Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Thirteen Problems - Agatha Christie


Light reading continues.....and this time it is Miss Marple.
This is a collection of short stories. The first six stories occur at Miss Marple's residence, in the village of St. Mary Mead.There is a group of people forming a club called Tuesday Night Club where they try to solve unsolved mysteries. Miss Marple is also invited to join,only for sake of politeness. But, alas! it is this old lady who successfully solve all the mysteries. The next six stories happens at the house of Mr. Bantry where Sir Henry Clithering,who was a part of Tuesday Night Club, is staying. Miss Marple is invited , again intriguing mysteries are discussed and Miss Marple outwits others. The last story happens a little after this where Miss Marple solves another mystery in St. Mary Mead.
Unbelievable...was my feeling after reading each story. But this time it was neither the intricacy of the plot nor the intellect of the detective that was hard to believe, but the fact that Agatha Christie can come up with unexciting stories like this! Now, solving what was considered to be "unsolvable" mysteries ,sitting near the fire place, within a matter of minutes was bad enough to comprehend ; finding village parallels to each and every thing was too much.
Slightly disappointing , 2.5 out of 5.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Death in The Clouds - Agatha Christie.


I always turn for a Christie when I am really busy and need something light . And most of the mysteries from the "Queen of Crime" has left me unable to sleep till I find out who the murderer is.

In this Poirot mystery, murder happens in the unlikeliest place: in an aeroplane on its flight between Paris and Croydon. It's a case of poisoning and the poison used is a rare and deadly snake venom. The case seems to be impossible to solve, but not for Hercule Poirot. The investigation spans from England to Paris, from a hairdresser's assistant to a French archaeologist,....and as usual there is a second murder. But this cannot go on for long, because Poirot and his "little grey cells" simply cannot fail.And he doesn't...

Hercule Poirot has been my favorite detective and I quite enjoyed this one. Believe me, Agatha Christie won't let you down in this one.

3.5 out of 5.