Agatha Christie

[DrNefario]

The first one. Mysterious Affair at Styles.

I liked the oblivious dimness of the narrator, Hastings, but felt the actual mystery was fairly ludicrous.

[poohbear_nc]

Hastings was a marvelous invention - especially when he narrated the mystery - his mis-interpretations and tendency to completely ignore the important stuff could mislead readers into following his train of thought, allowing Christie to strew clues about which Hastings/gullible reader would blissfully ignore.

[The Terminator]

I love her books, but, I'd like to see Harper Collins drop the prices a bit. Right now they're $7.99 plus 12% tax, so $8.95 each and I can't use a discount code . I would probably buy them all if I could use discount codes.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

The first one. Mysterious Affair at Styles.

I liked the oblivious dimness of the narrator, Hastings, but felt the actual mystery was fairly ludicrous.

I think we have to show a little charity to Ms. Christie with that one as it was her 1st book and the 1st book of any author isn't likely to be as good as later ones. Though I have to say I just generally like her characters and their adventures.

[GeckoFriend]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

The first one. Mysterious Affair at Styles.

I liked the oblivious dimness of the narrator, Hastings, but felt the actual mystery was fairly ludicrous.

I agree that's probably not her best book but still fun to read.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by GeckoFriend

I agree that's probably not her best book but still fun to read.

And it is free here at MR.

[Synamon]

Life is full of imperfect information and isn't fair. Agatha Christie taught me not to believe everything I read and to look for hidden motives. Great life lessons.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

I love her books, but, I'd like to see Harper Collins drop the prices a bit. Right now they're $7.99 plus 12% tax, so $8.95 each and I can't use a discount code . I would probably buy them all if I could use discount codes.

I'm very glad that I bought all that were available (nearly 80) through fictionwise when they had them on an 75% rebate sale. And, of course, that was 75% off about $4, not $8!

I've read 40 of them so far (in publication order), and there's been only one stinker. (The Big Four - perhaps worth reading just to see how badly an author can get things wrong. And this was published immediately after Ackroyd!)

I do think that publishers (& author's estates) are missing out on a lot of money. I suspect that many more people would be willing to spend $99 for a bundle of all 80 of her detective novels than will ever get to spending $99 on novels at $8 each.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I do think that publishers (& author's estates) are missing out on a lot of money. I suspect that many more people would be willing to spend $99 for a bundle of all 80 of her detective novels than will ever get to spending $99 on novels at $8 each.

Oh, absolutely. And also offer an alternative of breaking them down into, say, 4 bundles of 20 books apiece for $30. That way people would get a good bargain for a smaller bundle, and an even better bargain for the complete bundle.

It really is amazing that apparently no creative marketing is being done for the backlists of prolific writers.

[Mike Hobart]

Pdurrant -- I think Christie shared your opinion.

"In 1942, Christie wrote to her agent asking him to keep a manuscript in reserve and stated 'I have been, once, in a position where I wanted to write just for the sake of money coming in and when I felt I couldn't – it is a nerve wracking feeling. If I had had one MS 'up my sleeve' it would have made a big difference. That was the time I had to produce that rotten book The Big Four.' [Wikipedia]

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Mike Hobart

Pdurrant -- I think Christie shared your opinion.

"In 1942, Christie wrote to her agent asking him to keep a manuscript in reserve and stated 'I have been, once, in a position where I wanted to write just for the sake of money coming in and when I felt I couldn't – it is a nerve wracking feeling. If I had had one MS 'up my sleeve' it would have made a big difference. That was the time I had to produce that rotten book The Big Four.' [Wikipedia]

Fascinating. Thanks for that.

[Vala]

This is a good thread. Very interesting opinions going well. You even make me want to get back into reading her books.

[carpetmojo]

Just a recommendation for the UK TV series of Poirot - a massive undertaking, and the marvellous David Suchet has made it his life's work to put all the works on screen.
Very high production values, beautifully filmed, brilliantly performed, with some stellar actors..........

Faultless - if you can get some videos, do so, you will not regret it.

[SensualPoet]

I certainly prefer when an author "plays fair" -- even if pretty obtusely. But even when the puzzle's solution IS based on info discovered at the very last minute, in most cases it's the journey, not the destination that matters. I love Christie (and Conan Doyle, Gladys Mitchell, Nero Wolfe, Ngaio Marsh et al) for the atmosphere, the characters and the working out. I am reading the Christie works, vaguely in published order, about 3 or 4 titles a year. For the fiscally prudent, many may be available through the public library as ebooks through Overdrive.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Just a recommendation for the UK TV series of Poirot - a massive undertaking, and the marvellous David Suchet has made it his life's work to put all the works on screen.
Very high production values, beautifully filmed, brilliantly performed, with some stellar actors..........

Faultless - if you can get some videos, do so, you will not regret it.

I agree that David Suchet's portrayal of Poirot is excellent. Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings is also excellent. I think they're all available on DVD or even as Amazon streaming video.

I see that they will be filming some more in 2013, including "The Big Four". I'll be interested to see what they can do with that train-wreck of a book.