Podcasts by All About Agatha (Christie)

All About Agatha (Christie)

All About Agatha is a podcast all about, well, Agatha. Agatha Christie, of course. The Queen of Crime, a real-life Dame of the British Empire and author of sixty-six mystery novels that spanned the Twentieth Century, defining a genre. Every month or so we revisit one of these novels in the order they were first published in the UK. Discussions range from plotting and interpretation to the impact of the beloved adaptations to an attempt at ranking them all. We take a breather in between novels to discuss one of her many (100-plus) short stories, and to interview like-minded mystery obsessives (scholars, authors, etc.). Call it a Christie-fest, as we revisit Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence, and oh so much more.... Join us.

Further podcasts by All About Agatha (Christie)

Podcast on the topic Kunst

All episodes

All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* re Magnolia Blossom by Agatha Christie (Free Patreon Episode!) from 2022-02-14T21:23:14

It may not be a heart-shaped box of chocolates wrapped in crinkly plastic, but I hope you'll enjoy my Valentine's confection for you in the form of a free-to-download, love-themed Patreon episode. ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Interview with Sophie Hannah, Author of The Couple at the Table from 2022-02-11T22:02:49

Another episode, another Sophie Hannah confection! Come for the Death on the Nile gush-fest and the discussion of character versus plot in contemporary crime fiction, stay for Sophie’s shocking tak...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: Double Sin by Agatha Christie from 2022-01-28T06:33:22

We get lots of Poirot and Hastings in this fairly light-hearted short story, and lots of Poirot and Hastings and Lemon and Japp in the stupendously light-hearted episode based on this short story. ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 6: Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie (with bonus Sophie Hannah!) from 2022-01-15T20:24:29

It wasn't easy recording my first episode without Catherine, but fortunately I had a friend to help me: Sophie Hannah, who duked out the rankings with me as my guest co-host. And what a time we had...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Bittersweet End-of-Year Episode: How Does Your Garden Grow? by Agatha Christie from 2021-12-11T00:58:02

It was extremely difficult to edit this episode, which is the final one I recorded with my co-host, Catherine Brobeck, before she passed away. I hope you take a listen, and use it as an opportunity...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Sad News: A Death in the All About Agatha Family from 2021-11-27T22:44:44

Please listen for a message about the unexpected passing of one of our own.

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Mystery Author John Copenhaver from 2021-11-20T11:42:08

We had an absolutely lovely time chatting with author John Copenhaver about his new book, The Savage Kind (https://bookshop.org/books/the-savage-kind-a-mystery/9781643138091). And about Agatha Chri...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: The State of the Rankings from 2021-11-05T18:02:33

We do this every year, and it gets more unwieldy and yet more enjoyable as time goes by. Join us as we fine-tune our rankings of the sixty (!!) Christie novels we've covered thus far. We may even e...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 7: Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie from 2021-10-22T22:59:45

"It's Hallowe'en! It's Hallowe'en! The moon is full and bright! And we shall see what can't be seen on any other night!" Which in a Christie novel means a child murder, lots of velvet trousers, an ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview (#2!!) with Anthony Horowitz from 2021-10-09T01:07:16

Let's not bury the lede here: we just may have gotten ourselves written into a future Anthony Horowitz mystery. We encourage you to check out Anthony's latest offering, A Line to Kill, preferably i...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 8: By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie from 2021-09-25T06:40:42

Tommy and Tuppence are back! But are they better than ever? While the reintroduction of T&T into our lives--along with head injuries, hidden jewels, and (gasp of joy) Albert--is cause for unbridled...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*LIVE!* Episode: Revisiting The Mysterious Affair at Styles at the Int'l Agatha Christie Festival from 2021-09-17T21:03:08

We were honored to host our own event this week at the International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, revisiting Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. (Fair warning: certain ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Case of the Caretaker by Agatha Christie from 2021-09-11T05:38:34

If you thought two hours was enough for us to talk about Endless Night, you were wrong! Sort of. This short story formed the basis (plot-wise) for that crown jewel of a novel, so in a way we are re...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* re Our Upcoming (Virtual) Appearance at the Int'l Agatha Christie Festival from 2021-09-04T19:18:41

We're disappointed that our appearance at the Festival has to be virtual (insert pithy Shakespearean insult of choice here, directed COVID's way), but we're thrilled to be appearing at all. For mor...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 9: Endless Night by Agatha Christie from 2021-08-28T23:40:36

