Appointment With Death

Appointment with Death. Agatha Christie. 1937/2007. Black Dog & Leventhal. 256 pages.

"You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" The question floated out into the still night air, seemed to hang there a moment and then drift away down into the darkness towards the Dead Sea. Hercule Poirot paused a minute with his hand on the window catch.

Hercule Poirot is vacationing in Jerusalem when he overhears a private conversation. A man and woman discussing murder quite matter-of-factly. Who are they wanting to murder? Their stepmother. Is their stepmother really wicked? Well, many fellow vacationers seem to think so! She's a mean bully. A cruel tyrant. A woman almost impossible to love, to pity. She "manages" her adult children through fear and manipulation. Though alive, they appear lifeless. This 'strange' American family catches the interest of several fellow travelers including Miss Sarah King and Dr. Theodore Gerard. The family inspires pity--for the most part--and discussion. In just a few short days, this family becomes THE topic of discussion wherever they go--first in Jerusalem, and later in Petra. But when this matriarch, Mrs. Boynton, dies Poirot recalls this conversation. And that, along with a puncture wound on the wrist, becomes enough to interrogate this family and investigate this death. Can he come to the truth in just 24 hours? Even if he discovers the truth, will there be enough evidence to bring to convict should it ever go to trial?

I didn't love this one. It was more like than love. I found it compelling enough to finish. I thought it got off to a nice start--with its reference to Anthony Trollope, it had me hooked actually. But it doesn't do that well when compared to the other Christie mysteries I've read so far. Still, I'm glad I've read it.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 1937 , adult fiction , adult mystery , Agatha Christie , Hercule Poirot , library book

Cards on the Table

Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie. 1937. Penguin. 224 pages.

"My dear Monsieur Poirot!" 

I loved this one. I just loved, loved, loved this one. In this Hercule Poirot mystery, we meet four sleuths and four criminals. They are brought together by a strange man who loves to collect things, Mr. Shaitana. He boasts one day that he'll be happy to exhibit for his friend, Hercule Poirot, his collection of murderers--men and women who have all gotten away with murder. He suggests an evening of entertainment. The guests (of sleuths) include Hercule Poirot, Ariadne Oliver, Colonel Race, and Superintendent Battle. My favorite of the new characters is Ariadne Oliver, a mystery writer. The four (potential) criminals are Dr. Roberts, Mrs. Lorrimer, Miss Meredith, and Major Despard. Of course, Shaitana doesn't tell his guests his purpose, his plan. Only Poirot knows the reason behind the night's festivities. Two bridge games in two different rooms. Mr. Shaitana is enjoying a cozy night in front of the fire, until, he isn't! For he's murdered! The four guests say that no one entered the room. So it isn't hard to conclude that one of his guests murdered him. But who was it?

These four sleuths decide to work together to solve the crime. Each will interview the suspects. Each will go about it in their own way. (Each has their own method, their own philosophy, their own contacts.) It's fine to keep their own conclusions secret, but all the clues are supposed to be shared with one another. All their cards are to be on the table, so to speak. Readers get to see glimpses of each of these sleuths at work. Through dialogue, we get to know each sleuth, each criminal a little bit better. And I must say it makes for a compelling read! This one was impossible to put down!

I definitely consider this Hercule Poirot to be among my favorite and best. I really enjoyed so many things about it!

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Ask Doctor Roberts if he'll be so good as to step this way."
"I should have kept him to the end," said Mrs. Oliver.
"In a book I mean," she added apologetically.
"Real life's a bit different," said Battle.
"I know," said Mrs. Oliver. "Badly constructed." (25)

"Man is an unoriginal animal," said Hercule Poirot.
"Women," said Mrs. Oliver, "are capable of infinite variation. I should never commit the same type of murder twice running."
"Don't you ever write the same plot twice running?" asked Battle.
"The Lotus Murder," murmured Poirot. "The Clue of the Candle Wax."
Mrs. Oliver turned on him, her eyes beaming appreciation.
"That's clever of you--that's really very clever of you. Because of course those two are exactly the same plot, but nobody else has seen it." (54)

"You are an extraordinary man, Monsieur Poirot."
"I am as the good God made me, Madame."
"We are all that, I suppose."
"Not all, Madame. Some of us have tried to improve on his pattern." (79-80)

"We all make mistakes, Monsieur Poirot."
"Some of us," said Poirot with a certain coldness possibly due to the pronoun the other had used, "make less than others."
Despard looked at him, smiled slightly and said:
"Don't you ever have a failure, Monsieur Poirot?"
"The last time was twenty-eight years ago," said Poirot with dignity. "And even then, there were circumstances--but no matter." (106)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 1937 , adult fiction , adult mystery , Agatha Christie , Hercule Poirot , library book

Ballet Shoes (MG)

Ballet Shoes. Noel Streatfeild. 1937. Random House. 256 pages.

The Fossil sisters lived in the Cromwell Road. At that end of it which is farthest away from the Brompton Road, and yet sufficiently near it so one could be taken to look at the dolls' houses in the Victoria and Albert every wet day.

Pauline, Petrova, and Posy are three children adopted by Gum. Gum is Great Uncle Matthew. He "found" each one of them and brought them home. He didn't stay home to help with the raising of them, but he provided money enough to keep them for a handful of years. Nana and Miss Sylvia had hoped he'd return soon--very soon--before the money began to run out. But that isn't quite the case. The children--for better or worse--end up in a special performing arts school. Posy, who loves to dance, is thrilled. As is Pauline for whom acting comes naturally. Petrova, on the other hand, is less thrilled by the training. Her heart is just not in it.

Ballet Shoes is their story. A story of three sisters--they chose the last name "Fossil" themselves. A story of how they tried to make a name for themselves. We see them struggle; we see them succeed.

I liked this one very much. It was very enjoyable, very pleasant.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 1937 , brothers and/or sisters , J Fiction , J Historical Fiction , J Realistic Fiction , library book