Mrs. McGinty's Dead

First Published: 1952
Setting: Broadhinny

Starring: Hercule Poirot, Mrs. Oliver, Superintendent Spence, Mrs. McGinty (only important because the whole book is about her).

Important Other People: Maureen and Johnnie Summerhayes, James Bentley, Eve and Guy Carpenter, Laura and Robin Upwards, the Wetherby's, the Rendell's, Deidre Henderson, Mrs. Sweetimen

This novel is unique because, as Poirot says, usually the personality of the murdered is the most important aspect of the case. Seeing as Mrs. McGinty was just an ordinary charwoman (and thus not good enough to be important, apparently), the personality of the murderer is what is important in this book. There are a lot of different personalities Poirot has to sort through until he finds one that fits with the crime. 

There are a lot of red herrings in this book, as well as people that you think must be important, but actually aren't. It reminds me of The Murder at the Vicarage, where there were a lot of different characters who eventually were revealed to all have some part in the events surrounding the murder, so I guess that's what I expected here. There are so many characters, and they seem so mysterious that I assume they must be important. It turns out that almost none of them are, they just have silly little things they don't want Poirot to find out about (other than murder). Anyways, ordinary charwoman, extraordinary murderer... less than extraordinary book.

Interesting facts: This is one of the few books where someone actually tries to murder Monsieur Hercule Poirot! This is the only the second appearance of Poirot working with Mrs. Oliver, the first being Cards on the Table. Hastings, Shaitana from Cards on the Table, and Battle are all mentioned, although none make appearances (especially since Shaitana is dead). Apparently, this novel was written after Agatha had recently collaborated with producer Peter Saunders on The Mousetrap, and she had a few frustrations with the process. Mrs. Oliver was used to vent those frustrations, as she says, "You've no idea of the agony of having your characters taken and made to say things they never would have said, and do things that they never would have done. And if you protest, all they say is that it's 'good theatre.'" 

Favorite? No, although Hercule is, of course, ingenious in his deductions. I just always want the plot to be better somehow. 

Death by: cosh on the head, strangulation

Body Count: 2; Cumulative: 115

The Count: Poirot-23, Miss. Marple-4, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-3, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 6, Mrs. Oliver-2, Albert- 2, Superintendent Spence-1

Agatha's Life Lessons: You can't get away from heredity- it's in people as well as in dogs. Power must only be used for the right ends. Life is very unfair- some people never seem to get any happiness. If everyone thinks you know a thing, no one will tell you about it. Acute fear always produces the truth. Everyone has something to hide. Success is on the side of the big mustaches. 

Up Next: Murder with Mirrors

They Came to Baghdad

First Published: 1951
Setting: Baghdad! 

Starring: Victoria Jones, Edward Goring, Anna Schiele, Richard Baker

Important Other People: Carmichael, Dakin, Captain Crosbie, Dr. Rathbone

To begin with, Victoria Jones is a modernized Anne Beddingfield. (The Man in the Brown Suit). Travels to Africa were in vogue back when that was written (1924), but travels to the Middle East were more popular in the 1950s. I also like to think that Anne is modeled after Agatha, and so Victoria must be as well. Victoria is significantly more foolish than Anne (losing her job by mocking the boss' wife, letting a stranger take her picture and falling in love with him, and deciding that she was going to Baghdad just because of that stranger). Sure, Anne did some flighty things in her time, but I really think she has more sense than Victoria. Probably because Agatha was older and wiser at this point in her own life, and so was able to write the younger character from a more cynical viewpoint. Also, one of the most important life lessons here is directly related to Victoria's actions: sometimes it is wiser not to mix oneself up in things one does not understand. She definitely did not understand what was going on (me either, really), and Agatha is able to look on with more experience and judge that maybe, it would have been best for Victoria if she had just minded her own business. One last connection to Agatha- in The Man in the Brown Suit, Anne ended up with the dashing, devil-may-care lunatic, and they lived happily ever after (at least I hope so). In They Came to Baghdad, though, Victoria does not end up with the dashing young lunatic, but rather, with the older, wiser, and more serious archaeologist. A possible allegory for Agatha's own life, seeing as she did not stay married to her dashing young adventurer, but rather found happiness with the mature archaeologist. Hmm. 

