All About Agatha (christie)

Please listen for a message about the unexpected passing of one of our own.

We had an absolutely lovely time chatting with author John Copenhaver about his new book, The Savage Kind (https://bookshop.org/books/the-savage-kind-a-mystery/9781643138091). And about Agatha Christie, of course. This episode is sponsored by http://www.smilebrilliant.com (coupon code AGATHA) and Best Fiends.

We do this every year, and it gets more unwieldy and yet more enjoyable as time goes by. Join us as we fine-tune our rankings of the sixty (!!) Christie novels we've covered thus far. We may even engage in a little horse-trading....

"It's Hallowe'en! It's Hallowe'en! The moon is full and bright! And we shall see what can't be seen on any other night!" Which in a Christie novel means a child murder, lots of velvet trousers, an extended argument between M. Poirot and Mrs. Oliver about form versus function, and an unexpected nod toward the holiday's pagan origins. And SO much more. Come celebrate this spookiest of holidays with us... IF YOU DARE.

Let's not bury the lede here: we just may have gotten ourselves written into a future Anthony Horowitz mystery. We encourage you to check out Anthony's latest offering, A Line to Kill, preferably in an indie bookstore near you. This episode is brought to you by Smile Brilliant (http://www.smilebrilliant.com, coupon code "AGATHA") and Best Fiends.

Tommy and Tuppence are back! But are they better than ever? While the reintroduction of T&T into our lives--along with head injuries, hidden jewels, and (gasp of joy) Albert--is cause for unbridled celebration, this book is by no means a paragon of perfection. Get ready, because we had A LOT to discuss. Oh, and fingers crossed you too are a big Golden Girls fan.... (Sunny Ridge will always be Shady Pines in our book.) This episode is brought to you by: https://www.smilebrilliant.com (coupon code AGATHA) and Best Fiends.

We were honored to host our own event this week at the International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, revisiting Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. (Fair warning: certain plot elements of this book are spoiled in the course of our conversation!) Unfortunately we had to settle for Zooming in from Los Angeles, but as you can hear for yourself, that didn't stop us from having a wonderful time. Special thanks to Tony Medawar, the Festival organizer and moderator of our panel whose voice peppers this episode. We hope to do this again in one year's time... in person!

If you thought two hours was enough for us to talk about Endless Night, you were wrong! Sort of. This short story formed the basis (plot-wise) for that crown jewel of a novel, so in a way we are revisiting it in this episode. But we also get to geek out over a secret unpublished version, too. Hooray! This episode is brought to you by Smile Brilliant (http://www.smilebrilliant.com, coupon code "AGATHA") and Best Fiends.

We're disappointed that our appearance at the Festival has to be virtual (insert pithy Shakespearean insult of choice here, directed COVID's way), but we're thrilled to be appearing at all. For more information about the Festival (including all the other wonderful presenters on tap), please visit: http://www.iacf-uk.org. We look forward to seeing some of you, if only on a screen!

You might want to put on some rain gear before listening to this episode, because it is a bit of a gush fest. Hooray for this late-career Christie gem! Come delight with us in the wonderfully unsettling world of Mr. (Mike) Rogers's neighborhood....

As this is one of Christie's longer short stories--legitimately novella-length--we found a great deal to analyze and discuss. Just think of it as one of the "large miniatures" Suchet fusses over in the adaptation.... No question this is a curious addition to the Poirot canon all around!

Unlike so many late Poirots we've read recently, this one actually features a ton of Poirot (and Ariadne Oliver!), from beginning to end. And while seriously flawed, it gave us a lot to discuss in what turned out to be a rather meandering/digressive episode... even for us. Please visit our Patreon site for bonus content, or just to support us: http://www.patreon.com/allaboutagatha. This episode is sponsored by Smile Brilliant (http://www.smilebrilliant.com, promo code AGATHA) and Best Fiends.

While our favorite Cornish mystery might involve guessing what's in the latest pasty we’re devouring, this one was pretty satisfying too! Let’s dig in. This episode is sponsored by Smile Brilliant (http://www.smilebrilliant.com, promo code AGATHA) and Best Fiends.

We may as well admit up front that this was not our favorite Christie. But it *is* a Miss Marple novel, and it *does* have a fantastic setting. So all is not lost. Come travel with us to see what dastardly—and potentially confusing?—deeds are afoot... at Bertram’s Hotel.

We had as much fun as we usually do unraveling this early Poirot short story--perhaps especially when it came to the adaptation, which is quite a foundational one for the beloved Suchet series.

Though the biggest mystery may be how to spell and pronounce "Caribbean," there is plenty of intrigue to go around in this Miss-Marple-on-holiday story, which at least one Christie scholar deems to be the last proper whodunit that she wrote.

What a great time we had gabbing with this debut author about her recently published (and much buzzed-about) novel... almost as great a time as we had reading it!

This short story is a precursor to The Mystery of the Blue Train, but don't let that put you off! We found much to enjoy--both in the source material and the Suchet adaptation.

Well... they can't all be winners, can they? This (barely-there) Poirot novel is not one of our favorites, we're sorry to say. But as usual, we relish the opportunity to explore and explain why. Because even a lesser Christie is a source of wonder and joy.

We've got Poirot. We've got Hastings. We've got a prince. A lady of mysterious origins. A frozen-in-time bridge tableau! If you need more, you're probably not listening to the right podcast....