personal Rating: 3.75/5
(SS) Yearly Count: 3

My second Miss Marple mystery in The Tuesday Club Murders turns out to be another good one. In this short story, Dr. Pender, the elderly clergyman, tells the happenings of a tragic experience. He shares that he "saw a man stricken to death by apparently no mortal agency". He, of course, knows what really happened and apparently so does Miss Marple.

JANUARY

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JUNE

Mister Linky will be keeping track of our monthly reads. Please type your name and then the name of the book you have read in parentheses. To link your review, copy and paste the direct URL and press enter.

SAMPLE:

Your Name: Joy (The Tuesday Night Club)
Your URL: http://thoughtsofjoyblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/r-author-based-z-reads.html

JANUARY - JUNE
ANYTHING AGATHA CHALLENGE READS:

Anything Agatha Challenge 2008

COMPLETED:  November, 2008

Hosted By: "Thoughts of Joy..."

(10 works/January - December, 2008)

1. The Tuesday Night Club (Miss Marple Short Story)

2. The Idol House of Astarte (Miss Marple Short Story)

3. Ingots of Gold (Miss Marple Short Story)

4. And Then There Were None (Novel)

5. Murder on the Orient Express (Novel)

6.  The Bloodstained Pavement (Miss Marple Short Story)

7.  Motive V.  Opportunity (Miss Marple Short Story)

8.  The Thumbmark of Saint Peter (Miss Marple Short Story)

9.  Blue Geranium (Miss Marple Short Story)

10.  The Companion (Miss Marple Short Story)

Anything Agatha Challenge 2008

The bug has bit! After the encouraging comments on my Agatha Christie short story post and poll, I've decided to do a challenge. If it's not in a challenge, it's less likely to get read. And, I really want to read more Agatha! So here we go . . .

~ Read 10 of ANYTHING by AGATHA Christie ~

(any combination)

~ January - December, 2008 ~

(no list required - post 'em as you read 'em)

~ SIGN UP BELOW! ~

Her repertoire includes:

Novels

Short Stories/Collections

Plays

Non-Fiction

Poems

Here are two sites to get you started:

Agatha Christie from Wikipedia

The Official Website of Agatha Christie

and a third:

Agatha Christie

ANYTHING AGATHA CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS:

THE TUESDAY NIGHT CLUB

Agatha Christie

Genre: Short Story

Published: 1932/1985 Collection

Personal Rating: 3.75/5

(SS) Yearly Count: 2

The Tuesday Night Club is one of thirteen stories from The Tuesday Night Murders. The five visitors in Miss Marple's home declare themselves a "Club". They are to meet every Tuesday and "each member in turn has to propound a problem. Some mystery of which they have personal knowledge, and to which, of course, they know the answer." The first up is Sir Henry Clithering, former Commissioner of Scotland Yard. He shares a true drama.

For no particular reason, Agatha Christie has eluded me until now. This short story with Miss Marple as the lead character was my first introduction to her and I was rather pleased. I'm fairly certain the next twelve stories are the tales that the other members bring to the table. I will definitely continue with this collection and seek out other work by the ever-so-popular Agatha Christie. Any suggestions?