Mark Pghfan’s Comments (group member since Mar 06, 2014)

Mark Pghfan’s comments from the The Parlor PI's group.

I'm nearly done, but I'll keep things to myself. In non-spoiler fashion, this is one of my favorite books of Christie. There is a lot going on, some unusual aspects (the isolation, the seance) and a lot of suspects, as long as you believe that nothing is off the table in a Christie book.

Thanks for the good wishes and belated ones to you all! However, my Valentine's day was filled with a strange super allergic episode, which thankfully, seems to have been short-lived.

Emily heard people coming and scooted down the stairs in time. They only caught her near the front door, so it seemed plausible that she was there only to get her gloves.

I don't want to give the story away at all, since I've read it multiple times. But to answer your various questions, the answers are "yes".

Ha, ha!

Emily is one of many Christie strong, smart, and plucky heroines. I wonder how much of these characters Christie felt she was or just wanted to be like.

As far as Trevelyan renting the house, I think that the point is that, though he was rich, he was also very tight with money and the amount that the Willetts were offering was too good for a miser to pass up.

As far as the phone business goes, this was about 1931 after all, and phone probably were not common at all, especially in very rural England.

I saw Ten Little Indians, but not Prosecution. I heard it was awful. Just lining Mathew Pritchard's wallet, really.

I grew up in Erie, PA, just down the road (literally) from Buffalo, and believe me I know snow!

This was always one of my favorites, largely because of the atmosphere of the snow and the remoteness of Hazelmoor. The plot is ingenious (more about that later) and one of Christie's very spunky heroines is in on the action as well.

Just to do my part, I watched the TV adaptation with Geraldine McEwan last night. While I do enjoy it, the plot is pretty much NOTHING like the book. (So don't cheat and just watch that.) It would be nice to have a true adaptation of the book, though.

I've read this book many times, so I can start at any time.

I already have it (and every other Christie as well) so I am ready to go!

Other than being nasty, I didn't have any clue to the perpetrator either!

I've finished, so I know. I didn't guess, though. And by the way, I am all for the Theatre Room. I have lots of DVDS of our various mystery masters.

I think I prefer Sittaford Mystery. One of my favorites. (I think I have a copy of Murder at Brightwell, but haven't read it. We liked a previous book in the series.)

If I am hosting a book discussion here, I often do make notes of the characters and the points I'd like to bring to the discussion. Otherwise, no.

I do like it when they give a "cast of characters" in the beginning of the book. It makes it seem more like a puzzle to solve, and also helps us keep track of the various people.

I'm ready!

I find that a lot of the time, the first book in a long series is somewhat different from the subsequent ones. Probably the author is still trying to get the right feel for the character. NOT true for Poirot, though, but somewhat for Miss M, Alleyn (as we note here), and Miss Silver.

Hard to say, it was a long time ago that I read AMLD. I seem to remember an awkward ending to it. This seemed more straight forward, so I guess the answer is "Shrouds".

A Man Lay Dead is indeed the first Alleyn book. I think we did read it years ago at our old site.

Hyacinths are certainly strongly scented, so they might appeal to you, Allison! And they do seem to be the flower of interest on this ship.

I am enjoying this book, and in fact I've finished (no spoilers from me, though. I needed to get the book back to the library.) There are lots of things to come, nevertheless!