Cool Down with AC - The A.B.C. Murders Discussion

Summary: There’s a serial killer on the loose, working his way through the alphabet and the whole country is in a state of panic.

A is for Mrs. Ascher in Andover, B is for Betty Barnard in Bexhill, C is for Sir Carmichael Clarke in Churston. With each murder, the killer is getting more confident—but leaving a trail of deliberate clues to taunt the proud Hercule Poirot might just prove to be the first, and fatal, mistake. -- Harper

It's time again for another Cool Down with Agatha Christie readalong! This week, I am hosting a discussion of THE A.B.C. MURDERS by Agatha Christie. THE A.B.C. MURDERS was a new-to-me read, and I have to say that I was quite impressed with all of the twists and turns. I'm not entirely sure it's going to go down as one of my favorite AC books, but I was still blown away by Ms. Christie's ability to weave a good mystery!

For those of you not familiar with this book, THE A.B.C. MURDERS tells the story of a very unique serial killer on the loose in England. The murderer is targeting his (or her) victims and locations based on the alphabet, hence the title. For example, the first murder is Mrs. Ascherin in Andover, the second in Betty Bernard in Bexhill, etc. The murderer is sending Hercule Poirot taunting letters which give warnings as to the dates of the murders, but it appears that he is one step ahead of the famous detective. Can Hercule Poirot figure out the murderer and the motive behind the madness?

I actually loved how different THE A.B.C. MURDERS was that some other Agatha Christie books that I've read. It was more about the psychology surrounding a serial murderer instead of a traditional whodunit, and I loved how it taxed Poirot's brain. The "murderer" is presented to the reader early on in the novel and the real question for Poirot was the "why." He admitted that the murderer was a madman but he also knew that there was a great deal of planning involved in carrying out these murders. He couldn't put his finger on the motive behind the murders, and it wasn't until his friend Hastings mentioned something in passing that everything started to come together for him.

While I was highly entertained by this novel, I also found my reactions to this story to be interesting. Even though the murderer was "outed" at the beginning of the novel, I had a sneaky suspicion that he wasn't the murderer. I just couldn't believe that Ms. Christie wouldn't have something up her sleeve. However, because I kept doubting who the murderer was, I became frustrated that I couldn't figure out anything -- not the murderer, the motive, etc. I guess my feelings were pretty similar to Poirot's! As the story began unraveling at the end, I wasn't necessarily surprised by the culprit, but I was shocked by how twisted and complex the resolution was. There is absolutely no way I saw any of it coming. And that's one of the reasons that I adore Agatha Christie -- she always manages to surprise me!

As part of my preparation for this discussion, I discovered some interesting things about THE A.B.C. MURDERS. First of all, the book was originally published in 1936 and sold in the U.S. for $2. I know I should be surprised that this book is 75 years old, but I am just amazed by how "current" this book seems. There were definitely references to that time period, but I swear the book could have been written today. So much of what occurred in this novel is still relevant, and I guess that's why she's "The Queen of Mystery."

In addition, Ms. Christie has some special references to her other books in THE A.B.C. MURDERS. In Chapter 1, she refers to a situation in THREE ACT TRAGEDY as well as one in THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD. In Chapter 3, she mentions Poirot's idea of a perfect crime which later appears in FOUR CARDS ON THE TABLE. And in Chapter 19, she references the book THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES. I was only able to catch the first reference, but I love how smart she was!

And finally, THE A.B.C. MURDERS has been adapted into a few other works. There was a 1965 movie adaptation which was called The Alphabet Murders with Tony Randall starring as Poirot. And a second movie was made in 1992 for the television series Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchet playing the role of Hercule Poirot. This adaptation had a few character and plot changes including what happened to the murderer at the end. (I won't give that away here!) There has also been a video game and a four-part anime based on the novel.

Now it's your turn. You can answer as many or as few of these questions as you like. Or, you can bring up some ideas of your own!

1) I'm almost always amazed by the many twists and turns in Agatha Christie's novels. Were you surprised with the conclusion of THE A.B.C. MURDERS? Did you have any suspicions about the murderer?

2) How did THE A.B.C. MURDERS compare to other Agatha Christie books that you've read? Would you say it was one of your favorites?

3) I have to admit that I really thought the murderer was toying with Poirot with his letters -- that the motive behind the murders might be personal and, therefore, somehow linked to Poirot. I was absolutely shocked with the resolution of the case -- not so much because of who the murderer was, but rather because I kept looking for the link to Poirot. Was it just me? Or did you have a similar reaction to the letters and the motive?

