Since "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" was my very first Agatha Christie, and has always been a favorite, I'm going to counter you a bit: They are visiting the father of the family, not the uncle. That detail is extremely important to the plot, and to all the dynamics that occur in the book, and your confusion makes me urge you to read the novel at leisure (perhaps not listen to this one, since you weren't able to catch this fact). The introduction and interactions that make up the first part of the book have always been one of my favorite bits: all the individual details, the perspectives of one person about another, the inner discussions of those characters. I loved that intricate, yet simple, attention given to these people by Christie - it made them extremely human and understandable to me, and the best Christie books excel at this sort of thing. The fact of it being Christmas is integral to the plot: it's because of the holiday that Simeon can initiate everything he plans; because of Christmas that the family consents to gather, especially in the case of David and Hilda. The idea of its being Christmas in regard to the events in this story strikes a particularly ironic and tragic note. There is really no other time of year Christie could have chosen to better initiate and play with for this one. So I happen to disagree with you on each of the points you made here about "Hercule Poirot's Christmas".
Black Coffee was Agatha’s first play - novelized by Charles Osborne. He also did The Unexpected Guest (excellent play, in my opinion her best!) and Spider’s Web. Yes, the house in Folly is based on Greenway House, Agatha’s estate.
I also have a soft spot for The Mystery of the Blue Train. It's ludicrously overstuffed with characters and side plots, but that makes it great for a chilly autumn afternoon re-read. My best case for bumping up Lord Edgware Dies is the brazenness of the opening. Christie supplies the reader with enough information within the first five or so pages to see what's really going on. I also just think it's neat that Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, and Three Act Tragedy form a kind of funhouse mirrors triptych. Structurally they're all eerily similar, yet incredibly different novels. Cards on the Table is my favorite. Each detective is shown to have personal biases and limitations that either hinder or prevent them from solving the crime. The theme of bluffing, drawing from the game of bridge itself, is used throughout the novel. I don't even mind the Suchet adaptation's obsession with sexuality, since exploration of gender (especially masculinity) is woven into the story. And it gave us Ariadne, so it's indispensable in the canon. I'd bump up Five Little Pigs, After the Funeral, and Dead Man's Folly quite a bit. We have different lists for sure, but I can tell you had a great time reading these stories. Here's to more enjoyment in your future!
Thanks for sharing your own differing rankings! I do think Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, and Three Act Tragedy are all great especially when considering them together. Cards on the Table is one I'd like to revisit eventually; I didn't even realize at the time I was reading it that it was some people's absolute favorite, so would be nice to come back sometime with a fresh mindset.
I agree with a lot of your assessments here. Some thoughts: "Roger Aykroyd " is famous because of that final twist, but though Christie pulls off that twist, the novel isn't as much fun as some of the others. There are too many perfunctory characters and somewhat of a dour, monotonous tone. I also rate "The A.B C. Murders" at the top of the list; for sheer pacing and excitement, it may be the best. I would rate "Five Little Pigs" much higher because it is her strongest book in terms of characterization. I think you may have too easily dismissed the solution as it is perhaps the fullest expression of Christie's obsession with themes related to adultery. I found "Lord Edgware Dies " very entertaining because of the theatrical milieu. (I loved the contrast between the diva personality actress and the chameleon-like actress) Very much on the same page with you on "Appointment with Death" : it begins superbly with a well dramatized, compellingly poisonous family dynamic but dips badly after the body is discovered. "Murder in Mesopotamia " is actually highly enjoyable, not least because it has an excellent first person narration. I also liked the way the setting was used in that novel. Unfortunately, it also has one element of the solution which is notoriously preposterous. Always enjoy your intelligent commentary.
Great tier list! The only ranking I would strongly disagree with is Five Little Pigs, as I consider that to be a 5/5 excellent Christie novel. The characters and the mystery are at such a high level in my opinion, but I also remember your review of it and feeling like you did have some solid criticisms of it. I guess I also disagree with the ranking of Death on the Nile because I personally don't enjoy it that much (I'd actually place it as a high C-tier because the mystery is very easy to guess and there are FAR too many characters in the book). But that's obviously a very unpopular opinion among most. Overall, great job!