One of the coolest, most unrealistic aspects of this book is the scene in the consulate, where Carmichael signals to Baker in Morse code by clinking the beads together. First of all, really? Secondly, what is the chance that Carmichael's old schoolmate would be in the consulate in Basrah at the same time that he was trying to avoid getting murdered? Third: that would never happen. It was a cool scene though!


Last- there is mention of Siegfried in the book. Just wait, we'll hear a LOT more about that in Passenger to Frankfurt. 

Interesting facts: Matthew Bunson says, "For her first novel featuring espionage since N or M?, Christie returned to one of her strongest devices, the setting of stories in exotic locales. In this case, she chose Baghdad, a city she had first visited in 1928 and theat she knew quite well, thanks to the archaeological work of her husband, Max Mallowan, in the Middle East."

Favorite?  No. I liked it a lot better when I read it this time than when I read it at least 10+ years ago, that's for sure. It's still unnecessarily confusing. 

Death by: stabbing 

Body Count: 2; Cumulative: 113

The Count: Poirot-22, Miss. Marple-4, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-2, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 6, Mrs. Oliver-1, Albert- 2

Agatha's Life Lessons: Sometimes it is wiser not to mix oneself up in things one does not understand. Ordinary people are the ones who matter. Humility is what keeps you sane and a human being.

Up Next: Mrs. McGinty's Dead

A Murder is Announced

First Published: 1950
Setting: Chipping Cleghorn 

Starring: Miss Marple, Letitia Blacklock, Dora Bunner, Inspector Craddock

Important Other People: Patrick and Julia, Pip and Emma, Hincliffe and Murgatroyd, Mitzi, Philipa Haymes, Colonel and Mrs. Easterbrook, Edmund and Mrs. Swettenham, Bunch Harmon, Belle Goedler

Sticking with the theme of the post-war world, we are reminded at the beginning that all you know about people is what they say of themselves. Just like in Roger Ackroyd, we need to remember that that statement applies to everyone. No one is exactly who they seem. Due to all of the disruption that occurred after World War II, it was much more difficult to establish connections with people or to find a common friend or relative. There was also the secret black market world that was going on, even with seemingly-respectable spinsters and other pillars of the community. England after the war was much different than it had been before the war, and even people living in small villages had to adjust their worldviews accordingly. 


In keeping with the idea of a disrupted world, this is the first book where we get explicit talk of premarital relations, but still couched in Agatha's Victorian terminology. Referring to war widows, Edmund says he'll "take her to bed." This to me is a clear indication of goings-on that should not be going on, and it once again shows how much England changed in the years right after the war. 


I don't really have anything else to say without giving a ton of plot points away, but I do have to say that if you haven't read this book, you need to. It's one of the best, for sure, and it's one of my favorites. Mitzi is ridiculous, and Miss Marple is ingenious. It's just so good.

Interesting facts: Sir Henry Clithering and Inspector Craddock are in this book. I love both of them. 

Favorite? Yes. I love how intricate the plot and details are, all of the mystery characters that keep popping up, and how everything really comes together at the end. It is just brilliant. 

Death by: shooting, poisoning, strangulation 

Body Count: 3; Cumulative: 111

The Count: Poirot-22, Miss. Marple-4, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-2, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 5, Mrs. Oliver-1, Albert- 2

Agatha's Life Lessons: All you know of people is what they say of themselves. Youth is the time to have your fling. People like living. You can get away with a great deal if you have enough audacity. One is alone when the last one who remembers one when they were young is gone. It's never a mistake to marry a man you want to marry- even if you regret it. Weak and kindly people are often very treacherous. People with a grudge against the world are always dangerous. It's what's in yourself that makes you happy or unhappy.

Up Next: They Came to Baghdad 

Crooked House

First Published: 1949
Setting: Swinly Dean

Starring: Charles Hayward, Sophia Leonides, Josephine, Inspector Taverner

Important Other People: Roger, Clemency, Philip, Magda, Edith de Haviland, Brenda Leonides, Laurence Brown, Eustace, Nannie

Much like Taken at the Flood, Crooked House begins with World War II and introduces the drama within the backdrop of the post-war world. The war becomes the reason that Charles and Sophia meet and fall in love, a connection which leads to the events at the Leonides house.  Once again, we get an amateur involving themselves with a police case which is really none of their concern (The Moving Finger, anyone?), but in this instance, if Charles hadn't tried so hard to figure out what was going on, I don't think the case would have been solved. Either that, or the wrong people would have been arrested. 


