You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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May 2016 - Reporting Thread
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I read Death on the Nile
and discussed it in the thread for that book. I gave it 5 stars. It is the only Christie I have read besides
. I have never watched any of the t.v. series relating to Marple or Poirot either. I really enjoyed how she put clues into the story so you could figure out the crime. There was a bit of a twist in this story as well. I will probably track down more of her novels as they are easy to read and go pretty fast for me.
I've read Death on the Nile and discussed it in the appropriate thread.I also gave it 5 stars, it is one of my favorite Poirot books. I loved that it was set in Egypt and I find it funny that even though they are in Egypt everything on the boat is still quintessentially British. I've read it before and watched all the TV shows so the mystery and the murderer weren't a surprise to me but I love it anyway.
*PS, this is me, I know it's been awhile since I got a badge and I'm way down on page 4.
I read Death on the Nile and discussed it in the corresponding thread.I gave it 5 stars. I love the Poirot mysteries, and this one is especially interesting because it is set in Egypt and has a great cast of characters, who interact in a suspenseful manner.
This is my review:
(view spoiler)
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed in the appropriate thread. I struggled a little with the book because I disliked a lot of the characters and was disappointed with how little we saw of Miss Marple.
However once the murder had taken place and Christie started throwing all the clues (and mis-clues) at you, my enjoyment of the ins and outs of the storyline did surpass my problems with the book.
I read
Death on the Nile and as the discussion leader, definitely discussed it in the appropriate thread. I will still be hanging out there, even though I am finished with the book.I loved the way this story unfolded and the cast of characters inter-acted with each other. It seemed a slow beginning, but once it was all under way and the clues and mis-clues, as Lynn stated above, started rolling out, it was a definite page turner. There was even comic relief. I thought so, anyway.
I also read The Murder at the Vicarage for the 2nd group read. I enjoyed it. I thought it was a hoot how the members of the small village had no privacy because everyone was always watching what everyone else was doing and gossiping about everything. The clues and circumstances surrounding the murder were rolled out rather slowly, but I was constantly caught off guard by one new thing after another, just like the Vicar. I enjoyed Christie's language and thought provoking phrases as much as finding out the answers to the murder and other happenings that had been taking place.
I also read a 2nd Miss Marple, 4.50 from Paddington and discussed it in the Books by Agatha Christie thread - mostly with Joan. This was a different Miss Marple, much older and not in the story a whole lot. Miss Lucy Eyelesbarrow was the main "detective character" along with a New Scotland Yard Inspector. A woman strangled on a train was the main murder, and was quite an interesting story with a great reveal at the end.
Please state when reporting if you are leading the discussion. I will be using this thread only for awarding badges. I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on their badge.
I read
and discussed it over in the monthly thread for the book. I really enjoyed it although I just gave it 4 stars. Still means I loved it!! I loved the setting so much! The river Nile and aboard a boat, what a fun trip that would be except that this one didn't turn out so well. ;)
The mystery was a good one to try to figure out with an interesting cast of characters. I had a hunch as to 'whoduunit' and surprisingly I was correct although Christie had me second guessing myself constantly! The ending was a bit curious but I don't know Poirot well at all (only my second in the series) so maybe it's just a quirk of his.
There was a total author spoiler in this one though which disappointed me a bit. I guess at the time she was publishing these she assumed that people would just read them in order??
I'll be reading more in this series so I'm going back to the first one and starting it today:
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed it in the thread. It was just an okay read for me, don't know if I'll be reading any other Agatha Christie books. Perhaps for a challenge or toppler if I have to (at least they are short!), but not for fun without good reason. The book had a slow start for me, probably because I didn't connect to any of the characters at all. For a short while it got a little better after the murder was committed, but I soon lost interest again. I just didn't feel connected to the characters or the story. I finished it only because I read it for a group read and it was short, if not, I would probably have abandoned it. I didn't even really care who the murderer was for a while. although I did get a bit curious again towards the end.
Please can people report just the once (all books in the one post) even if thay have read multiple books as per the instructions above.