4) I found Poirot and Hastings' relationship to be quite entertaining; however, I was a little bit surprised by how Poirot treated him. (I found it to be a little degrading, but maybe he was just teasing?) Did you find it ironic that Hastings was actually the one whose practicality helped Poirot to solve the crime?

5) Ms. Christie's writing style is a little different in THE A.B.C. MURDERS -- she combined first and third-person narrative. To make things even more unusual, the third-person narrative is reconstructed by Hastings, the first-person narrator. Did you appreciate the two "different" narrators? Did this presentation style work for you? What were the benefits (if any)?

Two participants in today's discussion have the opportunity to win a "cool" Agatha Christie prize pack including a surprise AC gift! So remember, when you leave your comment, please leave an email address!

Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this novel.

Cool Down with AC - Murder on the Orient Express Discussion

Summary: Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward 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, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again. -- Harper

It's time again for another Cool Down with Agatha Christie readalong! This week, I am hosting a discussion of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Agatha Christie. I first read this book when I was just a tween (and I don't even think that term was coined yet!) While I remembered that I enjoyed the novel, I didn't remember much about it. In fact, I didn't even remember who was responsible for the murder! So when I picked up MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS a few days ago, it was kind of like reading it for the first time.

It goes without saying that MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is one of the most well-known mysteries of all time. It has been made into a radio show, a graphic novel, and a PC game; and there were also many film versions of the story  -- most recently on PBS starring David Suchet. There is definitely a reason for this popularity. MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is just an outstanding mystery. I know I enjoyed the story the first time I read it, but I'm not sure I appreciated just how good this book (and Agatha Christie) was until now.

I'm curious to hear what you all think of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, but first, I'd like to share a few of my thoughts. I think what personally amazed me the most about this novel was how caught up I became in the story. (I'm having a hard time articulating my thoughts about this, though!) I think the draw of these books is Ms. Christie's storytelling abilities. Often times when I read a mystery, I don't even try to figure out the whodunit or the why behind the murder -- I just sit back and read to enjoy. However, when I read a book by Ms. Christie (and especially MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS), I am constantly trying to solve the mystery -- and of course, I never do! I have thought about this quite a bit, and I think what I've discovered is that Ms. Christie does an amazing job of pulling me in with her detective characters. I find that I hang on Mr. Poirot's every word! Is is just me?

Another thing that I was impressed by in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS was the character development. I think much thought and discussion could be generated around the various characters and their actions. All of them were certainly suspects, and they were also very complex and very interesting -- and much deeper than they first appeared. I was especially impressed with how all of the characters were tied to the crime. I'm guessing that Ms. Christie must have had some very detailed background notes about each of her characters!

Finally, I was surprised by the amount of social commentary in the novel. I definitely wasn't expecting that! I found many interesting (and discussion worthy) topics within the pages of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS -- and they went way beyond just murder. Some of the deeper issues that I found interesting were the differences in social classes and how they were portrayed in the story, the preconceived notions about certain ethnicities (aka prejudices), the definition of justice, and certain ethical and moral implications. I admit that I was blown away by the many serious (and still relevant) issues this book brought to light.

Prior to writing this review and coming up with some discussion questions, I learned a few things about MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS which I found interesting. First of all, it was published in 1934 -- that's 77 years ago! Based on how much I enjoyed the story, I'd have to say that it definitely stands the test of time. And while I did find some of the characters' comments to be very stereotypical (and even a bit prejudiced), I still thought this story and the presentation of the mystery to be rather relevant. Secondly, Ms. Christie was inspired by her own trips on the Orient Express. On one trip in 1931, Ms. Christie was actually stranded by bad weather conditions. And lastly, Ms. Christie wrote this story shortly after the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. I think it's pretty apparent to any reader even somewhat familiar with this story that the plight of the Lindbergh family inspired Ms. Christie's character development.

Now it's your turn. You can answer as many or as few of these questions as you like. Or, you can bring up some ideas of your own!

1) Once again, Agatha Christie managed to shock me with all of the twists and turns in this novel. Not only was I surprised by whodunit, but I was also shocked with how the story ended. Were you surprised by the outcome? What did you think about the "choice" that was made at the book's end?