You might want to put on some rain gear before listening to this episode, because it is a bit of a gush fest. Hooray for this late-career Christie gem! Come delight with us in the wonderfully unset...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Under Dog by Agatha Christie from 2021-08-13T05:07:41

As this is one of Christie's longer short stories--legitimately novella-length--we found a great deal to analyze and discuss. Just think of it as one of the "large miniatures" Suchet fusses over in...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 10: Third Girl by Agatha Christie from 2021-07-24T03:20:05

Unlike so many late Poirots we've read recently, this one actually features a ton of Poirot (and Ariadne Oliver!), from beginning to end. And while seriously flawed, it gave us a lot to discuss in ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Cornish Mystery by Agatha Christie from 2021-07-10T02:38:58

While our favorite Cornish mystery might involve guessing what's in the latest pasty we’re devouring, this one was pretty satisfying too! Let’s dig in.

This episode is sponsored by Smile B...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 11: At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie from 2021-06-25T04:08:05

We may as well admit up front that this was not our favorite Christie. But it *is* a Miss Marple novel, and it *does* have a fantastic setting. So all is not lost. Come travel with us to see what d...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly by Agatha Christie from 2021-06-11T05:18:54

We had as much fun as we usually do unraveling this early Poirot short story--perhaps especially when it came to the adaptation, which is quite a foundational one for the beloved Suchet series.

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 12: A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie from 2021-05-22T07:03:51

Though the biggest mystery may be how to spell and pronounce "Caribbean," there is plenty of intrigue to go around in this Miss-Marple-on-holiday story, which at least one Christie scholar deems to...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Alexandra Andrews, Author of Who Is Maud Dixon? from 2021-05-09T02:21:04

What a great time we had gabbing with this debut author about her recently published (and much buzzed-about) novel... almost as great a time as we had reading it!

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Plymouth Express by Agatha Christie from 2021-04-24T07:51:33

This short story is a precursor to The Mystery of the Blue Train, but don't let that put you off! We found much to enjoy--both in the source material and the Suchet adaptation.

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 13: The Clocks by Agatha Christie from 2021-04-09T06:48:11

Well... they can't all be winners, can they? This (barely-there) Poirot novel is not one of our favorites, we're sorry to say. But as usual, we relish the opportunity to explore and explain why. Be...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The King of Clubs by Agatha Christie from 2021-03-26T05:53:44

We've got Poirot. We've got Hastings. We've got a prince. A lady of mysterious origins. A frozen-in-time bridge tableau! If you need more, you're probably not listening to the right podcast....

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Sarah Pearse, Author of The Sanatorium from 2021-03-12T04:47:51

We were fortunate enough to sit down with Sarah Pearse, the author of one of this season's hottest (or is that iciest?) thrillers, The Sanatorium. There are lots of connections to be made between h...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 14: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie from 2021-03-06T08:12:15

Someone might need to stage an intervention, because the longer we talk about Christie, the more we apparently have to say! We hope you enjoy our super-sized discussion of this intriguing late Chri...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Martin Edwards, Scholar of Agatha Christie... and Much More! from 2021-02-19T21:44:41

We were thrilled to speak with Martin Edwards, one of the foremost scholars of detective fiction of the Golden Age. He is also a mystery novelist in his own right, and the current President of the ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Clapham Cook by Agatha Christie from 2021-02-12T23:39:24

It isn't often that we focus as much on an adaptation of a Christie story as the story itself, but if ever there were an episode to do so, it's this one. Join us as we gush over the very first epis...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 15: The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie from 2021-01-31T02:58:32

We had such a fantastic time discussing this late-career Christie gem, as creepy and unsettling as the story may be.... Beware the Pale Horse!

This episode is sponsored by YARN and Best Fi...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: Tape-Measure Murder by Agatha Christie from 2021-01-16T02:42:11

A Miss Marple short story is always cause for celebration, and this one is no exception. Come with us--to St. Mary Mead, of course--where Miss Marple finds herself at the center of a local murder, ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 16: Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie from 2021-01-01T20:12:09

While there is so much we hope will be different about 2021 as compared to 2020, our passion and appetite for Christie do not feature on that long, long list. Happy New Year, dear listeners: we hop...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Special Episode: Listeners Address the "Stuck in its Time" Aspect of Reading Agatha Christie from 2020-12-24T23:30:13

Consider this our "Christie for Christmas," an original episode all about what it's like to read Christie in the here and now--in particular, those aspects of the texts that may strike us as seemin...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Flock of Geryon & The Apples of Hesperides by Agatha Christie from 2020-12-18T06:13:34

This episode completes our review of The Labours of Hercules collection. We also took the opportunity to comment on the somewhat disappointing--but not entirely disastrous--Suchet adaptation.