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed it in the discussion thread. I think I had read it before, over 30 years ago, when I read a lot of mysteries by Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Dorothy Sayers, and other "classic" mystery writers. I enjoyed this read, and give it four stars, but I think I probably enjoyed it more the first time. Classic mysteries from the 1930's through the 1950's or so may be an acquired taste. This book seemed slow at times, but considering that it came out in 1930, I would say it has held up remarkably well for an 86 year old book. I enjoyed the sly humor in the book, and the way Miss Marple knew and figured out so much.
I read both of the monthly reads, Death on the Nile and Murder at the Vicarage, and discussed each on the applicable group threads. For those readers who like to work through clues and red herrings to determine whodunit, I can definitely see the appeal of these stories, because there was an abundance of both! I enjoyed the Miss Marple book much more than M Poirot's. Even though Murder at the Vicarage was written seven years earlier, I felt there was better character development and sense of time and place, and there was humour throughout.
I am glad that these Agatha Christie books were chosen for the monthly group reads. Because of the enormous popularity of Agatha Christie, she has long been on my TBR list, but I don't know if I would have gotten to them. Now that I have had a taste of her writing, I doubt that I will read more, as these books were just okay to me.
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed it in the appropriate thread.I had trouble with this book at first, due to its slow beginning and the number of the characters, I could remember who was who. Bu then, about halfway through, I began o really enjoy it and finally gave it 4 stars.
I have to say I prefer the Poirot series, Miss Marple is much less present in the story, but she's not a detective, she is just a clever old lady and I understand why she's not leading the story.
And I am glad I read one of Marple's stories so thank you for this choice.
I read Death on the Nile and discussed it on the thread. It is such a good book. I like how Agatha Christie explores human nature in her stories.
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed it in the appropriate thread.There's nothing like a good mystery and I enjoy them even more when I can't guess whodunnit, which was the case with this book. With all the clues and red herrings it kept me guessing to the end. I enjoyed the subtle touches of humor and the character development, as well as life in a small village. What was a little hard to swallow was the patronizing attitude of some of the male chararcters and how they discounted female observations and opinions, but I just had to keep in mind the era in which the book was set and written. Of course, Miss Christie has the last laugh with the clever Miss Marple!
Looking forward to reading more in this series and will probably give the Poirot series a try, eventually.
I listened to audiobooks of The Murder at the Vicarage which I discussed in the appropriate thread and 4:50 From Paddington which I discussed in the thread "Books by Agatha Christie".I enjoyed both, 3 stars, but liked "The 4:50" better - I thought the story and characters more engaging. I enjoyed Emila Fox as a narrator more than Richard Grant.
is a charming CABIN-in-the-WOODS read. I would call it a beach-read but beaches are hot and uncomfortable and for this you want to be comfortable - say in flannel shirt, on the porch in a rocking chair with a steaming cup of tea while rain drips from the leaves overhead.
If that is where you are, enjoy this light who-dunnit. The rich grump in town has been killed in the vicar's study. There are many suspects, many motives and the clocks in this town are all wonky.
Fun, distracting and easy-reading.
Just the sort of tale that makes time fly by. Although written when train travel was an adventure, this is what I call an airport book - great fun, a cozy mystery, engaging but easy to read. The narrator, Emilia Fox, does a fine job narrating.
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed it in the appropriate thread. I gave it three stars out of five. It wasn't the best Agatha Christie book that I have read, but I did enjoy getting introduced to Miss Marple. I enjoyed the humor and trying to figure out who did the nasty deed. I must say that I usually don't figure it out, and I didn't this time either.
I read Murder on the Orient Express and discussed it in the "Agatha Christie's books" thread. This was my first book by her, and I found it very entertaining, but not engrossing. The theories I weaved along the book were all wrong. :) Only near the end I envisioned what had happened. I specially liked how different the voices of the different characters were, and Hercule Poirot is a enjoyable detective. I rated it 3 stars. I would like to read one of Miss Marple now, but I don't think I could do it this month. I still have two other books to read in May.
I also read Murder on the Orient Express and discussed it in the "Agatha Christie's books" thread. I have read many Agatha Christie's books and enjoyed this one as well. With every next read I get better at making small guesses, but I still couldn't figure out everything by myself. I especially enjoyed the ending. I think it is a bit different from the usual ones (remaining vague to avoid spoilers).