2) A friend of mine mentioned that she didn't think this novel was exactly "politically correct" by today's standards. Did you have a similar reaction to some of the characters' statements about their train companions? Do you think an author could "get away" with comments like that today?

3) I was happy to find that MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS still had some humor despite being a bit dark in places. Were there any characters that you found to be comedic?

4) What, if anything, do you think MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS said about society's morals? Were there any ideas about the concept of law and justice?

Five participants in today's discussion have the opportunity to win a "cool" Agatha Christie prize pack including a copy of my next readalong book THE A.B.C. MURDERS and a surprise AC gift! So remember, when you leave your comment, please leave an email address!

In addition, I will be giving away three additional copies of THE A.B.C MURDERS for those of you who are interested in participating in the discussion on August 18th. Just fill out the form below before July 28th. I will randomly select and notify the winners the following day. You don't have to have a blog to participate in the readalong!



Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this novel.

Cool Down with AC -- Endless Night

Summary: Some are born to sweet delight, Some are born to endless night . . .

When penniless Michael Rogers discovers the beautiful house at Gypsy’s Acre and then meets the heiress Ellie, it seems that all his dreams have come true at once. But he ignores an old woman’s warning of an ancient curse, and evil begins to stir in paradise. As Michael soon learns: Gypsy’s Acre is the place where fatal “accidents” happen. -- Harper

Although I did read my fair share of Agatha Christie books in my youth, I never read ENDLESS NIGHT by Agatha Christie... until now. ENDLESS NIGHT is one of Agatha Christie's favorite novels and I can certainly see why. This novel was very different from any other Agatha Christie novel that I've read, and it was soooo good!

ENDLESS NIGHT tells the story of Michael Rogers, a relatively poor young man who jumps from job to job. He falls in love with an heiress named Ellie and is absolutely thrilled when she agrees to marry him. When Michael and Ellie build their dream house at Gypsy's Acre, their life together seems to be perfect... until a strange woman begins giving dire warnings about Gypsy's Acre and suspicious accidents start occurring.

The story is told through the eyes of Michael and I was pleasantly surprised by how well Ms. Christie captured his voice (although, by now, I shouldn't be surprised with anything Ms. Christie writes!) Much of the novel is spent telling about the love story between the very wealthy Ellie and Michael as well as some of the challenges they faced in their marriage. And what I found surprising is that the murder didn't take place until very late in the book. As I read ENDLESS NIGHT, I kept wondering when the "crime" was going to occur. The book is wrapped up very neatly in the last few pages, but I will tell you that it's definitely a shocking conclusion. Needless to say, I had absolutely no clue how things would wrap up and I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped as I began to figure things out.

ENDLESS NIGHT is one of those books that you just have to read for yourself. I really can't say too much about it or I'll be sure to give away the surprise ending. Suffice it to say that this might end up being one of the Agatha Christie books I most enjoyed reading this summer. The characters were so interesting, the murder mystery was complex, and the ending just blew me away! I was extremely impressed that Ms. Christie wrote the entire novel in the voice of a young man, and I thought she did a remarkable job of capturing all of the aspects of his character.

I must say that Agatha Christie is a pure genius when it comes to writing mysteries -- as if you didn't already know that. She did a wonderful job of creating a worthy cast of potential murderers with ample opportunities as well as reasonable motives, and she definitely had this reader guessing (and second guessing) who did it and why. I especially appreciated how well she unraveled the mystery in the last few pages to gain the most shock value to her audience.

As I was doing a bit of research about ENDLESS NIGHT, I discovered that it was made into a movie in 1972 with Hayley Mills. I would love to watch this movie and see how they story was portrayed on the big screen. Supposedly, Ms. Christie wasn't very happy that they incorporated some sex scenes into the movie version; and I can't say that I would blame her. Has anyone seen the film version? And if so, what did you think?

This week's Cool Down with Agatha Christie readalong will take place at Devourer of Books. Make sure you stop by to see what everyone else is saying about ENDLESS NIGHT.

Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this novel.  

 
Mystery Mondays is a "somewhat" regular feature where I review all types of mystery books -- traditional mysteries, suspense/thrillers, and even cozies! Please feel free to share your thoughts on any recent mystery books that you've read.

Cool Down with AC - Three Act Tragedy Discussion

Summary: Sir Charles Cartwright should have known better than to allow thirteen guests to sit down for dinner. For at the end of the evening one of them is dead—choked by a cocktail that contained no trace of poison. 