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Mark Aldridge, Author of a Brand-New Poirot Reference Book from 2020-11-26T07:10:47

It's been a while since we've had Mark on our show, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to fawn over his new book, Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World. This also gave ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Tana French from 2020-11-21T01:34:35

We are both HUGE Tana French fans, so we suspect many of you are too. This interview was a joy to record; we hope you enjoy it half as much as we did. And if you haven't yet bought Tana's latest bo...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 17: Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie from 2020-11-14T04:27:32

We had A LOT to say about this undeniably striking offering in the latter half of the Christie catalogue--not all of it good, but all of it quite heartfelt. Oh, and we also had A LOT to say about t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* re Free-to-Listen Patreon Episode: Murder, She Wrote & Midsomer Murders!! from 2020-11-06T05:24:33

Visit our Patreon site at: http://www.patreon.com/allaboutagatha. We hope you enjoy the episode! (If you've been jonesing after LOTS of Angela Lansbury clips, you should be very pleased.)

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Anthony Horowitz from 2020-10-30T05:35:19

We're thrilled to have gotten to speak with author/screenwriter/producer Anthony Horowitz, who has brought us so much joy--and not only for the Poirot episodes he adapted in the course of the David...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Horses of Diomedes & The Girdle of Hippolyta by Agatha Christie from 2020-10-24T07:44:05

In a perfect world, we could apply Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” drugs campaign referenced in our first story to the questionable art restoration techniques discussed in the second. Alas--and this i...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Anniversary Episode: The State of the Rankings from 2020-10-09T16:28:36

Normally we use this space in our anniversary episode to bemoan the passage of time, but when it comes to 2020 we can all probably agree that we'd like to keep things moving right along, yes? At th...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 18: 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie from 2020-09-26T00:58:31

We apparently couldn't stop talking about what Mrs. McGillicuddy saw! (Especially because this is in some ways still an open question by the end of the novel.) Sometimes the flawed Christies give u...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* re International Agatha Christie Festival (Online Only!) from 2020-09-13T19:42:32

We encourage you to take a moment to check out not only our three interviews, but all the offerings available starting Tuesday 15 September via the International Agatha Christie Festival's Youtube ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: Greenshaw's Folly by Agatha Christie from 2020-09-12T00:30:27

It was a pleasure to revisit our dear old Aunt Jane in short story form... especially in a mystery like this one, which features deceptive appearances, gruesome violence, and a particularly snooty ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* Calling for Listener Submissions from 2020-08-29T06:10:06

We are truly excited for the opportunity to hear directly from you, our dear listeners, about how you negotiate the "stuck in its time" aspect of reading Christie. Please e-mail us your recorded su...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 19: Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie from 2020-08-22T05:28:01

Reading this Poirot novel was like revisiting an old friend. So come along with us to the riparian oasis of Nasse House (a.k.a. Greenway), where all our analysis of the Christie canon up to this po...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Stymphalean Birds & The Cretan Bull by Agatha Christie from 2020-07-31T21:04:57

Our dear Hercules is still labo(u)ring his way through the twelve tasks in this standout short story collection, hooray! Appearances can be--and usually are--deceiving in any Christie, but we'd do ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 20: Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie from 2020-07-18T02:12:10

Real talk: this was not our favorite Christie. (That may in fact be a massive understatement.) But we will always cherish the opportunity to discuss any Christie text... even one as problematic as ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Erymanthian Boar & The Augean Stables by Agatha Christie from 2020-07-03T22:37:32

We have two more enjoyable entries to cover in The Labours of Hercules collection. Join us as we follow Papa Poirot up into the airy heights of the Swiss Alps, and then down into the very deepest a...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 21: Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie from 2020-06-21T02:28:52

We can't say we particularly relished reading this mid-career Christie thriller, but we CAN say we relished *discussing* our reading of this mid-career Christie thriller.... Make sure your tray is ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Lernaean Hydra & The Arcadian Deer by Agatha Christie from 2020-06-05T16:54:42

You get two Poirot short stories in this episode for the price of one--but the bargain gets even better, because the first of these felt very much like a Miss Marple story, while the second felt ev...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Ruth Ware from 2020-05-15T07:14:53

