Friday, February 28, 2025

The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie

 


Do you like to read short stories?  I have always enjoyed short stories.  Sometimes its just a perfect sized read when you are having a stressful day.

I am participating in the #ReadChristie2025 Challenge.  The challenge this year is exploring Agatha Christie’s works through her characters and their careers.  The theme for February was authors and I read The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie for the first time.  Miss Marple’s nephew, Raymond, is an author and he is present throughout this collection of short stories.

A group gathers at Miss Marple’s house and each member tells the story of a crime to entertain the gathering and for them to solve.  The teller of the story must have the real-world answer to see if they solved the crime correctly.  They are constantly surprised when Miss Marple always has the answer.  “The Tuesday Night Club” sounds like a fun group get together.

My thoughts on this collection:

·       I greatly enjoyed the short story format.  It was great escapism reading last weekend.  I like the ability to pick up the book and read a complete mystery story and move on to something exciting like chores afterwards.

·       This was the start of Miss Marple, and it was fun to read.  I feel that at some point, I need to read her mysteries in order.

·       I love Miss Marple.  She is sharp and can apply her observations of village life to new situations to solve mysteries.

·       The collection was entertaining and gave me a chuckle with a few of the stories – especially with Miss Marple having surprising answers and understanding of human nature.

Favorite quotes:

“’Aunt Jane,’ said Raymond looking at her curiously, ‘how do you do it?  You have lived such a peaceful life, and yet nothing seems to surprise you.”

“’I always find one thing very like another in this world,’ said Miss Marple.”

Overall, The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie was an entertaining short story mystery collection and a great introduction to Miss Marple.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

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