One of the most interesting things about this book is, like There is a Tide, there is a powerful central male patriarch that the rest of the family revolves around, but that we never get to see. Whereas Gordon Cloade tried to help his family members by encouraging their more obscure interests, thus leaving them floundering when he died, Aristide Leonides provided for his family while he was alive, and safeguarded their future when he died by choosing a single heir to look after the family. I think Agatha may have wanted a do over with the execution of the male patriarch, which is why we get two such similar characters in back-to-back books. Aristide is better executed than Gordon, and we also feel his presence more throughout the book than we did with Gordon. We can more fully understand the dynamic personality he had because it lives on in the house.


Josephine knows everything, and she's always right. She reminds me of Joyce in Hallowe'en Party. They both ended up dead.

Interesting facts: There's an Arsenic and Old Lace shout out! Also, Sherlock Holmes is mentioned, which may be the only time he is mentioned in any of Agatha's novels. As my pal says, the book was "memorable because of the effort by the publisher to change the ending. The editors were unhappy with her choice of murderer, but Christie, as was her policy, refused to budge...The ending for The Crooked House remained unchanged, and the novel continues to shock new readers, much like The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." 

Favorite?  Of Agatha, yes. This was one of her top two favorites. As she says, "Of my detective books, I think the two that satisfy me best are Crooked House and Ordeal by Innocence." Personally, I can't say it's my favorite, but I did write a book report on it once, so I guess I like it enough.

Death by: Eserine (poison), digitalin (poison), driving off a cliff

Body Count: 4; Cumulative: 108

The Count: Poirot-22, Miss. Marple-3, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-2, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 5, Mrs. Oliver-1, Albert- 2

Agatha's Life Lessons: There's always a doubt about everything. It's a great mistake ever to say anything when you needn't. Men always think that a caveman must be the only type of person attractive to the opposite sex. If you want to find things out, you have to listen at doors. No show runs itself. Only the people you love can really make life unendurable for you. Love and happiness are two separate things. Men are not born equal. Men must look after themselves. 

Up Next: A Murder is Announced

Taken at the Flood (There is a Tide)

First Published: 1948
Setting: Warmsley Vale, London

Starring: Hercule Poirot, Lynn Marchmont, David Hunter, Rowley Cloade, Enoch Arden

Important Other People: Rosaleen Cloade, Jeremy and Frances Cloade, Lionel and Katherine Cloade, Adela Marchmont

I have to start by saying that even though I love this book, I don't love a lot of the characters. First of all, David. I know we're supposed to hate David, and I do, but that's not what bothers me about him. We keep getting this idea from Agatha about all those men who are only suited for wartime and can't seem to fit back into British society afterwards. David falls into that category, which is one reason why I don't like him. If you can't follow peacetime rules and societal norms, go back into the army. Or go somewhere else. Don't just sponge off of other people. This is really the crux of my issue with David: he keeps saying that the Cloades aren't entitled to Gordon's money, but it's okay for him to spend the money that technically belongs to his sister (I know this isn't totally accurate, but I don't want to give away any important plot twists). First of all, I think the Cloades ARE entitled to Gordon's money. He told them to rely on him, and so they did. It's not like they didn't work or do anything for themselves. There's lots of characters in lots of her other books that really don't do anything because they or their relative has a lot of money. The Cloades all work, at least to some degree. But why does David think the Cloades can't sponge, but he can? That is my least favorite thing about him, and it makes me really mad every time I read this book. He doesn't work! At all! He gets all of his money from Rosaleen. The Cloades all do work. The double standard he yells about to Lynn all the time makes me angry. Someone, please tell me why he thinks it is okay for him to use her, but it wasn't okay for the Cloades to use Gordon. I really don't understand it at all.


Lionel has no backbone, Adela is weak, and Jeremy just messed everything up for him and Frances. Frances is awesome, though. I wish more of her characteristics were in Lynn, so that Lynn would be a little bit more awesome. 


Let's talk about Lynn. I like a strong female lead (obviously, since Sad Cypress is my favorite). I admire Lynn for her strength and her loyalty, but both of those qualities disappear throughout the book! She throws them by the wayside (and pretty much turns her back on her family) when she starts getting closer with David. She was a WREN, for goodness' sake, but with David, she becomes a totally different person. Secret assignations, cheating on her fiancee, sneaky phone calls. I don't like it. Lynn, you know better, and you know he's a scoundrel. She loses her head and her sense of self, and I don't like it. 