We were delighted to get Ruth Ware on the phone, author of five recent--and already quite beloved--psychological crime thrillers. (This is her preferred term for the books she writes; just one of m...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 22: A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie from 2020-05-08T19:38:01

We're not sure what to say about the length of this episode except that we seem to have a greater bandwidth for gabbing on about Christie these days.... Fortunately you, dear listener, probably hav...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* in re Extra (Free-to-Download) Content! from 2020-04-25T00:08:23

We are making our latest Patreon episode, all about the Anthony Horowitz mystery Magpie Murders, free to download (and distract)! This glorious nerdfest of a novel is VERY much inspired by Christie...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Nemean Lion by Agatha Christie from 2020-04-19T17:55:23

We are so excited to be starting in earnest, at long last, The Labours of Hercules collection. Especially as it begins with such a charming Foreword and an even more charming--and intriguing--openi...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 23: After the Funeral by Agatha Christie from 2020-04-03T17:22:21

We both adored this (somewhat) unsung Christie gem... though not without reservations. Fortunately, for purposes of discussion, those reservations turned out to be slightly different. It's a truth ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Incredible Theft by Agatha Christie from 2020-03-20T20:20:01

There is a lot going on in the world at the moment, but there will always be Agatha Christie. Join us as we celebrate our final Christie novella, which just may be more remarkable than it appears a...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 24: They Do It with Mirrors by Agatha Christie from 2020-03-07T07:44:52

While we never do get the mirror the title seems (out of context) to promise, there was so much to adore in this imperfect yet rollicking early ‘50s novel. Take a deep breath, get out your Freud an...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Love Detectives by Agatha Christie from 2020-02-22T00:32:28

The love detectives are back--and in a story titled The Love Detectives, no less! Join us as we puzzle over why this perfectly delightful serialization was the only one not to be included in the My...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: Dead Man's Mirror by Agatha Christie from 2020-02-01T01:09:28

It's time for another novella, this one full to bursting with characters, incident, and puzzle mystery elements. We also get a guest appearance from Mr. Satterthwaite (!!!!), so you know we were bo...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 25: Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie from 2020-01-18T23:50:34

We couldn’t stop talking about Mrs. McGinty being dead! Mainly good things, though not *all* good things. But what a delight it was to reach, at long last, this first of the “late Poirots” featurin...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie from 2020-01-03T16:01:44

We begin the year in style with one of Dame Agatha's leaner puzzle mysteries--especially among those featuring our favorite grandstanding Belgian detective. It's been a while since we've had the pl...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Holiday Episode: The Call of Wings by Agatha Christie from 2019-12-20T00:33:14

Most people know the apocryphal tale of Agatha's sister challenging her to write a murder mystery, but years earlier--1912 or thereabouts--her mother is supposed to have challenged her to write as ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 26: They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie from 2019-12-14T08:00:08

Real talk: this is not one of our favorite Christies. Alas. But it features some excellent scene setting in and among Baghdad and Basrah; whenever Christie takes us to the Middle East, we know we'r...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Knives Out, the Agatha Christie-Inspired Film from 2019-12-06T22:37:42

We've been looking forward to this film for months... and are happy to report that on the whole it did not disappoint! Let's swoon together over cleverly employed Christie tropes, perfectly weather...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview (#2!!) with Sophie Hannah, Author of New Hercule Poirot Novels from 2019-11-27T21:00:55

We had so much fun speaking with Sophie Hannah a year ago, we had her on again! Tuck in for a free-ranging conversation that starts with Sophie's new mystery novel and ends--as all conversations sh...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: Problem at Pollensa Bay by Agatha Christie from 2019-11-22T04:41:08

Somehow, we've reached our penultimate Parker Pyne story. As we won't be covering the last one till that far-off, misty era when our podcast ends, this will be our last Parker Pyne for quite some t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 27: A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie from 2019-11-08T18:38:59

You know the drill by now: long episode = lovefest episode. In 1950 a murder was announced, and the world was never the same.... Join us as we gush over this gem of a Marple novel (and lovingly ide...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special HALLOWE'EN Episode: The Last Séance & The Lamp by Agatha Christie from 2019-10-26T07:39:38

We have two creepy and unabashedly supernatural short stories for your spine-tingling pleasure this Hallowe'en season. And even though this is Christie off her regularly beaten path of logic and re...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 28: Crooked House by Agatha Christie from 2019-10-12T03:27:54