Thanks! Yeah Five Little Pigs is one I'd like to revisit, having learned since then just how beloved it is by many fans. I certainly respect how much restraint Christie uses in laying out the five suspects and focusing on them (as opposed to something like Death on the Nile, as you point out). Death on the Nile I think is definitely one that fans have mixed feelings about ... I've heard from others too that they guessed it right away and therefore found it underwhelming. I'd say the core of the mystery there is sound, but all the details and embellishments and red herrings don't add so much to it if you've already figured out the key element. Thanks for watching!
I just didn't believe Mesopotamia. It's not even, that I made the assumption, that this couldn't be. In fact, I had it in the back of my head the whole time and hoped I was wrong, because I didn't want this to happen. I would have ranked Roger Ackroyd and After the Funeral higher. I think Funeral is a very clever play with the reader's assumptions.
As you say, classifications like this are all very personal, tho one CAN be objective too. I am a bit surprised about some of your grading. Roger Ackroyd is an outstanding A* - it is a virtuoso performance in terms of concept, structure and narrative, quite sans pareil in terms of sheer boldness! Caroline Sheppard is a memorable character and the precursor of Miss Marple. Blue Train is C minus as it is bland and banal and padded-out. And the clue K on the cigarette case is for killer Knighton, which is not too clever, though she meant it to be as the K in Knighton is silent. The artificial black beard worn by Miss Howard pretending to be Alfred is unconvincing, so Styles is B. Links is the more intricate in terms of plotting. Orient Express is A* concept-wise - highly original like Roger A. Cards - 2 claims to originality: bridge scores as clues and 4 murderers- murders in the past leading to Shaitana’s murder in the present. The 4 murderers are very memorable characters. The psychological clues are very Interesting. It is an A. Sad Cypress, as a mystery, is so guessable as to be disappointing - Nurse Hopkins is indicated from the very start. And not many other suspects worth considering! It is a C. Evil Under is D Plus. Somewhat banal and plodding. (Triangle at Rhodes which precedes it and uses the same set-up and motive is better.) Flood is very intricate - at least a C. Mrs McGinty - interesting strategy of deception - you are meant to think it is a woman but killer is man - the name Evelyin being both male and female - curious relationship between Robin and Mrs Upward - not mother and son but protégée and patroness. Should be C. Hickory and the youth hostel - unconvincing in the extreme, annoying. But intriguing beginning with Miss Lemon’s sister and and interesting background of the killer. D minus. (Folly and Funeral are much better!) The Clocks - C minus/D plus yes. Tho Miss Pebmarsh is a good, unexpected killer. Third Girl is a C. (You are too generous.) About Curtain and the rest I quite agree.
For sure, there's something personal but there's definitely something objective there too -- and it makes it a little more fun discussing which is best, to think that some are probably just objectively better :) Thanks for sharing your suggested modifications -- for the most part I can totally see your points on these so not too surprised at where we differ. Evil Under the Sun I'm a little surprised just how lowly you rank it, but also I agree with you that Triangle at Rhodes is better, and having read that one first it feels like Evil really drags... Roger Ackroyd is one I'd like to revisit ... since believe it or not, I didn't know about the twist the first and only time I read it ... all I knew was that it was a fan favorite. Thanks for watching!
@ Always delighted to see a new addition to your eclectic reads! NB The Blue Train is an expanded version of the Poirot short story The Plymouth Express. Curtain has an anomalous place in the canon - it is clearly set in the gloom and privations the post-WW2 period - Styles is now a guest house, which is still remembered by some of the guests as the unhappy house of the previous murder - and yet Poirot lived on for the next 30 years, through the swinging 60s when the third girl thought him ‘too old’! - that is in 1966 - but in Curtain he is already too old, ill and immobile in a wheelchair. Apparently Christie’s publishers deleted some of the more specific references to the period made in the book as it ‘aged’ it in too obvious a way. There is an interesting essay on Curtain by John Sutherland in his book of literary puzzles Where Was Rebecca Shot? Check it out - you will love it, I think- the book title refers to du Maurier’s Rebecca.
