Agatha Christie - Mrs McGinty's Dead

Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victim’s blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesn’t seem like a murderer.
Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . 

Comment: This is the first book I read in this new year.

Since I like Agatha Christie's style a lot, what better way to start if not with a book I knew i'd find enjoyable?

In this story we meet again an interesting cast of characters who somehow played a part or are linked to yet another murder and Hercule Poirot is invited to analyze the case. The police inspector who asks him to study the facts can't pinpoint why but he feels the man who was considered guilty of killing mrs McGinty doesn't have the personality for murder.

Hercule Poirot has been feeling rather  bored so he decides to travel to the little place where things happened and, with his usual style, starts to talk to everyone and gathers clues here and there that, once the whole setting is explained, make complete sense. However, before that happens, someone else dies and it does seem the best clue is an old picture recently re published in a sensationalist newspaper...

Juts as I imagined, this was a good story to read and if there is one thing readers really love about reading is to be entertained by a story.

Perhaps this might not be the best book to start if one wants to care about the author's style or if one wants to understand Poirot's best thinking but the author has a huge backlist and having read practically all installments in the Poirot's series, if one reads in order, the experience is certainly rewarding.

In this book we have all the basic premises of an Agatha Christie story: someone is dead, someone is considered guilty, Hercule Poirot comes to investigate and solve the crime as little clues and red herrings follow one another until the final explanation makes sense.

What probably makes this one all different is the little things, such as the fact the biggest catalyst in the story is actually a small picture in the newspaper about four women who got famous because of crimes associated with them. Now that many years have passed why would it be such a big deal? The thing is, the first person to be killed might have seen something in one of the houses where she was working as a cleaning lady. The question is, where and why?

I like investigation books, where we get to follow the clues about how things happened. Even in TV shows I like this, especially if it's things like CSI where what matters the most is how the clues make sense and not how evil or not the bad guys are. In this book I had the same feeling because Agatha Christie makes a point in how the characters' personality is of huge importance but the focus is on the investigation, on collecting clues and not on the violence itself nor do we spend countless pages in the bad guys' heads. I like this style of suspense/thriller books.

The story is not the most complex the author has created. It's certainly not up to the level of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or Then There Were None. What makes this story alive is the little things, seemingly inconsequential, but that can make all sense if the right context is there for them to fit into.

I liked that we got to think about the fictional four women and how they might be different from that the paper portrayed them as and maybe they were quite dangerous then and still might be now.

I also think it's interesting how in this book it felt as if the characters had been arranged conveniently to a role and they played that role well. 

As always, there are some hints of what the author herself thought about mundane, realistic things in the way she put some characters thinking or doing certain things. I don't think this is always easy to spot but in this book it felt so, like how criticism is made of those who prefer flash to fidelity when adapting things to the movies or how young women should think well before leaving kind feelings like friendship and kindness to unknown adventurous when thinking about someone to be with.

Hercule Poirot seems to embody different ideas, though. Considering how his series ended, though, perhaps one could already read between the lines how he was made to look rather tired of the things he didn't enjoy.

After all the good little things about this story, the final revelation about who is the real killer comes and I must say it was quite ingenious but I think in terms of personality and suitability, there were other characters who could have be better choices. In fact, there is one or two details when some people are excluded from being the killer that didn't quite fit. I would say, based on this alone, perhaps the author went more for a shock factor rather than a reasonable one.

Nevertheless, it was a good story to read and I'm just glad there are still a few by her I haven't read yet.

Grade: 8/10

Agatha Christie - While the Light Lasts

Some of Agatha Christie’s earliest stories – including her very first – which show the Queen of Crime in the making…
A macabre recurring dream … revenge against a blackmailer … jealousy, infidelity and a tortured conscience … a stolen gemstone … the haunting attraction of an ancient relic … a race against time … a tragic love triangle … a body in a box … an unexpected visitor from beyond the grave…
Nine quintessential examples of Agatha Christie's brilliance are contained in this collection of early short stories - including the very first one she ever wrote - and provide a unique glimpse of the Queen of Crime in the making.
 
Comment: This book is one of the few by Agatha Christie I hadn't read yet. I've been writing down more titles by her I want to read too and one day I'll finish my collection. This one in specific wasn't such a priority for me for it was simply a good set of stories but I'm glad to have read them.

In this volume, we have a collection of short stories by Agatha Christie, written in different years and with different types of content, from just psychological content narratives to the investigation of incredible Poirot.

In my Portuguese edition, there were also a few notes after each story where we got to have some extra information about when the story was written, how it was connected to the author's career and where they were originally published.