We went a little long with this one, which is as good an indicator as any of how much we *adored* this gem of a Christie (Kemper especially). And what better time of year for such a twisted, creepy...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Oracle at Delphi by Agatha Christie from 2019-09-27T20:57:34

Do it, Rockapella:

Well he glides around the globe from Paris to Damascus.
He’s a double-dealing sleuth with a taste for trickery
He’ll take you for a ride on a slow boat down the ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special (Anniversary) Episode: The State of Our Rankings from 2019-09-20T08:17:29

How is it possible that another year has passed? We lay the blame squarely on Dame Agatha, whose light prose and masterful puzzles have made the months slip silkily on by.... ! It's time for anothe...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 29: Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie from 2019-09-12T23:31:09

We are back with another Poirot novel! And we were on the whole quite pleased with this twisty-turny post-WWII puzzle mystery, perhaps most notable for its searing evocation of a specific time and ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: Harlequin's Lane by Agatha Christie from 2019-08-30T20:57:03

'Tis time for the final story in the Mysterious Mr. Quin collection, and while *technically* things end with a thud rather than a bang, we were by no means disappointed by what we found in this cra...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Get Your Creep On: The Red Signal by Agatha Christie from 2019-08-17T06:27:15

We've got an early short story involving supernatural premonitions, inherited insanity, and an early example of the very Christie-ish imperative to read closely. All we're missing is an actor, but ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Case of the Perfect Maid by Agatha Christie from 2019-08-08T19:05:09

Sometimes when Christie takes to the short story form, she gets a little loose, a little wacky. We saw that in our last Miss Marple short story, and we see it again here, in a story that features.....

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 30: The Hollow by Agatha Christie from 2019-07-27T04:34:50

Well, whenever we go beyond an hour of nattering away about a title, it's a good sign, and this episode is no exception. Come and bask with us in the many splendors of The Hollow, a much-beloved, m...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The World's End by Agatha Christie from 2019-07-21T23:08:17

You know the drill by now: we've got Quin; we've got Satterthwaite; we've got spooky intrigue; we've got thwarted lovers. How's it all going to end? With an abrupt departure by our favorite proto-T...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Pearl of Price by Agatha Christie from 2019-07-13T07:43:43

It's been a while since we visited the enchanting city of Petra by way of Christie, and this one is definitely a much simpler, slighter puzzle mystery than what we encountered in Appointment with D...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: Yellow Iris by Agatha Christie from 2019-06-30T08:12:55

What's better than a tale of twin poisonings like we had in our last episode? Twin tales of twin poisonings, of course. This short story is substantially similar to Sparkling Cyanide, which we just...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 31: Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie from 2019-06-23T12:00:51

We both relished this glittering tale of twin poisonings set within a posh circle at a swanky London restaurant, though it comes with a few problems/weaknesses all its own. Come geek out with us ov...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: Strange Jest by Agatha Christie from 2019-06-15T23:54:12

You'd be forgiven for mistaking the bucolic English country estate where this story is set for the Borscht Belt of upstate New York, because this Miss Marple yarn (see what we did there?) is pretty...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Bird with the Broken Wing by Agatha Christie from 2019-06-07T07:39:10

As Mabelle Annesley could perhaps sing for you herself on her ukulele, it's time to "Get Ur Freak On," and how, in this remarkably cuckoo Monsieurs Quin & Satterthwaite tale. Enjoy! We always do wh...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The House at Shiraz by Agatha Christie from 2019-06-01T00:47:04

Bar the gates, because Parker Pyne is still abroad, flitting here, there, and everywhere in the Middle East. This time we find him in Persia (i.e., Iran)--specifically, the lovely city of Shiraz. B...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 32: Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie from 2019-05-27T02:25:30

While we did not love this one, we do appreciate what an outlier it is within the Christie canon, and the fact that it was the first "historical whodunit" to combine the genres of detective and his...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: Miss Marple Tells a Story by Agatha Christie from 2019-05-17T20:55:37

It has been too long since we visited with Miss Marple in short story form, which Christie herself identified as our favorite spinster sleuth's natural milieu, after all.... And we get more of Miss...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Dead Harlequin by Agatha Christie from 2019-05-09T16:02:59

Mr. Quin has decided to haunt our podcast yet again with one of his trademark spooky tales involving a seemingly locked-room suicide, a talented (yet extremely grumpy) artist, and a book that Mr. S...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* re Our Brand New Patreon Account! from 2019-05-05T08:38:21

