# I'm going to try Agatha Christie - need help choosing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109 "2007-02-06T18:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/41 "2007-02-08T06:37:32Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] No one else enjoyed Crooked House? 😕 Wow! [/QUOTE] Yes, I enjoyed it. I forgot to add it to my list. A chilling ending. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/42 "2007-02-08T08:25:03Z")
[QUOTE=Heffalump and Roo] Thank you. I’m giving them another try. I just downloaded “Death on the Air” in audiobook format from my library. They also have “Death of a Fool”, so if this one is good, I’ll try that one as well. [/QUOTE] Well done. IIRC, the first line in _Death of a Fool_ is “Nine men’s morris is filled up with mud.” Let me know if I got that right; it’s been about twenty years. She researched her cultural stuff really well, and I found her to be quite educational about many minor bits of arcana. P.S. All you Christie fans: I’ll try to stop hijacking your Christie thread with Marsh conversations, now. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/43 "2007-02-08T14:31:54Z")
[QUOTE=Just Some Guy] Having read some Christie for the first time last week I’ll say that you should not read what I did. I had a collection of the Miss Marple short stories did not enjoy them at all. The first thing that kept getting in my way was that a lot of the solutions in the end seemed forced and arbitrary. Miss Marple would come up with some outrageous solution that would never be able to be proven but the criminal would break down and confess to demonstrate that she was correct. [/QUOTE] I think this is a weakness of her short-stories and not so much a Miss Marple issue. I think the Poirot short-stories have the same problem. It is hard to set up a scene, develop the mystery, and solve it in 20 pages without making the solution either obvious or arbitrary. If you are still up for it, try one of her novels. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/44 "2007-02-08T14:35:34Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] I disagree slightly with the notion that the earliest ones are the best. I agree that the stories written in the late 1960s and early 1970s are often the weakest: rambling and unfocused. And most of the ones written in the 1920s and 1930s are certainly very good, but I find the books and short stories of the 1940s and 1950s to be lots of fun, too. [/QUOTE] Too true, there are a lot of great ones in the 40’s and 50’s even despite Mrs. Oliver. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/45 "2007-02-08T17:20:05Z")
Thanks for all your suggestions, guys. Based on your advice, I ordered up: _Murder of Roger Ackroyd Murder at The Vicarage Murder On The Orient Express_ Wow, lurid-sounding reading or what? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/46 "2007-02-08T18:31:47Z")
Read Orient Express first. I think it’s the best novel she ever wrote. And I didn’t like Crooked House at all. It’s re-using an old trick (y’all know which trick I mean!) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/47 "2007-02-08T18:55:16Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] As a slight hijack to my own thread, has anyone seen the British films of Miss Marple stories which star the wonderful Margaret Rutherford? I love that actress, and have seen her in all too few movies. I only saw a fragment of a Miss Marple movie once, and she was an unabashed scene-stealer. [/QUOTE] Rutherford’s an unadulterated ham (in the best possible sense of the word), but I don’t think the films themselves are that good (and neither is _Mirror Crack’d_ with Angela Lansbury doing a Marple turn). Certainly, the Poirot films are generally better (as long as you skip the horrible _ABC Murders_ with Tony Curtis). Albert Finney was nominated for an Oscar as Poirot in _Orient Express_ and Ustinov (with 2 Oscars already under his belt) is irresistable as Poirot (though the films get worse and worse as you go along). Still, the production values are pretty high and they’re littered with tons of big-name stars (kind of like a Murder Mystery Love Boat), so they are fun. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/48 "2007-02-08T21:21:17Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] And I didn’t like Crooked House at all. It’s re-using an old trick (y’all know which trick I mean!) [/QUOTE] It may be an old trick but \*Crooked House \* was the first time I came across it, so it was new to me. And on a slight hijack related to Christie’s works - one of the things that does annoy me constantly is her complete inability to do basic arithmetic. There are always glaring inconsistencies between people’s ages and dates. And it’s not just in her later works when she had clearly started to falter. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/49 "2007-02-08T23:24:35Z")
I picked up _Curtain_, today. Poirot’s last case. Never read Christie before, so it’s interesting… very British… and perhaps the wrong Christie book to start with. But, I’m 2 chapters in and the Plot is explicated. So far so good, I’ll let you know. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/50 "2007-02-09T02:30:47Z")
I don’t know the name of the book or even the name of the movie, but there was an Agatha Christie major motion picture from the late eighties that played second run on HBO. My memories are hazy, but it was set in the mediterranean and it was a fabulously understated suspense-thriller. One of my favorite films, really. Even though it’s slipped my mind. Does anyone know what I am talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/51 "2007-02-09T02:37:03Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] I don’t know the name of the book or even the name of the movie, but there was an Agatha Christie major motion picture from the late eighties that played second run on HBO. My memories are hazy, but it was set in the mediterranean and it was a fabulously understated suspense-thriller. One of my favorite films, really. Even though it’s slipped my mind. Does anyone know what I am talking about? [/QUOTE] Set in the Mediterranean? Possibly _Evil Under the Sun_? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/52 "2007-02-09T02:47:16Z")
