Reading the Detectives discussion

We do have a lot of construction around here, it’s true!

I have definitely developed a love for Autumn since moving to the midwest and I think now that I would miss it very much if we lived somewhere else.

I do miss the Lake. The mountains and forests are nice but they're no Lake Michigan.

Hi! I’m Abby from South Carolina in the USA. I’m almost finished with my PhD in Learning Sciences and I recently started reading mysteries for “pleasure reading” as a break from all of the heavy research reading I have to do. I have loved Agatha Christie! Since I’m new to the genre, I don’t yet have a “favorite” detective, but I do know that Poirot will not be my favorite. I don’t particularly care for his arrogance. Love Christie, though! Excited to begin some Marple books this weekend.

Welcome, Abby! I love Miss Marple - I like Poirot, too, but yes, he is not shy about his intellect and detective abilities! Miss Marple is not at all arrogant - in fact, she takes advantage of the fact that most people see her as a fluffy little old lady, giving her an opening to ask questions. I hope you enjoy Miss Marple! This great group will introduce you to plenty of other mystery authors to sample.

Welcome, Abby, great that you have joined. I'm sure you will enjoy Miss Marple - as Susan has said, she isn't arrogant and is very different from Poirot!

We've read all the Miss Marple books here in the past and the threads are still open if you want to take a look and add comments. :)

We are also just starting our Assorted Christies challenge, reading a selection of Agatha Christie mysteries including standalones and lesser-known detectives, and you would be very welcome to join in our discussions of any of those. The challenge info is here:

https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...

Welcome, Abby. I am fond of Poirot, but, as Judy says, we have an 'Assorted Christies' challenge just starting, which will give you a chance to try some non series, stand alone, mysteries.

Welcome Abby. Sounds as though you have a pleasant weekend planned with Miss Marple. Stock up on tea and having a bit of knitting to pick up would be appropriate.

Abby wrote: "Hi! I’m Abby from South Carolina in the USA. I’m almost finished with my PhD in Learning Sciences and I recently started reading mysteries for “pleasure reading” as a break from all of the heavy re..."

If you love Christie, do try the New Zealand Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh

Welcome Abby, I'm in western North Carolina.

I've been reading Christie off and on for years. I was reading a newsletter today that indicated that Elizabeth Daly was Christie's favorite American writer. I picked two of hers today.

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to be a part of this group. I'm Kanishka Gupta and I'm from India. I absolutely love detective novels and amongst all the great writers, Agatha Christie is my all time favourite.
I love her writing style and how she weaves the mystery with a homely feel. Poirot has got to be my favorite series by her.
Looking forward to all the fun things!

Welcome Kanishka, so glad you joined us! There are lots of Christie fans here and we are currently reading a book by her each month for a challenge. :)

Judy wrote: "Welcome Kanishka, so glad you joined us! There are lots of Christie fans here and we are currently reading a book by her each month for a challenge. :)"

Yes, I'll join on that challenge from next month as I have exams approaching:(
I absolutely love the reads that have been curated for the challenge.

Welcome Kanishka, and best wishes for your exams! :)

Thank you so much!

Hi Kanishka - welcome to the group and good luck with your exams :)

Hello, everyone. I'm a life-long Agatha Christie fan and although I've always been open to trying other authors in the genre, for me, no-one else comes near her.

Favourites out of two dozen I've just re-read are Cards on the Table and The Moving Finger.

Look forward to participating.

Welcome charcoal! Many Christie fans here too! :)

Welcome, charcoal. Quite agree - Agatha is my favourite writer of all time.

Welcome, Charcoal - glad you joined us. We currently have a Christie challenge, and will be reading Sparkling Cyanide in July - you are welcome to join in if you are tempted.

Thanks for the friendly welcome, everyone!

Thanks, Judy -- definitely going for the Christie challenge. I'll contribute to The Secret of Chimneys thread later, then start on Cyanide...

Hi Wayne from South Africa here. Avid reader, will tackle almost anything. Reading a couple of detective series at the moment, and will definitely participate in a few of the group reads and challenges, Just finished the first Brother Cadfael mystery, and will contribute my impressions as I move along. Looking forward to some great reads.

Welcome Wayne, glad you joined us over here! You will find lots of friendly detective discussions.

We're currently buddy reading the 7th Cadfael book, The Sanctuary Sparrow, but the threads for all the previous books in the series are still open if you wish to add comments. We have a spoiler and non-spoiler thread for each book we read.