Don't read this if you haven't read the book! But I do have to complain about something really quickly. Rowley tries to strangle Lynn. For real. As in, to kill her. Why exactly does she go back to him? David is a rotter, and she shouldn't be with him (especially since he's going to prison or to get hanged), but Rowley tried to KILL her. At the end, she says that she wants danger in her life, and that she will always be a little bit afraid of him, so that will be the danger in her life. Are you kidding??? Go skydiving, eat raw eggs, or run off to Africa if you want danger. Don't stay with him, Lynn! That ending really makes me mad. And before that, I had really liked Rowley! Except that he tried to make someone commit perjury. Maybe I don't like Rowley all that much.


I've come to a conclusion. I don't really like any of these characters (except Frances and Hercule). They all have some good characteristics, but they all pull these smarmy moves that I really don't like. So maybe I like this book because it's about unpleasant people whose lives are worse than mine? Maybe not. I don't think I'm going to like this book as much next time I read it, and that makes me really sad.

Interesting facts: The title is taken from a line in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Japp is mentioned. Matthew Bunson tells us, "...Christie took the unusual step of using World War II as the backdrop for Taken at the Flood. At the start of the novel, London is suffering through the Blitz."

Favorite? YES. I love Frances. I love the plot, and the twists. I love Hercule in this book. 

Death by: Head bashed in (cosh), shooting, morphia

Body Count: 3; Cumulative: 104

The Count: Poirot-22, Miss. Marple-3, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-2, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 4, Mrs. Oliver-1, Albert- 2

Agatha's Life Lessons: There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. One should never struggle against the inevitable. Ill-will is the aftermath of war. Some people thrive only in war- they are dangerous otherwise. What a person really is, is only apparent when the test comes. What happens to the ivy when the oak round which it clings is struck down? Nobody is cut off from the mercy of God. The world is becoming a difficult place to live in, except for the strong. The tragedy of life is that people do not change. Where you are not, there you will want to be. One can't blame anyone else for the things one decides to do with one's eyes open. 

Up Next: Crooked House

The Hollow (Murder After Hours)

First Published: 1946
Setting: The Hollow, London

Starring: Hercule Poirot, John Christow, Gerda Christow, Henrietta Savernake

Important Other People: Lucy and Henry Angkatell, Midge Hardcastle, Edward Angkatell, Inspector Grange, Veronica Cray, Mrs. Crabtree, Gudgeon

The enigma of John Christow. I would like to talk to Agatha about how she feels about him. He is a complete contradiction- he is awful to Gerda (who is awful herself) and their children (also awful), he doesn't treat Henrietta well, he overshadows Edward, and he is pompous. At the same time, he is a completely different person when he is with Mrs. Crabtree trying to tackle Ridgeway's disease. Usually, I can tell what characters Agatha expects us to like and which we should dislike based on the descriptions of them that she gives. With John Christow, though, the descriptions differ so wildly throughout the book that I don't know what to think. Overall, I hate him because he is an ass and because he blatantly cheated on his wife in front of the entire house party, as well as surreptitiously with Henrietta, but I love Mrs. Crabtree and I have to like him a little bit because she likes and respects him so much. 


I also have to wonder if John would ever have married Gerda if he had not been coming off the rebound with Veronica Cray. He wants someone to dominate after having just been dominated by Veronica, and so he naturally turns to Gerda, although she is not as weak as he thinks. When he meets Henrietta, he must have realized he made a mistake with Gerda, but it was too late. Besides, he liked dominating Gerda. I hate that John was able to have both of them- Henrietta, at least, had a strong enough personality to stand on her own. 


See, that's part of the problem with John Christow. I hate him, yet I just spent two paragraphs writing about him.


I love the subplot with Midge and Edward, even though it is quite depressing through much of the book. The faithful kind usually get what they want in the end- in Edward's case, he gets what he wants, even if he didn't realize beforehand what exactly it was that he wanted. He knew he wanted Ainswick the way he remembered it from the past, and eventually, he got that. Just not in the way he imagined. 