Since "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" was my very first Agatha Christie, and has always been a favorite, I'm going to counter you a bit:
They are visiting the father of the family, not the uncle. That detail is extremely important to the plot, and to all the dynamics that occur in the book, and your confusion makes me urge you to read the novel at leisure (perhaps not listen to this one, since you weren't able to catch this fact).
The introduction and interactions that make up the first part of the book have always been one of my favorite bits: all the individual details, the perspectives of one person about another, the inner discussions of those characters. I loved that intricate, yet simple, attention given to these people by Christie - it made them extremely human and understandable to me, and the best Christie books excel at this sort of thing.
The fact of it being Christmas is integral to the plot: it's because of the holiday that Simeon can initiate everything he plans; because of Christmas that the family consents to gather, especially in the case of David and Hilda. The idea of its being Christmas in regard to the events in this story strikes a particularly ironic and tragic note. There is really no other time of year Christie could have chosen to better initiate and play with for this one. So I happen to disagree with you on each of the points you made here about "Hercule Poirot's Christmas".
Black Coffee was Agatha’s first play - novelized by Charles Osborne. He also did The Unexpected Guest (excellent play, in my opinion her best!) and Spider’s Web.
Yes, the house in Folly is based on Greenway House, Agatha’s estate.
I also have a soft spot for The Mystery of the Blue Train. It's ludicrously overstuffed with characters and side plots, but that makes it great for a chilly autumn afternoon re-read.
My best case for bumping up Lord Edgware Dies is the brazenness of the opening. Christie supplies the reader with enough information within the first five or so pages to see what's really going on. I also just think it's neat that Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, and Three Act Tragedy form a kind of funhouse mirrors triptych. Structurally they're all eerily similar, yet incredibly different novels.
Cards on the Table is my favorite. Each detective is shown to have personal biases and limitations that either hinder or prevent them from solving the crime. The theme of bluffing, drawing from the game of bridge itself, is used throughout the novel. I don't even mind the Suchet adaptation's obsession with sexuality, since exploration of gender (especially masculinity) is woven into the story. And it gave us Ariadne, so it's indispensable in the canon.
I'd bump up Five Little Pigs, After the Funeral, and Dead Man's Folly quite a bit. We have different lists for sure, but I can tell you had a great time reading these stories. Here's to more enjoyment in your future!
Thanks for sharing your own differing rankings! I do think Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, and Three Act Tragedy are all great especially when considering them together. Cards on the Table is one I'd like to revisit eventually; I didn't even realize at the time I was reading it that it was some people's absolute favorite, so would be nice to come back sometime with a fresh mindset.
I agree with a lot of your assessments here. Some thoughts: "Roger Aykroyd " is famous because of that final twist, but though Christie pulls off that twist, the novel isn't as much fun as some of the others. There are too many perfunctory characters and somewhat of a dour, monotonous tone. I also rate "The A.B C. Murders" at the top of the list; for sheer pacing and excitement, it may be the best. I would rate "Five Little Pigs" much higher because it is her strongest book in terms of characterization. I think you may have too easily dismissed the solution as it is perhaps the fullest expression of Christie's obsession with themes related to adultery. I found "Lord Edgware Dies " very entertaining because of the theatrical milieu. (I loved the contrast between the diva personality actress and the chameleon-like actress) Very much on the same page with you on "Appointment with Death" : it begins superbly with a well dramatized, compellingly poisonous family dynamic but dips badly after the body is discovered. "Murder in Mesopotamia " is actually highly enjoyable, not least because it has an excellent first person narration. I also liked the way the setting was used in that novel. Unfortunately, it also has one element of the solution which is notoriously preposterous. Always enjoy your intelligent commentary.
Great tier list! The only ranking I would strongly disagree with is Five Little Pigs, as I consider that to be a 5/5 excellent Christie novel. The characters and the mystery are at such a high level in my opinion, but I also remember your review of it and feeling like you did have some solid criticisms of it.
I guess I also disagree with the ranking of Death on the Nile because I personally don't enjoy it that much (I'd actually place it as a high C-tier because the mystery is very easy to guess and there are FAR too many characters in the book). But that's obviously a very unpopular opinion among most. Overall, great job!
