Jessica-sim’s Comments (group member since Jan 01, 2016)

Jessica-sim’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Well by then (june 2019 and dec 2020) you will be ready to read the stories again ;-)

Yes, it is a good puzzle for us too! I thought I would make things easier by following the "official" reading order list by agathachristie.com but look at that.... there are many hidden complications.

Indeed, the two stories for this month were very hard to find for me as well. And though I, as an additional threat, allowed myself to buy a real paper one Poirot book each month despite being on an otherwise strict book buying diet... this month I will have to resort to ebook versions.

And Adrian, I do understand the exasperation of your complete collection not being complete... I have a book with Agatha Christie short stories entitled of "Witness for the prosecution and..." but it does not include "The second gong" no matter what the agathachristie.com website states haha

So for October, I would suggest:
- The Second Gong: A Short Story

which is available as stand-alone ebook for all ereaders.

The story can also be found two collections, but check the contents before buying them because various variations are around "The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories" and "Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories."

- for US based readers The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest: A Short Story

Also, inexpensively available as a standalone ebook but only in the US

The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest was published in US in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories in 1939 and also in While the Light Lasts in 1997.

For the rest of us: The Mystery of the Spanish Chest: A Short Story
It was expanded by Agatha Christie in 1960 and retitled The Mystery of the Spanish Chest. This longer version was adapted for television and starred David Suchet as Hercule Poirot in 1989.

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Can you all live with that plan?

Susan wrote: "I brought one short story on its own, but I couldn't get the other as a kindle single. I have a collection somewhere, but they are a bit soulless. I think I'd like to try the collection and just ad..."

For those of you who have already prepared for next month :-) : Did you manage to actually get "The Mystery of the Baghdad chest"?

As I'm now searching for it, I find that The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest was published in US in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories in 1939 and also in While the Light Lasts in 1997.

But also, that it was expanded by Agatha in 1960 and then retitled The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, which is the only version my usual book buying site offers.

Are you all sticking to the Baghdad Chest?

I also wondered why Agatha Christie would drop Hastings as he has such a nice comic interplay with Poirot, but it also is almost always a variation of the same and perhaps Hastings is too limiting in the end. Indeed, we now know that his instinct is always wrong, and we know that no matter what Hastings might tell us Poirot has not become confused or too rusty for the job.

I haven't seen the TV episode yet, I think I might watch it tonight!

Oh I have been so busy with other stuff and some other books, but now as a reward, I get to start the Poirot of this month! Did you like it?

It would be nice to read all the books, but I'm a but too packed with books till the end of the year so I won't join in at this time.

I was very shocked actually by the murder over Iris Rainbird. It was all fun and games in the quiet countryside, overlooking a little murder of and elderly lady in good Golden Age detective style and then... a quite literal bloody mess! How gruesome! I was quite unprepared for that discovery and the details of how much blood was shed by the large woman were just horrible.

I initially really liked the cooking troubles, I even highlighted these sentences for future use when asked to describe my own kitchen talents: "There was between her and any ingredient a sort of malign chemistry. They were born antagonists".

But the trope gets repeated a bit too often. I think it would be a fun inside joke to repeat between books but between chapters is too often.

I must have seen this Midsomer Murders episode at least four times, but this is the first time I'm reading one of the books. So far, I am really enjoying it! It's very well written and suprisingly humorous.

Well, thank you all for joining me on the adventure here ;-). I also wasn't really very impressed by it, but now we are all truly ready for the "real" next instalment!

Go ahead and discuss all the juicy spoilers here!

Yay! A new Poirot arrived in the mail, which means it is almost time for the next book in the series: Peril at End House. We are in for a threat if we can believe Wikipedia here:

The novel was well received when first published, with the plot remarked as unusually ingenious and diabolically clever by reviewers. Writing in 1990, Robert Barnard found it cunning, but not one of Christie's very best. It has been adapted to stage, radio, film, television, graphic novel, and a computer game, and translated to many other languages as a book.

I looked in my reading companion for Poirot to see if I could find anything interesting there... but nope. Guess, there really isn't that much to say here. Except that apparently, this is the first time that Hastings has the Captain title. Between the events with the international crime consortium and this one, he must have had some praiseworthy adventure then.

Poirot's reminiscences also first threw me off. Thinking that I was just faithfully following the timeline by adding this adaption and then finding it appeared in the wrong place still... but indeed the Big Four was the last case he did with Hastings. Then Hastings left for the Argentine and Poirot went on the train.

I also agree that this adaption could have been better if Osborne had dared to take a little more liberties. Now he tries to imitate closely but often strikes a wrong note somehow. The married Hastings prancing around after a girl as her pet ...

I kept waiting for an exciting twist that never came, and what happened to the suspicious young doctor sideline? Still, I think as a play it probably would be quite fun .

hmm that was okay. It's not exactly that I did not enjoy the book. I actually thought it was quite good (once I got over my objections re it not being a "real" Poirot), but it didn't really give me the usual Agatha Christie-satisfaction.

I was confused at times due to the sheer amount of detail thrown at me. I wondered if those were stage directions or additions by Osborne. The coffee cups indeed, Sandy, and the room description (with a not very necessary map). And even quite late in the story when he tells Hastings to take particular note of the way the family would seat themselves in the room... I wasn't really sure if he presented important clues and I should pay close attention or if it were misdirections.

I've opened it up and already am stranded on page 1 thinking "hmm, it might be interesting to read the stagescript alongside." To see what is Christie and what is Osborne. For instance, is Poirot's breakfast a stage direction? Or scene setting by Osborne? Also, all the thinking that Poirot's doing here... How would that be portrayed on stage?

Perhaps this feeling of disconnection will fade as the story draws me in.

Go Ahead and Discuss all the curious plot twists of this classic "someone in this room is the murderer" story.

This month might turn out to be a bit divisive in our group. We're reading "Black Coffee" a novelisation of an Agatha Christie play. The purists amongst us might choose to read the original script (Black Coffee: A Mystery Play in Three Acts).

I will read the novelization and am quite curious about it! I think it will keep the Poirot experience fresh for us all, as it will chronologically fit in with where we are but this is a different writer and might be a very different experience indeed. A New York Times review (1983, https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/18/ny...) states that the story might actually be more suited to a book than the stage. And bonus! Hastings plays a part here too!

Apparently, the play the book is based on was one of the least known works by Christie. There are some movie adaptations, but not many and none recent...

Well, here we go! I am looking forward to reading what you all think of it :-)

It's a new month and a new Poirot!

This month might turn out to be a bit divisive in our group. We're reading "Black Coffee" a novelisation of an Agatha Christie play. The purists amongst us might choose to read the original script (Black Coffee: A Mystery Play in Three Acts).

I will read the novelization and am quite curious about it! I think it will keep the Poirot experience fresh for us all, as it will chronologically fit in with where we are but this is a different writer and might be a very different experience indeed. A New York Times review (1983, https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/18/ny...) states that the story might actually be more suited to a book than the stage. And bonus! Hastings plays a part here too!

Apparently, the play the book is based on was one of the least known works by Christie. There are some movie adaptations, but not many and none recent...

Well, here we go! I am looking forward to reading what you all think of it :-)

Yes, Adrian's comment also got me thinking. I was going for the novilisation, but of course you could also read the play script. I haven't done any research yet and don't know how many liberties Osborne takes. There are appearantly a couple of film adaptations too, nothing recent though.

Poirot also refers to him too, that keeps Hastings around in spirit! Though I don't know if Poirot keeps referring to his friend in the later books.