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

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

By the way, there is a graveyard that abuts my backyard. I hardly ever just sit and watch it, though.

I think it would have been most interesting if Poirot had gone to Great Holling himself. It is a very common thread throughout Christie that Miss M and Poirot generally got more information from the leery people in a small village, since they were far less "threatening" to the populace than the police are. It seems that the worst thing Catchpool could have done was announce himself as a policeman, and from London, worse yet!

And I agree, why wouldn't Margaret tell all in the first meeting? This is about all the further I am at this point and I am expecting that either Margaret has to check with somebody before revealing, or, more likely, she will be killed before she can reveal what she knows!

I understand that they revived the Orient Express in some fashion, and that it runs part of the same route. I hear it is very expensive, but sounds like a trip of a lifetime!

Watched both the Orient Express special (on some months ago) and this more recent special on Christie's life. I knew most of it, but if you are especially intrigued, there are a number of biographies and also a book by Curran (interviewed in the special) where he discussed the content of all the little notebooks that Christie kept, to keep track of her "leetle" ideas.

Through this first section and ready to go onto chapter nine and beyond! Busy weekend, though, and didn't get much chance to read then.

Moving forward on this--I am to chapter six. I guess i"ll reserve judgement on Catchpool until I learn some more about him, but he does seem a bit bland for now.

And I am constantly saying to myself, as I read, "this is not how Christie would be writing this", and, "this is not what Poirot would be saying." I'll try to think of this as someone else's book and not a Christie. Perhaps that will help.

Thinking about the initials on the cufflinks...

OK, I've been shamed into starting this despite not yet finishing my current book. Through chapter three so far. I was wondering at first what was going on with Poirot--things sounded like it was at the very beginning of his time in England and he had not yet met Hastings. Now, we find that he has hidden himself away (pretty much across the street from his Whitehaven Mansions,) under the pretext of a month's respite from his work (and it is, in fact, 1929, after a number of his famous cases including those with Hastings.)

Unlike some of you, I don't think the writing is much like Christie's, at least so far. The plot sounds intriguing, though, with three nearly identical corpses and one strange-acting woman Poirot desperately wants to help.

I don't know what to do. I have been reading a book I've started and stopped three times now and hate to drop it one more time to start Monogram. I am racing like the wind to get through the first and hope to start Monogram soon.

It just came today!

Still waiting for my copy...

J, I agree with you on all counts. Clearly, O'Nelligan did all the heavy lifting, resolution-wise. Agnelli's death appeared to be coincidental, perhaps just to show that Plunkett was a good guy to want to continue with the investigation even though he was not to be paid. Nor was is explained why the partner was such a nasty person, trying to stop the investigation. Perhaps just to throw him into the pool of suspects? (Though that seemed like quite a stretch!) And the business with Audrey was clearly out of place, in my opinion. It didn't affect the plot any nor did it really go any-where, relationship wise. Perhaps that will be in a future book.

OK, I'm finally getting around to winding up this discussion. In case there are people not yet completed, please mark your spoilers clearly!

Lee and Mr. O'Nelligan continue their diligent detective work to investigate the central murder when, lo and behold, another death occurs. There is some concern that the second murder surely must have something to do with the first, but the connection is well hidden (at first.)

Also, as we've noted, the investigation does seem to go on a little protractedly, but we do have a slam-bam ending, with all the affected people gathered together and then the solution (which is pretty clever--I doubt many of you figured it out) is presented.

Pghfan here, also from the old A&E group for many, many years and many, many discussions. It's great to have so many new and returning folk on board. I ordered the new Poirot recently and I hope it arrives soon. I'm looking forward to that discussion.

As far as other authors go, I am a fan of Christie's contemporaries' work, some of which we discussed here. Sayers, Marsh, etc. Also a fan of Nero Wolfe.

James, I checked out your site very briefly, which appears as poirot.us for me. I'll be back there if you promise to stay here and join us!

Since we are all done (I finished last night,) I'll start the final thread shortly.

Tina, you're forcing my hand! (Just kidding!) Give me a little time to decide on the purchase, given the fairly tepid reviews on Amazon. I may yet join in.

I am not quite done, but nearly so. I will start the final thread soon.

It was funny, I found things going along a but sluggishly and said to myself "we need another murder." And lo and behold, there was one!

Well, here we go on part two. Much of the intervening time has been spent is regular private investigation stuff. It started getting a little tedious, but picked up when Lee got lost in the snow and was saved by a "vicious" dog. And then the truth about the "deadly" machine, and then the money and the real cause of death! Oh, my!

How is this all going for you? Any thoughts on the culprit, yet? My money right now is on the widow, since she inherits the money and planned to leave the country. But he was a hugely egotistical man and could have had a lot of enemies.

On a related note, I can't imagine how Audrey puts up with Lee.

It was getting a little slow moving until someone dies. That shouldn't be too much of a spoiler as it happens soon in the next section.

I will be on vacation next week, but hopefully, I will be able to post from afar.