I read Death on the Nile which was an enjoyable whodunit set in Egypt. This is my second Hercule Poirot book and much more enjoyable than the first. I enjoyed the setting of this one. Ahh the leisurely lifestyle of the rich and famous, and their cruises down the Nile. Except this one was fraught with murder and mayhem.
I read Murder at the Vicarageand discussed in the appropriate thread. I liked that Miss Marple appeared as a cameo character. Her ability to go unnoticed is precisely why she is able to observe so much.
I've read a few Miss Marple mysteries before and enjoyed many a TV movie rendition. It was nice to start with the first novel in the series. I liked this one enough that I will be including more in the future.
I read Destination Unknown which was Christie's attempt at an espionage story. The style is the same as her mysteries, which I don't think is the best for espionage. It turns out there was a murder, but it was behind the scenes. Overall, I enjoyed it, though it is something of a cozy thriller, which doesn't make a lot of sense. I gave it 4 stars because the mystery and the process of getting to the answer was good. Nothing came easily.
I read Het derde meisje (which is the Dutch version of Third Girl). I discussed it in the 'books by Agatha Christie' thread.About half way through I knew how the ending would go (no, I didn't look, I swear!). Somehow, with a book by Agatha Christie, that is not annoying, but a sport! ;)
I was a bit annoyed by Poirot, for not getting the clues, when I already found them ;)...
But of course, he also found some clues, which I didn't!
Well, maybe I already read this book, 25 years ago, but I can't remember which ones I read...
It was really nice to read another Agatha Christie again. I gave it 4 stars. It was a good mystery and I really liked reading it (and I really liked to read that I was right about 'whodunnit' :D).
I read Murder on the Orient Express previously and discussed it in the general thread. I didn't love the interview style of this one and I was not happy with the ending. (view spoiler) I thought it was ok though and gave it 3 stars. I also read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed in the BOM thread. I liked this one a lot better. I enjoyed the small town setting and laughed a few times at the characters. I did not guess the right person to be the murderer, but the story was fun. I liked getting to know Miss Marple and will read more of her stories. I gave this one 4 stars.
I read Murder at the Vicarage for the monthly read and discussed it in the appropriate thread. I did enjoy it, but found it slow and a little difficult to follow at times. I rated it 3 stars and my try another Agatha Christie novel at some point, but probably not soon.
I read Death on the Nile and discussed it in the group thread. I really enjoyed it. I even read some clues correctly and realised there was more than one crime going on! But AC confused me yet again: I would never have solved the mystery on my own. Thank goodness for the little grey cells of Hercules Poirot! I found Hercules a lot more likeable than I remembered. He's maybe mellowed or it's because he's in retirement AND on holiday.
I also read Murder at the Vicarage previously and joined in the group discussion. I found life in the village quaint and old-fashioned, but there were some nasty characters and gossips hiding behind the religious veneer, which made it interesting. I found the whole clock mystery was confusing, but that didn't really matter, I just went with the flow. Miss Marple is seen at a distance rather than up close. It was interesting to see the earlier version of her, before she comes into her own in later AC novels.
All in all, I really enjoyed this challenge, it gave the mysteries a new dimension. I loved sharing thoughts and clues with the group and it was interesting to see what cllues others picked up on.
Thanks for all your hard work Sarah : )
Thanks Annerlee. Good to hear you enjoyed your reads and sharing in the whodunit with everyone else.
I just finished The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie and discussed it in the discussion thread. Just finished it in time! I didn't like it as much as the Hercule Poirot series as Miss Marple wasn't as interesting a character but I did enjoy the variety of clues and interwoven story lines.
I read Death on the Nile and discussed it in the group discussion thread. I gave the book 4 stars and enjoyed it. It kept me on my toes the entire time. I would of given it five stars if it hadn't been for the moments where time passed without it being evident (no change in chapter, no double space, etc) and the abbreviations that I did not know the meaning for (I had to google them).I am really enjoying these challenges! Every month I read a new book that I would've never of read on my own :)
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed in the appropriate thread.I really enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars, although it was completely different to what I had expected. It was my first book by Agatha Christie and I would like to read more of her storys/ of Miss Marple storys.
Since a few people complained about the old language and I couldn't notice that because I read the book in german, I'm especially looking forward to reading one of her works in english.