Judy wrote: "Welcome Wayne, glad you joined us over here! You will find lots of friendly detective discussions.

We're currently buddy reading the 7th Cadfael book, The Sanctuary Sparrow, but the th..."

Thank s Judy, will definitely drop my impressions into the discussions.

Welcome Wayne. I have many mystery series going myself. I'm currently reading the latest in a modern day series (The Night Hawks), just finished one in a cozy historical series (Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding), as well as our Cadfael selection.

I recently read a mystery set in South Africa in the 1950's, A Beautiful Place to Die, that, I thought, gave a wonderful sense of time and place.

Hi Wayne - glad you found us :)

Sandy wrote: "Welcome Wayne. I have many mystery series going myself. I'm currently reading the latest in a modern day series (The Night Hawks), just finished one in a cozy historical series ([bo..."

Thanks Sandy, I am not familiar with A Beautiful Place To Die, but will definitely have a look.

Susan wrote: "Hi Wayne - glad you found us :)"

Happy to be here Susan, Where do I find the links to the previous group reads (Cadfael) please. Thanks

Wayne wrote: "Susan wrote: "Hi Wayne - glad you found us :)"

Happy to be here Susan, Where do I find the links to the previous group reads (Cadfael) please. Thanks"

Cadfael is in the 'buddy reads' section. We read the first one in August of 2019 so it is a ways down, but will pop back up to the top if you add a comment.

At the very end of the group page there is a bookshelf section. Clicking on 'see more' will pull up many pages of books we've read.

Sandy wrote: "Wayne wrote: "Susan wrote: "Hi Wayne - glad you found us :)"

Happy to be here Susan, Where do I find the links to the previous group reads (Cadfael) please. Thanks"

Cadfael is in the 'buddy reads..."
Thanks Sandy, not much of a detective am I? ;,>))

Wayne wrote: "Susan wrote: "Hi Wayne - glad you found us :)"

Happy to be here Susan, Where do I find the links to the previous group reads (Cadfael) please. Thanks"

Here are the 2 links to the first one
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


If you put the title in the search discussions box on the right hand side of the screen ,then choose topics only , it will bring up the links

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks for posting the links, Jill.

Wayne, once we have read a book, we leave the thread open. We've been running quite a while now and so new members can always resurrect a thread. However, the Cadfael books/series are ongoing, current reads.

Hello, fellow mystery lovers. I am delighted to have found this group, as I am a long-time fan of Golden Age mysteries. Nancy Drew was my gateway drug, leading inevitably to Sherlock, Poirot, Miss Marple, Inspector Alleyn, and many more.

I am an American living in Washington, DC, but I do adore British mysteries. I also enjoy historical romance and have gotten hooked on several series that I consider mysteries with a touch of romance.

I look forward to the August group read.

Lady Wesley wrote: "Hello, fellow mystery lovers. I am delighted to have found this group, as I am a long-time fan of Golden Age mysteries. Nancy Drew was my gateway drug, leading inevitably to Sherlock, Poirot, Miss ..."

Welcome. I too started with Nancy Drew and read historical mystery series, many with a touch of romance. I've just started the second Lady Darby, Mortal Arts.

Welcome, Lady Wesley, glad you found us. That's a great selection of favourite authors. Glad to hear you are looking forward to our August group read.

Lady Wesley wrote: "Hello, fellow mystery lovers. I am delighted to have found this group, as I am a long-time fan of Golden Age mysteries. Nancy Drew was my gateway drug, leading inevitably to Sherlock, Poirot, Miss ..."

Hi, welcome to the group!

Welcome, Faith, glad you found us.

Hope you can find time to read your Christie's Faith.

Hi Faith. Welcome to the group.

Hi there!
I'm so excited to have found this group! I love all detective novels, but Agatha Christie has always had a place in my heart. I picked up Murder on the Orient Express for a book report in 6th grade, and now here I am almost 20 years later with the obsession going strong. It would be lovely to not only discuss the works of Agatha Christie, but also find new authors to enjoy! Can anyone recommend where to start in joining discussions?

Hi Megan, like you I've loved Agatha Christie since my school days too. We have a challenge on of lesser known Christies and you can join in there; older threads continue to be open.

Incidentally today happens to be her birthday as well

Welcome Megan, glad you have joined us. We discuss lots of Christie books as well as other authors. :)

Lady Clementina wrote: "Hi Megan, like you I've loved Agatha Christie since my school days too. We have a challenge on of lesser known Christies and you can join in there; older threads continue to be open.