We are excited to announce that we have started a Patreon account for bonus or extra episodes of our podcast. Please listen for a more thorough explanation, but our first episode is a VERY lively d...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Gate of Baghdad by Agatha Christie from 2019-04-27T19:31:54

Parker Pyne is still abroad, spreading his statistician-acquired cynical know-how the same way his forebears spread smallpox, this time on a "Pullman coach" across the desert from Damascus to Baghd...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 33: Towards Zero by Agatha Christie from 2019-04-21T09:03:26

Christie rarely deals in psychopaths, but when she does she tends to handle them with panache, and this novel is no exception. (Not a spoiler, as we are put on our guard almost immediately that a p...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Jamie Bernthal, Author of Queering Agatha Christie from 2019-04-13T23:45:49

We were so thrilled to have a special guest on the podcast for a fascinating interview about reading Agatha Christie in a way that may (or may not!) be a departure for some listeners. Jamie's book ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
All About Opera: The Face of Helen & Swan Song by Agatha Christie from 2019-04-06T15:50:29

It's another special double episode, this one focusing on the world of opera and Christie's personal love of music. In our first story we attend Covent Garden with Mr. Satterthwaite and the mysteri...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: Have You Got Everything You Want? by Agatha Christie from 2019-03-30T08:45:07

All aboard the... Orient Express?! That's right: heart specialist Parker Pyne is going abroad, and while we've already covered one of his travels in Christie's *other* Death on the Nile, here he un...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 34: The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie from 2019-03-23T07:37:38

It may surprise some listeners to learn how mixed we were on our third Miss Marple novel, given what fans we are (yes, even Catherine) of our dear spinster sleuth. But that just means we had lots a...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
The Name's Bond. James Bond. Just Not *That* James Bond: The Rajah's Emerald by Agatha Christie from 2019-03-10T22:17:58

No, really: the protagonist of this story is "James Bond," who appears more than a quarter century before Ian Fleming's *slightly* more famous character. And our poor James Bond is suffering throug...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Manic Pixie Monster a.k.a. Never Go to the Second Location: The Golden Ball by Agatha Christie from 2019-03-01T15:01:51

We have been here before, and we will almost certainly be here again. It's time for another kookily "romantic" story in which two young things banter their little hearts out to what seems to be to ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Double Clue & The Capture of Cerberus by Agatha Christie from 2019-02-24T11:03:54

We’ve heard tell that two hearts are better than one, so we figured we'd take that approach to our exploration of a character within the Christieverse replete with both passion and flair: the Count...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 35: Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie from 2019-02-15T07:23:58

Well, the last time we posted such a prolix episode it was to gush over what became our highest ranked novel, And Then There Were None. We will leave it to you, dear listener, to discover whether t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Voice in the Dark by Agatha Christie from 2019-02-09T08:21:59

This Harley Quin story has, if not quite everything, then nearly so: a boating catastrophe in the distant past that is neither the Titanic nor the Lusitania; a young Mr. Satterthwaite (!!) snogging...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Case of the Rich Woman by Agatha Christie from 2019-02-01T08:13:48

Let's just hope for all our sakes we never get another opportunity to go off on a tangent about body-switch comedies. (One never knows in the Christieverse.) In this, the final story in the "Miss L...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
On Scheherezade & Omar Khayyám: Mr Eastwood's Adventure by Agatha Christie from 2019-01-25T22:05:46

We are discussing another early Christie thriller, so we've got a dippy male protagonist combined with dubious gender politics, sigh. But it also turns out this is a very (classically) Persian epis...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 36: The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (a.k.a. Miss Marple is BA-ACK!) from 2019-01-18T00:08:09

Praise be: we have at long last arrived at our second Miss Marple novel! We couldn't be more thrilled to revisit St. Mary Mead and its assorted characters, and boy do we get a lot of them in this a...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Man from the Sea by Agatha Christie from 2019-01-11T08:39:36

Yes, we are back once more with our spooky friends Messieurs Quin and Satterthwaite, and this time things get extra, extra weird, in ways both problematic and not! Let’s puzzle our way through this...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Run-By Fruiting, Twenties-Style: A Fruitful Sunday by Agatha Christie from 2018-12-28T21:59:18