Efflorescence wrote: "I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed in the appropriate thread.Since a few people complained about the old language and I couldn't notice that because I read the book in german,..."
Well side-stepped Efflorescence ! I don't know why, but your comment made me chuckle..
: P
I read both Murder at the Vicarage and Death on the Nile and discussed them in their respective threads (though participated in the Murder at the Vicarage discussion a lot more!) I'm editing my post to also mention that i led the discussion this month for Murder at the Vicarage (hence my much greater participation in that thread!)I enjoyed both books and gave them both four stars. In both books, the settings contributed a lot to my enjoyment of the books though the settings are quite different from each other. I also thoroughly enjoyed the characters in both books.
While i thought Death on the Nile was a superior mystery per se with more understandable clues and i loved Poirot's amazing detective abilities, i overall found the characters and humor in Murder at the Vicarage more entertaining so i forgave the irritating timing question that came up throughout and wore rather thin by that book's end.
Something i hadn't anticipated was how much i enjoyed comparing the two books in terms of various elements used by Christie, like character types, suspects, red herrings, relevant clues, and the actual who dunnits.
It was great to read some Agatha Christie again after a hiatus of at least several decades. In the interim, i did see various PBS productions of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, but that has also been quite some time ago by now. I look forward to reading some more Christie books in the future.
I just realized I didn't post for reading Murder at the Vicarage. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this one. My favorite character was the vicar, but Miss Marple was cute coming in from the sidelines and providing important clues and advice...and of course solving the crime. I'm curious about how the next Miss Marple book goes. Can't imagine they ALL take place in that small village of hers, but what do I know?
I read
and I have discussed it in May 2016 - Books by Agatha Christie thread.It was collection of short stories. My favorites were Three Blind Mice, Tape-Measure Murder, The Third-Floor Flat and The Love Detectives
I read The Murder at the Vicarage, which is an audiobook presented by Richard Grant. I discussed this book in the group thread.I haven't read much of Christie's novels. I saw some of the BBC series when I was younger but can't remember much of the stories. I think that Miss Marple was more central in the show than she was in this book. I didn't expect that. I liked the book but enjoyed And Then There Were None much more. This is probably because it felt like a bit of a slow start, and it took me a little bit to get oriented to all of the characters. 3 stars.
Badges of all types have now been posted. Let me know if I've missed anyone. Two new wall of fames created for Efflorescence and TrudyAn - congrats on your first badges!
Sarah wrote: "Badges of all types have now been posted. Let me know if I've missed anyone. Two new wall of fames created for Efflorescence and TrudyAn - congrats on your first badges!"
Thanks Sarah, the badge is gorgeous!
I read Murder at the Vicarage and discussed in the appropriate thread. So i got hold of this book and completed in two days. The first half was very slow, took some time for me to assimilate the characters and the general setup. When the much hated character dies, almost everyone is under suspicion. I co-related the method of writing( first person narrative) to another work by Christie ( The murder of Roger Ackroyd.
I give the book 4 stars . i would have given 5 if it hadn't been boring initially.
Sarah wrote: "Badges of all types have now been posted. Let me know if I've missed anyone. Two new wall of fames created for Efflorescence and TrudyAn - congrats on your first badges!"
Hey Sarah, i am yet to get my badge !! :) Please do give me one :) Thanks !
I can only give badges to those who report in this thread. I see you reported your read after I posted the badges. Not too late though, I'll post a badge (and create a wall of fame) for you later when I'm on my laptop.
Sarah wrote: "Two new wall of fames created for Efflorescence and TrudyAn - congrats on your first badges!"Thanks, Sarah! Hopefully it will be one of many. :)
Congrats to everyone who completed the challenge to earn badges. Hope everyone reported who was eligible. I'm super busy this week with my nephew visiting this week. What a bundle of energy and high i.q. He's pretty high maintenance, but is awesome.
Sarah, love the badge, it made me smile...it takes me back to elementary school when we got badges for sportsmanship on field day.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
Murder at the Vicarage (other topics)The Murder at the Vicarage (other topics)
And Then There Were None (other topics)
Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (other topics)
Murder at the Vicarage (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Agatha Christie (other topics)Agatha Christie (other topics)
Agatha Christie (other topics)
After you have read your chosen book(s) for this month's group theme read, please report in the thread below.
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