Incidentally ..."

I was thinking about it being her birthday earlier today. The lady certainly packed a lot of living in her 85+ years:

1) More than 100 books (which include about 175 short stories, three volumes of poetry, 6 romances and 2 auto-bios)

2) About 2 dozen plays

3) Had a kind of second career assisting her husband during archeological digs (during which she invented a system for safely removing dirt from found objects which is still in use today).

4) Was amazingly well-travelled.

5) Often self-renovated more than a dozen homes.

6) Was an avid collector of a wide variety of things including china, pewter, statues and so much that a lot of remained in her basements for decades until her family got around to "discovering it."

7) Was exceedingly well read.

8) Wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap.

9) During her life time became THE most well sold writer of all time (having by now sold between two to four billion copies of her books) and....

10) Is today THE most translated writer of all time.

Thom wrote: "Lady Clementina wrote: "Hi Megan, like you I've loved Agatha Christie since my school days too. We have a challenge on of lesser known Christies and you can join in there; older threads continue to..."

Wow, that is quite a list, I didn’t know about being a collector, renovating homes, or helping on the digs, developing a system of preservation, etc. No wonder we’re still enthralled with her work all these years later!

Megan wrote: "Hi there!
I'm so excited to have found this group! I love all detective novels, but Agatha Christie has always had a place in my heart. I picked up Murder on the Orient Express for a book report i..."

Hi Megan. Welcome to the group. Christie is my fave too :)

As a group, we have two monthly reads - a main book and a challenge book. We also have several buddy reads, which begin mid-month. All discussions stay open, so you could just find a book which interested you and join in anywhere.

However, the reads starting at the beginning of October are:

October
Murder of a Quack (Chief Inspector Littlejohn #5) by George Bellairs
Endless Night by Agatha Christie (Challenge Title)

Buddy reads starting in mid-October are:
Oct/Nov
The Case of the Gilded Fly - Edmund Crispin
The Dusky Hour - E.R. Punshon
The Shadow at Greystone Chase - Clara Benson

If one, or more of those, interest you, it could be a good place to start.

Susan in NC wrote: "Wow, that is quite a list, I didn’t know about being a collector, renovating homes, or helping on the digs, developing a system of preservation, etc. No wonder we’re still enthralled with her work all these years later!"

Yes it is. I always encourage her admirers to read about her and her life. Doing so explains a lot about how she learned about human nature and also how she improved her skills as a writer, as well as why she made certain decisions with respect to writing. She wasn't always very easy to deal with. She was stubborn and had a rather immature, emotional, jealous nature which more or less wound up ruining her first marriage.

This one is good to learn about her homes, collecting, etc.

Agatha Christie at Home

Her two auto-bios reveal a fair amount including her time at those digs:

Agatha Christie: An Autobiography

Come, Tell Me How You Live

This one ties many of her books to the places that inspired them:

Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion

And lastly, this one not only explains her marriage to Archie (which influenced her writing and future life a lot), but also the disappearance and the reasons why after that she often claimed to be shy and was less gregarious going forward. It also neatly examines her romance novels, showing how close they were in many ways to her own life. There's also a touching moment near the end of the book when her daughter found something in the attic...

Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days

She was also, I believe, an early fan of surf boarding :)

Susan wrote: "She was also, I believe, an early fan of surf boarding :)"

Indeed she was! So was her first husband, Archie. There's a few photos of them in this book:

The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery

The above is also in keeping with an auto-bio, albeit via her many letters to her mother during her 1922 trip with Archie. Once again we learn some things about her writing, her ideas and ideals, etc.

Here's a few links to pics:

https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/upl...

https://www.surfertoday.com/images/st...

https://www.surfertoday.com/images/ja...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bf/74/...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c1/fd/...

Thom wrote: "Lady Clementina wrote: "Hi Megan, like you I've loved Agatha Christie since my school days too. We have a challenge on of lesser known Christies and you can join in there; older threads continue to..."

She was incredible! It's been a long time since I have looked at her life accomplishments. I might need to do that again soon! Thank you for that reminder!

Susan wrote: "Megan wrote: "Hi there!
I'm so excited to have found this group! I love all detective novels, but Agatha Christie has always had a place in my heart. I picked up Murder on the Orient Express for a..."

Thank you so much! I will look into all of these.