Predictable, says Hercule Poirot, the great detective. But entirely unpredictable is that he can find absolutely no motive for murder... -- Harper

As part of the Cool Down with Agatha Christie that's taking place this summer, I am hosting a few readalongs of Hercule Poirot books. The first one is THREE ACT TRAGEDY by Agatha Christie. Before I jump in with the discussion, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about this novel.

THREE ACT TRAGEDY is the first Hercule Poirot book that I've read in many, many years -- probably 25 or so. I am almost positive that I didn't read this novel as a kid because I think I would have remembered the original way that Ms. Christie set up the novel. I loved how the beginning of the book looked just like a play program with the three acts and their separate scenes; and I thought the credits (i.e. Directed by Sir Charles Cartwright, Illumination by Hercule Poirot, etc.) were also a cute idea. In addition, I liked all of the references to the theater, both the authentic ones as well as the satiric ones!

As far as mysteries go, I loved THREE ACT TRAGEDY! There's definitely a reason that Agatha Christie is one of (if not the best) mystery writers to have ever lived. I loved all of the characters, especially the ones with the personality quirks, and I thought the mystery was complex and full of fantastic twists and turns. The suspects were a great cast of characters and I switched my idea of who was guilty at least four times. I also thought the motive was extremely interesting. I found that it showed some wise insight into human nature and the need for love and happiness. (But maybe I'm just reading too much into the story?)

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I read about half of THREE ACT TRAGEDY before watching the PBS film version -- so I knew the outcome before I actually finished the book. This is going to sound very strange, because I can't say for sure, but I think the movie manipulated me into figuring things out more quickly than the book did. I wasn't entirely sure about the motive while watching the movie, but I definitely figured out the murderer. I'm disappointed that I didn't have time to finish the book prior to viewing the movie because I am almost positive that I wouldn't have figured out the who or why based on the book alone. Lesson learned -- always read the book first!

While I will almost always say that the book is better (and I do still stand behind this belief for THREE ACT TRAGEDY), I thought the movie did do some things a little better. One of the main characters in the book (Mr. Satterthwaite) didn't even appear in the movie. I actually was very surprised that Hercule Poirot played such a small part until the end of the novel, and I liked that he more prominent role in the movie because they merged some of Satterthwaite's scenes with Poirot's. It didn't hurt that I loved Suchet's Poirot! In addition, I loved being able to "see" so much of the beautiful scenery -- from the modern house, to the gorgeous sea, etc.

Now it's your turn:

1) I was rather surprised by the small role that Hercule Poirot played in the novel. What did you think about Poirot? Did you like that the "amateur" sleuths provided much of the investigating in the story? If you've read other Poirot novels, how does THREE ACT TRAGEDY COMPARE?

2) Did you figure out the murderer and/or the motive before Poirot revealed them to us at the end of the book? What do you think Agatha Christie was trying to say about love and happiness (if anything)?

3) What did you think about the humor and wit in this novel? Were you surprised by the amount of satire?

4) Agatha Christie was a big fan of theater -- she wrote 19 plays including The Mousetrap which has been running non-stop in London since 1952. Did you appreciate how she portrayed the theater and its fans in this novel? Did you like how the book was set up -- the three "acts", the program design in the beginning, etc? Did you notice any other interesting references to the theater in this novel?

5) Why do you think Agatha Christie books stand the test of time?

Note: There is also a fantastic discussion of the film version of THREE ACT TRAGEDY on Linus's Blanket this week. If you missed the original showing on Sunday night, you can watch the movie here. Stop by Linus's Blanket and comment for your chance to win a copy of the Hercule Poirot Series 6 set of DVDs, which will be released on July 12.

Five participants in today's discussion have the opportunity to win a "cool" Agatha Christie prize pack including a copy of my next readalong book MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and a surprise AC gift!

In addition, I will be giving away three additional copies of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS for those of you who are interesting in participating in the discussion on July 21st. Just fill out the form below before June 30th. I will randomly select and notify the winners the following day. You don't have to have a blog to participate in the readalong!


Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this novel.

Announcing Cool Down with Agatha Christie

Have you heard the very exciting news that Harper Collins is reissuing all of Agatha Christie’s books?

I say "very exciting news" because I have very fond memories of Agatha Christie's mysteries and I can't wait to re-discover them all over again. Agatha Christie's novels were some of the first grown-up books that I ever read and they also contributed to my love of mysteries. I am pretty sure that I'm not alone with these fond memories of Agatha Christie.

