Frances’s Comments (group member since Aug 21, 2017)

Frances’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Rosina wrote: "I would not end up with Rowley! Rosaleen was the widow - and I would really have preferred that ending, although not sure who the killer would have been."

Sorry about that! I've gone back and corrected my post (for those who don't know what I'm talking about, I said Rosina rather than Rosaleen in message 19-now corrected!)-I guess I subconsciously picked up on your name and used it (lovely name, by the way!).

I was also really troubled by the violence from Rowley-I also suspect that this was something of an aberration from Christie-her way of showing that Rowley did indeed love Lynn and had some spontaneity and passion in him. Unfortunately in real life it would be unlikely not to lead to violence in the relationship later on.

On a lighter note, I didn't figure this one out at all! I twigged that, as Jeremy had overheard the story of the first husband, there was some sort of play by the family to annul the marriage, and assumed the murder was an extension to try to pin the crime on David.

On a social note, the idea of people living off family money was likely much more accepted then (and obviously still is in most places today-wealth is passed on and children of wealth have tremendous advantages growing up). A generation or two earlier, lots of young men would assume their family money entitled them to not work at all. The Cloades all seemed to have some sort of occupation, just assumed they could live better lives-bigger houses, better schools, better positions-than their incomes would allow. Lynn was right to call David out on his mockery of them for sponging off a wealthy relative-for he was doing exactly the same thing!

I had thought that the romantic wrap-up would see Lynn ending up with David (I assumed his dangerous persona was a red herring) and Rowley with Rosaleen, who seemed so at home and happy on the farm. Christie's ingenious plot twist-the substituted wife-was brilliant!

I will get to this but likely not for a week or 2. I've finally got an online copy of The Catch so will finish that and a couple of other things first.

I really enjoyed this-it was nice to read one at a time before bed, and they were clever and fun without being too taxing. I loved the suggestion that Poirot might be pursuing the Countess romantically at the end, and that he has chosen a woman who sounds like quite a physical presence, which would be a slightly comical contrast to himself. Were these tales ever filmed?

Despite the suggestion that this was his retirement project, he does carry on for quite some time to come, doesn't he?

Also, wasn't he "retired and growing vegetable marrows" at the beginning of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd?

I've just finished and will head over to the spoiler thread. I do enjoy Christie's short stories, and the Poirot ones, while often dealing with more mundane or quirky problems, are still delightful. There is a bit of a surprise ending to the Capture of Cerberus-enjoy!

I have just started this one-it's new to me so looking forward to it. I also have a brand new hardcover version so that's a bonus.

LovesMysteries wrote: "I wouldn't want to have so much leisure time on my hands. Sure visiting the latest art exhibit or a drive to the country or even reading a myriad of books are fun and pleasurable but too much of a good thing will only lead to boredom. ."

I wonder if that was part of Edward's problem-having a house and an income and not needing to find a purpose made him seem pale in comparison to Christow. It would be interesting to see what effect Midge had on him in their future.

I also found Dr Christow really annoying, and I'm disappointed that Christie continues to trot out women who are completely subservient to their men, even the strong, smart and capable ones like Henrietta. Perhaps it was a reflection of how Christie herself felt in her relationships, despite her incredible talent and her obvious literary and financial success.

It was also an eye opener when Edward muses on what it must be like for Midge as a working girl, not able to pop out to see the latest art exhibit or drive into the country whenever she liked, but tied to a job to which she was obliged to show up, day in and day out. For some reason that sort of freedom of time for a considerable segment of society had never quite impressed itself on me, despite reading oodles of books set among the moneyed classes. It makes me wonder how people spent their day to day lives, and also to marvel at just how liberating money can be-not just to be able to have things but to be able to have so much time.

This one was new to me-didn't really grab me the way other Poirot's have-I will head over to the spoiler thread to discuss.

I'm part way through and quite enjoying it. Judith, the scandalous daughter, is quite delightful, with her habit of saying things for all to hear and truly not caring what others think.

I'm currently reading this-agreed it was a little hard to follow initially but I'm enjoying it-at about the quarter mark.

Jessica wrote: "As a Dutchie I am not familiar with the Five Little Pigs nursery rhyme. For those who did know it, did you find it brought some extra clues or atmosphere to the story?"