Thanks! Yeah Five Little Pigs is one I'd like to revisit, having learned since then just how beloved it is by many fans. I certainly respect how much restraint Christie uses in laying out the five suspects and focusing on them (as opposed to something like Death on the Nile, as you point out).
Death on the Nile I think is definitely one that fans have mixed feelings about ... I've heard from others too that they guessed it right away and therefore found it underwhelming. I'd say the core of the mystery there is sound, but all the details and embellishments and red herrings don't add so much to it if you've already figured out the key element.
Thanks for watching!
I just didn't believe Mesopotamia. It's not even, that I made the assumption, that this couldn't be. In fact, I had it in the back of my head the whole time and hoped I was wrong, because I didn't want this to happen.
I would have ranked Roger Ackroyd and After the Funeral higher. I think Funeral is a very clever play with the reader's assumptions.
You're right, that's actually the worst when you're thinking "I hope it's not this" and then it turns out to be this. Thanks for watching!
As you say, classifications like this are all very personal, tho one CAN be objective too. I am a bit surprised about some of your grading.
Roger Ackroyd is an outstanding A* - it is a virtuoso performance in terms of concept, structure and narrative, quite sans pareil in terms of sheer boldness! Caroline Sheppard is a memorable character and the precursor of Miss Marple.
Blue Train is C minus as it is bland and banal and padded-out. And the clue K on the cigarette case is for killer Knighton, which is not too clever, though she meant it to be as the K in Knighton is silent.
The artificial black beard worn by Miss Howard pretending to be Alfred is unconvincing, so Styles is B. Links is the more intricate in terms of plotting.
Orient Express is A* concept-wise - highly original like Roger A.
Cards - 2 claims to originality: bridge scores as clues and 4 murderers- murders in the past leading to Shaitana’s murder in the present. The 4 murderers are very memorable characters. The psychological clues are very Interesting. It is an A.
Sad Cypress, as a mystery, is so guessable as to be disappointing - Nurse Hopkins is indicated from the very start. And not many other suspects worth considering! It is a C.
Evil Under is D Plus. Somewhat banal and plodding. (Triangle at Rhodes which precedes it and uses the same set-up and motive is better.)
Flood is very intricate - at least a C.
Mrs McGinty - interesting strategy of deception - you are meant to think it is a woman but killer is man - the name Evelyin being both male and female - curious relationship between Robin and Mrs Upward - not mother and son but protégée and patroness. Should be C.
Hickory and the youth hostel - unconvincing in the extreme, annoying. But intriguing beginning with Miss Lemon’s sister and and interesting background of the killer. D minus. (Folly and Funeral are much better!)
The Clocks - C minus/D plus yes. Tho Miss Pebmarsh is a good, unexpected killer.
Third Girl is a C. (You are too generous.)
About Curtain and the rest I quite agree.
For sure, there's something personal but there's definitely something objective there too -- and it makes it a little more fun discussing which is best, to think that some are probably just objectively better :)
Thanks for sharing your suggested modifications -- for the most part I can totally see your points on these so not too surprised at where we differ. Evil Under the Sun I'm a little surprised just how lowly you rank it, but also I agree with you that Triangle at Rhodes is better, and having read that one first it feels like Evil really drags...
Roger Ackroyd is one I'd like to revisit ... since believe it or not, I didn't know about the twist the first and only time I read it ... all I knew was that it was a fan favorite.
Thanks for watching!
@ Always delighted to see a new addition to your eclectic reads!
NB The Blue Train is an expanded version of the Poirot short story The Plymouth Express.
Curtain has an anomalous place in the canon - it is clearly set in the gloom and privations the post-WW2 period - Styles is now a guest house, which is still remembered by some of the guests as the unhappy house of the previous murder - and yet Poirot lived on for the next 30 years, through the swinging 60s when the third girl thought him ‘too old’! - that is in 1966 - but in Curtain he is already too old, ill and immobile in a wheelchair. Apparently Christie’s publishers deleted some of the more specific references to the period made in the book as it ‘aged’ it in too obvious a way.
There is an interesting essay on Curtain by John Sutherland in his book of literary puzzles Where Was Rebecca Shot? Check it out - you will love it, I think- the book title refers to du Maurier’s Rebecca.