To celebrate, the fine folks at Harper Collins as well as some fellow bloggers have decided that it would be fun to host an Agatha Christie Summer Read-along Extravaganza called “Cool Down with Agatha Christie.” This read-along will take place this summer and give many of you the opportunity to indulge in some terrific stories. If you're not up for reading or just want a change of pace, there will also be opportunities to participate in some movie viewings.

Here’s the scoop about the reissues directly from HarperCollins:

HarperCollins is proud to now be Agatha Christie’s global publisher and will be reissuing all of her books in beautiful trade paperback editions. These wonderful authentic editions are exactly as Christie wrote them using the original UK texts. Read all of the Christie mysteries including the Hercule Poirot Mysteries, the Miss Marple Mysteries, and the Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries (Winter 2012). And don’t miss a single one of Christie’s stand-alone novels and short stories.

I am extremely excited about the Cool Down With Agatha Christie read-along because I will be hosting a few read-alongs of Hercule Poirot books during the fourth (or one time, third) Thursday of every month. If you want to start reading early (or just plan ahead), here is my schedule:

June 23rd: THREE ACT TRAGEDY (Note: This title will tie into the June movie selection.)
July 21st: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
August 18th: THE A.B.C. MURDERS

There will be plenty of opportunities for free books and other prizes for those of you who participate. Each blogger will have five copies of their books to give away to people who sign-up for the read-along. There will also be a "mystery" prizes for one participant in each discussion.

Feel free to grab the general button (at the top of the post) and/or the one specifically for my Hercule Poirot read-along:

While I'm hosting the Hercule Poirot portion of the read-along, there are four other bloggers who will also be participating. Here's what they will be reading:

Jen from Book Club Girl will be hosting Agatha Christie short stories
Jen from Devourer of Books will be hosting Stand-alones
Melissa from The Sunday Book Review will be hosting Miss Marple
Nicole from Linus’s Blanket will be hosting movies

Schedule:

June 6th-June 12th: Short Stories on Book Club Girl (THE TUESDAY NIGHT CLUB)

June 13th-June19th: Miss Marple on The Sunday Book Review (4:50 FROM PADDINGTON)

June 20th-June 26th: Poirot on Booking Mama (THREE ACT TRAGEDY)

June 20th-June 26th: Film post on Linus's Blanket (THREE ACT TRAGEDY airing on PBS June 19th)

June 27th-July 3rd Standalones on Devourer of Books (ENDLESS NIGHT)

June 27th-July 3rd: Film post on Linus’s Blanket (THE CLOCKS airing on PBS June 26th)

July 4th-July 10th: Short Stories on BookClub Girl (THREE BLIND MICE)

July 4th-July 10th: Film Post on Linus's Blanket (HALLOWE'EN PARTY airing on PBS July 3rd)

July 11th-July 17th: Miss Marple on The Sunday Book Review (A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY)

July 11th-July 17th:  Film post on Linus's Blanket (THE PALE HORSE airing on PBS July 10th)

July 18th-July 24th: Poirot on Booking Mama (MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS)

July 25th-July 30th: Standalones on Devourer of Books (AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (previously known as TEN LITTLE INDIANS))

August 1st-August 7th: Short Stories on Book Club Girl (WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION)

August 8th-August 14th:  Miss Marple on The Sunday Book Review (A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED)

August 15th-August 21st: Poirot on  Booking Mama (THE A.B.C. MURDERS)

August 22nd-August 28th: Standalones on Devourer of Books (ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE)

Make sure you check out each of their sites for more information! You can also learn more at the official website or the official facebook page. In addition, you can join in the discussion by using the Twitter Hashtag #agathachristie. 

I hope you'll join me (and my fellow hosts) in some (or all!) of the read-alongs. We wanted to keep this fun, so you can participate in as many or as few as you want. If you plan to participate in any of the events, we encourage to leave a link on the Mr. Linky below (please note, all of our blogs have the same Mr. Linky, so you only need to leave your information once), either to an announcement post or to your blog in general:



If you are interested in participating in my first read-along for THREE ACT TRAGEDY, please fill out the form below. I will randomly select five people to receive copies of the book from the publisher. Please sign up by Friday, June 3 at 11:59 p.m ET and I will notify the winners the following day. You don't have to have a blog to participate.