The version I learned as a child:

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went wee wee wee wee all the way home.

This would be a game one would play with a small child. You would start with the big toe and wiggle it while saying the first line, then move through the five toes, wiggling each in turn until when you came to the last line you would wiggle the baby toe and on the wee wee wee wee part tickle them all the way up the body and finish by tickling them under the chin for "all the way home". I would often play this with my children when young in the bath while washing their feet, and they loved it. The anticipation of the tickling to come was the best, and then they would lift up the other foot for washing/playing. (I'm Canadian and learned this from my English/Scottish mother).

So no I don't think it added much to the story, except that it was tied in a bit with the characters.

What struck me throughout was the sense that, If Caroline was going to kill someone in a jealous rage, it would be Elsa Greer, who frankly I would have wanted to kill for her horrible behaviour to her hostess.

I did start to realize that perhaps Amyas was more interested in Elsa as a subject for his painting than as a future wife, but thought he wouldn't have told her until his painting was finished-I missed the open window!

I found the middle section of the five narratives a bit tedious and would rather just have had the usual questioning of the suspects, but overall really enjoyed this one.

Sandy wrote: "Well I was a tiny bit correct in my guess after meeting all the characters: Caroline was covering for her sister. But I thought Angela added the poison as a joke thinking it was perfume as Caroline..."

That was my guess too!

Nick wrote: Like Ngaio Marsh, Christie tends to give the “superior” characters in her novels, such as her detectives, an appreciation of good art. (Part of showing that certain characters are Immature/crude is through their lack of such a sensibility.) Hence Poirot’s comments about the power of Crale’s painting of Elsa.

Good point, and by contrast Miss Williams, though a very good governess, was an "inferior" sort who felt it was bad art as it didn't follow the rules of drawing.

Nick wrote: "I had read this before and was still defeated! I even remember going down the same wrong path as previously, suspecting Stephen Farr as a potential illegitimate son of Simeon Lee because he showed ..."

On the one hand, I feel foolish when I can't remember the solution the second time reading, on the other you've had the extra enjoyment of a surprise ending again!

I'd like to nominate Family Matters, another British Library Crime Classic by Anthony Rolls. Anthony Rolls was a pseudonym of C.E. Vuillamy, a biographer, soldier and archaeologist of distinction who also wrote ten crime novels. (from the cover of the BLCC edition)

If Pilar's mother had died after Simeon, then she would have gotten the share. Since her death preceded his, her portion was nullified, and he would have had to rewrite the will to leave it directly to her. I guess it makes sense in that even if the mother had a will leaving everything to Pilar, technically you can't leave money that isn't yours when you die"

Yes, I remember when we were drafting our wills after our first child was born there were ways to say that any future children would be included and that if a child died how to make sure their portion went to their children so that it always remained divided among all children equally. I guess the lawyers have had lots of time to work out all these various possible permutations and combinations.

LovesMysteries wrote: "Question, did you find the constant jaw stroking and head thrown back of the Lee brothers heavy-handed?.."

Once I noticed it I did, but it was fun to (finally!) be "in the know" while reading, and watching her sprinkle her clues around.

Having a biology background helped me pick up on the eye colour clue, and all the talk of Simeon's womanizing and his illegitimate children made we wonder about others.

Finally, as the will mentioned the remaining half of his estate was to be split among all his other children, I wondered if the illegitimate ones were going to claim a share, or if that would legally only apply to acknowledged and/or legitimate children (and I assume they didn't have any way to prove they were his sons, appearances and mannerisms notwithstanding).

I didn't guess the murderer either, but I did pick up on Pilar not being the granddaughter because of the 2 blue-eyed parents, and I did pick up on the 2 illegitimate sons by their mannerisms-once I noticed the jaw stroking and the head thrown back laughter it kept cropping up! As I NEVER figure Christie's pmts out, sometimes not even the second time reading, I was pretty pleased about figuring out that much!

As here in North America we all seem to get our Christmas decorations up weeks before the 25th (and in some families they're down by Boxing day), it seems odd that the house hadn't been decorated by the 23rd of December.

Pamela, I agree that the 2 wives you mentioned were actually very positive and strong characters-more so than their husbands, without seeming to dominate said husbands. This was a nice change for Golden Age novels!