Yes, tat’s it. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/53 "2007-02-09T02:59:52Z")
The first Christie I read was **‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’**. Although the characters and dialogue were weak, I thought it was a fine mystery. So I bought every book of hers I could find (I was only a teenager 🙂 ). Sadly none of the others were as good. 😕 By the time I realised this, I’d bought over 40 :eek: , so I carried on and finished with over 70 books. They did give a brief glimpse into historical English society, with servants and class attitudes etc, but I never reread any, and eventually gave the collection to charity. Try Rex Stout or Sherlock Holmes instead! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/54 "2007-02-09T03:12:14Z")
[QUOTE=glee] Try Rex Stout or Sherlock Holmes instead! [/QUOTE] Oh, yes…I double reinforce the Nero Wolfe recommendation! But make sure they’re Rex Stout Wolfe books…the newer Goldsborough ones are schlock. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/55 "2007-02-09T09:46:13Z")
Since the Agatha Christie question seems to have been answered, I’ll continue digressing. For modern english mysteries, no one can beat P. D. James, though if her books seem too long, one can always try Ruth Rendell. I’ve read two Ngaio March mysteries - one with a lady that gets shot when playing the organ in church, and another one (Death of a Peer) where all the Lampreys are having a family affair and someone is killed. In both cases the murderer turned out to be someone unsympathetic or at least someone that we wouldn’t like or care about. Does this hold true in all of Ngaio March’s mysteries? One nice thing about Agatha Christie’s mysteries is that the murderer can turn out to be someone that you’ve been rooting for in the story. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/56 "2007-02-09T10:48:11Z")
Pardon, another digression. What is the name of that club Nero belongs to? (I think it’s Nero I mean.) They meet over a gourmet meal, no women are allowed, and they solve puzzles after the meal? It’s all very cloak and daggers, there is a special area set aside for them to dine and think in. Does anyone know what I am talking about? I’ve been wanting to find the short stories involving this club, but I can’t recall the name of the club, or even if I have the sleuth’s name correct. **devilsknew** , after you are done with “Curtain”, you’ll want to pick up “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” to see how it all began. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/57 "2007-02-09T13:01:11Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] Pardon, another digression. What is the name of that club Nero belongs to? (I think it’s Nero I mean.) They meet over a gourmet meal, no women are allowed, and they solve puzzles after the meal? It’s all very cloak and daggers, there is a special area set aside for them to dine and think in. Does anyone know what I am talking about? I’ve been wanting to find the short stories involving this club, but I can’t recall the name of the club, or even if I have the sleuth’s name correct. [/QUOTE] I think you’re thinking of Asimov’s _The Black Widowers_ stories on this one. The waiter/butler is the one that usually figures out the mystery? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/58 "2007-02-09T17:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Since the Agatha Christie question seems to have been answered, I’ll continue digressing. For modern english mysteries, no one can beat P. D. James, though if her books seem too long, one can always try Ruth Rendell. I’ve read two Ngaio March mysteries - one with a lady that gets shot when playing the organ in church, and another one (Death of a Peer) where all the Lampreys are having a family affair and someone is killed. In both cases the murderer turned out to be someone unsympathetic or at least someone that we wouldn’t like or care about. Does this hold true in all of Ngaio March’s mysteries? One nice thing about Agatha Christie’s mysteries is that the murderer can turn out to be someone that you’ve been rooting for in the story. [/QUOTE] Not _always_. In one story (the name of which escapes me at the moment), Inspector Alleyn says to himeslf, “There go the _nicest_ pair of murderers I’ve ever met.” He was on vacation in Italy, IIRC, and not responsible for closing the case. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/59 "2007-02-09T18:52:25Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] I think you’re thinking of Asimov’s _The Black Widowers_ stories on this one. The waiter/butler is the one that usually figures out the mystery? [/QUOTE] Yes! That’s it, **thank you**! I’ve been wanting to re-read those stories for some time. Now, to find the particular collection(s) I recall. ETA: I am thinking that the reason I thought it must be Nero is that I discovered them the same summer I started in on Nero. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109/60 "2007-02-09T18:56:51Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Not _always_. In one story (the name of which escapes me at the moment), Inspector Alleyn says to himeslf, “There go the _nicest_ pair of murderers I’ve ever met.” He was on vacation in Italy, IIRC, and not responsible for closing the case. [/QUOTE] _When in Rome._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-try-agatha-christie-need-help-choosing/391109.md?page=4)