The nine stories are the following, I'll just include a short summary, comment and grade on each one:

The House of Dreams

A young man has a boring job, is not considered important enough but the daughter of his boss is intrigued. Upon visiting he meets her friend and falls in love at first sight. However, that woman has a complicated family history when it comes to health and she refuses him. He travels to Africa and dreams about the house where they be living...

Very moody, more suggestive than creepy, quite dramatic.  6/10

The Actress

A famous actress is recognized by a man who used to know her when she was not famous and he knows a secret that might destroy her, so he decides to blackmail her. While proving she is really an actress and not just a beautiful woman who achieved her success through looks, she invents a plan and saves her reputation.

Using the "we only see what we want" notion, this is a study on how we can be influenced by our fears rather than logic. 7/10

The Edge

A "proper" woman who has waited for the man she loves to choose her, sees him marry someone who is not so reserved. One day she discovers that woman's secret and blackmails her by provoking comments here and there until the woman takes on a decisive solution.

Quite intriguing psychologically speaking and similar to the last story in terms of resolution to a problem. 7/10

Christmas Adventure

A story featuring Poirot and his clever and often simple deductions, where a crime is staged at a house party. Secrets, thievery, misleading plans...this is a more classical story in the lines of what the author is famous for. 6/10

The Lonely God

A man and a woman meet while admiring a little statue in a museum. The common interest makes them talk and it seems thy are falling in love until the woman disappears. Many years later they meet again.

This is supposedly romantic and a little dramatic, there's some paranormal clues if one reads it as such. Not the strongest story in my opinion. 5/10

 

Manx Gold

A couple participates in a treasure hut with two other family members so they can determine who gets their uncle's inheritance.

Based on a request Christie has accepted on behalf of her husband to promote tourism in the Isle of Man, this was predictable and a little boring. 6/10

Within a Wall

An artist becomes famous for some paintings until he does one of his wife that he dislikes. Their daughter's godmother financially provides money even when that puts her in debt. When she dies, he discovers the whole truth regarding her and his wife expensive habits but is unable to escape an unbearable situation. 

Very intriguing, psychological interesting about only knowing things too late and, again, not recognizing what's in front of you. Interesting subjects to debate. 6/10

The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest

Another Poirot story, also included in another collection of tales, this is a smaller version of a man murdered, a wife worried and her male friend accused of the crime. Wanting to help save him, she asks Poirot's help and the solution is quite simple in the end. 7/10

While the Light Lasts

A woman goes back to Africa, where her great love died. She later married another man but upon returning, she discovers he is alive and they meet and he plans on being with her again, if she leaves her current husband. She seems to initially agree but is later reluctant and he wrongly assumes why, something she does not explain properly. He solves the matter but at a high price.

Very thought provoking, more psychological and dramatic than mysterious. 7/10

❃All stories have good points, I obviously preferred some to others. The ones I liked most had some sort of read between the lines vibe, some hidden meanings and explanations and things that characters could have avoided "if only".

The psychological aspects of the novels is what made them interesting but in their majority they don't fit with what readers more often expect of this author's work. 

Nevertheless, this was a good read, the writing is in most of them well done and I did like the time spent reading the stories.

Grade: 6/10

Agatha Christie - Ordeal by Innocence

Recovering from amnesia, Dr. Arthur Calgary discovers that he alone could have provided an alibi in a scandalous murder trial. It ended in the conviction of Jacko Argyle. The victim was Jacko's own mother, and to make matters worse, he died in prison. But the young man's innocence means that someone else killed the Argyle matriarch, and would certainly kill again to remain in the shadows. Shaded in the moral ambiguity of murder, the provocative psychological puzzler of guilt, vengeance, and blood secrets is among Agatha Christie's personal favorites.

Comment: Just a shorter comment about this title by Agatha Christe, an author I quite appreciate. This book is one of those where the investigation isn't led by any specific character (like the Hercule Poirot collection or Miss Marple) but we still have quite an intrigue.

In this story we follow the story of a family whose matriarch was murdered. For a long time, everyone thought the killer had been her youngest son, Jacko. However, when the story begins, we realize there was a witness giving the killer an alibi but now Jacko is dead and his family feels knowing this only brings out problems. The reality is that, since Jacko is dead, it can only mean the real killer is someone else in the family as they were the only ones in contact with the victim the day she died...

I liked this story because the intrigue was well done, although when it comes to complexity, there are books that are stronger in that regard. When the mystery is solved, it's quite easy and obvious, unlike others where the plot took unexpected turns.

As always, the fun part is the character analysis. All characters have a bit of motivation for the crime and for not having done it. The real killer has a more psychological reason to kill than financial - very often the reason why a death happens - but it's fascinating to imagine how someone can be led by several reasons to the point of actually committing the crime.

We, the reader, are taken through many rel clues and red herrings but there is always some little detail that just can't make it too obvious.