We've got another light, flirty Christie adventure on our hands here, and while normally we'd say that hijinks ensue, there is so little going on in this short story that perhaps we have only a sin...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Holiday Episode with Parker Pyne: The Case of the City Clerk by Agatha Christie from 2018-12-21T05:10:15

Well if the Grinch's heart can grow three sizes bigger, why not Mr. Parker Pyne's?? 'Tis the season for such character arcs, after all. Join us as we learn a bit more about Christie's heart special...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 37: N or M? by Agatha Christie from 2018-12-15T10:07:39

Rejoice or beware, per your preference, because Tommy & Tuppence, those alliterative lovebirds, are back! And in wartime no less: the spring of 1940, to be exact (and Christie is very exact). Join ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: Triangle at Rhodes by Agatha Christie from 2018-12-09T06:57:11

This week we revisit a familiar-seeming love triangle, and while it’s true that this Poirot short story and the Poirot novel we just covered--Evil Under the Sun--share many similarities, they also ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Episode: Interview with Sophie Hannah, Author of New Hercule Poirot Novels from 2018-11-23T18:11:03

We were thrilled to have bestselling—and Poirot-continuing!—author Sophie Hannah on the podcast for a wide-ranging chat about all things Agatha. Please revel in the Christie fandom, as we did.

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Soul of the Croupier by Agatha Christie from 2018-11-18T00:02:36

Are you ready for an oh-so-European tale of despair, betrayal, and misplaced pride? Would it help if you listened to some Edith Piaf while we told it to you? Okay, then. Time to sit for another sou...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 38: Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie from 2018-11-08T15:32:11

While this one is something of a fan favorite, we were surprised by the simplicity of the central mystery upon a reread, given all the Christie puzzles we've solved thus far.... Add to that a numbe...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Affair at the Victory Ball by Agatha Christie from 2018-11-02T21:18:46

How have we not covered Christie’s first published short story yet?! (A Poirot, naturally.) Consider this a master class in some of the fundamental tropes she would go on to use many, many times. A...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
She Works Hard for the Money: Jane in Search of a Job by Agatha Christie from 2018-10-26T07:06:23

While we can't pretend this is a special Hallowe’en-themed episode, there is perhaps nothing scarier than being in want of a job…. We were also rather frightened by the flimsiness of this early Chr...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 39: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie from 2018-10-12T21:51:11

While a trip to the dentist with Agatha Christie is the only trip to the dentist one might actually enjoy, we are sad to report our enjoyment of this novel was somewhat sullied by the incompletenes...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Sign in the Sky by Agatha Christie from 2018-09-28T22:32:40

Time for another wacky installment of the enigmatic Mr. Quin and the put-upon Mr. Satterthwaite, who we see traversing not only the Atlantic Ocean but the Canadian continent in this story of a fata...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Dream by Agatha Christie from 2018-09-21T20:49:14

It's been a while since we've had the pleasure of dissecting a miniature Poirot mystery puzzle, and this one has almost all the classic Christie clue tropes we've come to love. We also enjoyed revi...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 40: Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie from 2018-09-14T19:42:12

While the characters populating this Poirot novel almost all live up to its melancholy title, we're happy to report our reading experience did not, as we both quite liked this unusually structured ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Calling Flannery, Shirley, Joyce, and Stephen Too: Accident by Agatha Christie from 2018-09-07T20:30

To say we loved this shockingly unsung short story is an understatement. We may even have lurved it. Come take a walk with us on the darker, dread-laden side of Christie....

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Ambassador's Boots by Agatha Christie from 2018-08-31T15:49:14

Our final installment of the Partners in Crime series, in which we say goodbye for now to Tommy and Tuppence, and goodbye forever to the series that adapted the collection. As discussed in previous...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Case of the Discontented Husband by Agatha Christie from 2018-08-24T20:41:01

Another doozy from Mr. Parker Pyne! Someone ought to revise that final couplet of Romeo and Juliet, because we’re pretty sure this story has more woe in it, albeit of the marital variety…. Join us ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 41: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - Part 2 (The Films) from 2018-08-17T21:57:28

And then it was time to talk about the film adaptations (and one televised adaptation, too). We were lucky enough to have Dr. Mark Aldridge, author of Agatha Christie on Screen, back on the podcast...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 41: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - Part 1 (The Text) from 2018-08-10T04:59:05

A bit of a supersized episode for a supersized novel! It is time, at long last, for And Then There Were None. Join us as we focus on the text only (film adaptations to be discussed next week), and ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Of Mice and Misogyny: The Manhood of Edward Robinson by Agatha Christie from 2018-08-03T15:20:26