One small aspect of this book that we do not usually get to see in Agatha's novels are the conversations among the servants. This is helpful because we learn more of the devoted nature of Gudgeon and the other servants to the Angkatells, and we also get more insight than we are used to. The conversations help show how everyone worked together to protect the murderer, which is another unusual aspect. Poirot usually knows who the murderer is before anyone else in the book does, but in The Hollow, everyone else knows who murdered John, and we have to watch Poirot try to stay one step ahead of everyone's intentions to save the murderer. 


One last thing: Poirot always considers the human aspect of his cases, but this one is particularly difficult- there are children in this case that are going to have one parent murdered and the other one hanged. To compensate for that, Poirot offers another solution- poison. The children will still be orphans, but there may be less animosity towards society when they grow up (especially with Terence). 

Interesting facts: According to my pal Matthew Bunson, "The Hollow was the first Christie novel published after the end of World War II...the setting for this story, the country house of the Angkatells, was based on the real-life house of the famous British stage actor Francis L. Sullivan and his wife at Hazlemere, Surrey." Agatha acknowledges the use of their house as the setting in her dedication, "For Larry and Danae, with apologies for using their swimming pool as the scene of a murder." Agatha herself adapted The Hollow into a play. She writes, "It was, of course, in some ways rather more of a novel than a detective story. The Hollow was a book I always thought I had ruined by the introduction of Poirot. I had got used to having Poirot in my books, and so naturally he had come into this one, but he was all wrong there. He did his stuff all right, but how much better, I kept thinking, would the book have been without him. So when I came to sketch out the play, out went Poirot." Agatha adds that the success of The Hollow as a play helped spur her on to write more plays. 

Favorite? Yes. So favorite, in fact, that I went to see a production of the play with my family at a theater in the country. Talk about high quality acting...especially the guy who played Sergeant Clark. I would like to point out that, in the play, John Christow is still a respected doctor from Harley Street, but the whole subplot with Mrs. Crabtree and Ridgeway's disease is left out. Accordingly, the John in the play has little to no redeeming qualities, and is thus a lot easier to dislike than the John in the book.

Death by: shooting, poison

Body Count: 2; Cumulative: 101

The Count: Poirot-22, Miss. Marple-3, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-1, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 4, Mrs. Oliver-1, Albert- 2

Agatha's Life Lessons: There can be a certain zest to existence. One can't go back (into the past). Some people are wise- they never expect to be happy. Servants can be very useful (shoutout to Gudgeon!) Expressions can be very helpful. The eyes see sometimes what they are meant to see. Police don't always consider the human aspect (but don't worry, because Poirot does). It is hard to tell right from wrong when right is unpleasant and wrong is agreeable. The faithful kind usually get what they want in the end. Despair is coldness and loneliness. 

Up Next: Taken at the Flood

Sparkling Cyanide (Remembered Death)

First Published: 1945
Setting: London

Starring: Iris Marle, Rosemary Barton, George Barton

Important Other People: Anthony Browne, Lady Alexandra Farraday, Stephen Farraday, Ruth Lessing, Lucilla Drake, Victor Drake

What I like about this book is that the early chapters focus on a single character in relation to Rosemary, who died a year ago. Through the descriptions of the other characters, we get a complete picture of Rosemary, even though she is never really alive throughout the book, only in reminisces. I like how the plot moves back and forth between the past and the present, and each character becomes intricately woven into the plot as we learn more about them. 


I don't really have much more to say about this one, but I will point out that Lady Alexandra and Stephen Farraday are totally the same as Edward and Evelyn Hillingdon from A Caribbean Mystery. And the two women are awesome.


One last thing: does cyanide sparkle? I have no idea.

Interesting facts: Adapted from an earlier short story, "Yellow Iris," which starred Hercule Poirot and was not as good as the longer book. Second in the series of "cold case" books, although not as good as Five Little Pigs.

Favorite? No, but as with Death Comes As the End, I liked this book a lot better the second time I read it.

Death by: cyanide (duh)

Body Count: 2; Cumulative: 99

The Count: Poirot-21, Miss. Marple-3, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-1, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 4, Mrs. Oliver-1, Albert- 2

Agatha's Life Lessons: What damned silly things one says when one is in love. A man doesn't want to be continually reminded what an add he's made of himself. Wit, charm, and provocation of manner hold men. Marriage is a form of safety, a protection against love.

Up Next: The Hollow