The relationship between the characters is an element on itself. The man behind all the changes recovers from an accident which didn't allow him to testify on time, much less in a way that would exonerate Jacko even if everyone liked he was considered guilty since he just fit that role well. But of course we know appearances can be deceiving.

We also have many clues about the characters' personal lives and choices. I think the author was an amazing characterizer and her characters always seemed very complex, especially if we aren't supposed to think much of them. I do like these mysteries for their deceiving simplicity and old school settings, not unlike some weird contemporary stories that exaggerate everything.

All things considered, not my favorite (nor her best I'd say) but still very entertaining.

I'm looking for to read more of Agatha Christie books besides the ones I already read and thankfully she has a great collection.

Grade: 7/10

Mini Comments

Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is in Hollywood! She's hanging out with celebs . . . or at least she will be, once her husband Luke introduces her to his new A-list client Sage Seymour.
Becky sets her heart on a new career – she's going to be a stylist to the stars! And when a chance encounter thrusts her into the limelight, she grabs her opportunity. But in between choosing clutch bags and chasing celebrities, Becky loses touch with her family and her best friend . . .
Caught up in the whirlwind of Tinseltown, has Becky gone too far this time?


A man returns from the dead, and the body of a mysterious stranger is found in his room…
A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune.
Shortly afterwards, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man’s sister-in-law who claims she has been warned by ‘spirits’ that Mrs Underhay’s first husband is still alive. Poirot has his suspicions when he is asked to find a missing person guided only by the spirit world. Yet what mystifies Poirot most is the woman’s true motive for approaching him…

Comment: Well, one more round of mini comments to speed up the commentary around here. These two books are very different but since I don't have a lot to talk about them makes this "mini" tactic quite useful.

Taken at the Flood is one of many books by author Agatha Christie featuring the amazing detective Hercule Poirot. I've loved his adventures since I read the first book at the library by the author decades ago. All the books present us a cast of interesting characters, a crime and how Hercule Poirot interviews the suspects, reunites proves and with only following the logic and the clues he manages to solve what others wouldn't. In this book we see it again, this time the crime points out to a certain suspect but is he and his sister the true culprits? I always find fascinating how things that appear simple can be built on so well and in a way that leaves readers guessing what can possibly be happening and why. The fun part is to get our own ideas and face them with the obvious explanations by Poirot at the end of the book. How such things can be so obvious after we see how! I liked this story and its conclusion, although the pace in the middle wasn't the most intriguing. The amount of time setting up the crime and the characters was a bit too much, and in some other novels it feels not as long so it's more time for Poirot to investigate and I always like that better. Nevertheless, a good entertaining story.

Grade: 8/10

Shopaholic to the Stars is the 7th installment in the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. This is the type of book you can only read from time to time because it's both ridiculous and repetitive. After 7 books and so many close calls because of her addiction to shopping, Becky still hasn't learned her lesson. What saves this however, is that Becky has a good heart and many of her actions come from a lack of attention. It's really sweet to think about the good, positive and heartwarming scenes that, like hidden gems, we can glimpse during the reading. But Becky also gets herself in situations that only a comedy could justify.... well, if things were too different, then it wouldn't be Becky nor this particular series but.... part of the evolution of a series is to see characters change, become better, overcome difficulties...Becky just doesn't always seem to do it. In this book she gets into certain situations in Hollywood, too bad some of them don't seem to match or fulfill the expected "lesson learned" at the end. I think that in terms of presenting dilemmas and character growth this wasn't the best book in the series but I have to admit I laughed out loud three or four times and that counts as well...

Grade: 6/10

Agatha Christie - And Then They Were None

Ten strangers are gathered together on an isolated island by a mysterious host. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die...

Comment: This was a re-read. I've read this book along time ago, years ago to be more exact.
I've re-read it for both the portuguese book club and the challenge I'm participating in this year as the author is obviously from Europe.
The book tell us the story of ten people, all invited to stay in an island, and somehow they all start showing up dead. There's no connection between them, they don't know any of the others and there's no reason why anyone might want to kill anybody else. It's a mystery full of litle details and all the answers are, as always, in the characters themselves.
This a clever book by the author, one of my favourites by her, a book whose plot is the most amazing onea nd the end is completely unimaginable.
But more than the way everybody dies or why, there's the how on one of the deaths, the last one, that really made me think, even after a second reading. I can't explain it without spoilers, but it's surprising how one's inner guilt can be a powerful weapon.
I recommend this book to everyone. It's a classic of how the psycological can be the main reason to do something instead of only the circunstance.
I don't have many things to say about this without spoilers, but the author is indeed an expert in the human mind and actions leading the motifs. A great book.