We found quite a bit to mull over with regard to our titular character, that romance novel-reading, trivia contest-winning, accidental jewel-thieving Edward Robinson. Does he secure his, ahem, manh...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Clergyman's Daughter by Agatha Christie from 2018-07-20T05:10:22

Tommy & Tuppence are ba-ack, so you know what that means: time to start digging for buried treasure! No, really. Join us for this Christmas adventure in July as we discuss, among other topics, the...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: At the "Bells and Motley" by Agatha Christie from 2018-07-13T20:02:35

So much happening at the "Bells and Motley" (let's dare not forget those quotation marks). This is a Mysterious Mr. Quin story, so we shouldn't be surprised that things get loopy, fast. But did you...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 42: Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie from 2018-07-06T21:17:10

Murder is easy... if you're a small-town serial killer with a whole host of deep-seated issues. But is this decidedly thriller-like puzzle mystery of Christie's easy to read? Or enjoy?

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Case of the Distressed Lady by Agatha Christie from 2018-06-29T20:30:31

We all know diamonds are a girl's best friend, but are they a distressed lady's best friend? Let us discuss. (Also: if you were thinking to yourself that the one thing this podcast is missing is Ma...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
In re the Perils of Boat Travel: Sing a Song of Sixpence by Agatha Christie from 2018-06-22T20:10:09

Hoo boy, this one's a bit of a doozy, in that the mystery is unfortunately light and our amateur detective is unfortunately creepy. Join us as we sing a song of sixpence... none the richer, that is...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Unbreakable Alibi by Agatha Christie from 2018-06-15T19:00:57

It's time to romp once again with our alliterative detective duo, and oh, what a romp we have here. Particularly in the televised adaptation, which we discuss at some length as the "mystery" of thi...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 43: Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie from 2018-06-08T20:19:03

It is in no way beginning to look a lot like Christmas, either in the real world or inside the pages of this novel. What it *is* looking a lot like is that rare creature, an honest-to-goodness Agat...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Special Episode: Interview with Agatha Christie Scholar John Curran from 2018-06-02T08:13:29

We were honored to speak with Christie scholar John Curran, whose books we reference so liberally on our podcast! Despite some sound quality issues, we think you’ll enjoy the insights and opinions ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: Death by Drowning by Agatha Christie from 2018-05-26T11:37:09

At long last we complete our baker's dozen of stories within the Thirteen Problems, Christie's first collection of Miss Marple short stories. Get ready to go DEEP on issues of class--not quite as d...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The House of Lurking Death by Agatha Christie from 2018-05-18T03:16:22

Well this one has a lot of Sturm und Drang for what we've come to expect from the Beresfords! But really, when a story includes *both* a box of poisoned chocolates and a suspected case of ptomaine ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 44: Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie from 2018-05-10T18:36:46

There are mothers, and then there are MOTHERS. Mrs. Boynton definitely belongs in the latter category, as we explore in our latest novel, another "travelling" Christie--this one set in and around t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie from 2018-05-04T21:36:06

That's right; do not adjust your screens; before she wrote her much more famous Death on the Nile, Christie wrote a short story featuring her "heart specialist" Parker Pyne on a trip up that same (...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin: The Shadow on the Glass by Agatha Christie from 2018-04-27T20:24:02

Harley Quin is ba-ack! But barely; he makes all but a fleeting appearance in this light yet surprisingly robust tale of double homicide rooted in a ghost story dating back to the English Civil War....

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Sunningdale Mystery by Agatha Christie from 2018-04-19T19:49:58

Rejoice, for our favorite (well, only) married detective duo are back! And they have chosen to put their brains together in the early Twentieth Century version of a Denny's restaurant to solve a mu...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 45: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie from 2018-04-13T19:26:06

This novel officially marks our progress through one third of Christie's canon! And it is of course much beloved among Christie fans... due in no small part to the outrageously enjoyable 1978 film ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife by Agatha Christie from 2018-04-06T21:42:12

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned... unless that woman has Parker Pyne to turn to for help with her decidedly scornful husband. Is the "happy" result truly happy? Join us as we discuss this an...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Get Your Screwball On: The Girl in the Train by Agatha Christie from 2018-03-30T06:52:52

That's right, there's no typo in this episode's title: it's The Girl *IN* the Train, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Well, perhaps we would have a meatier mystery and more three-dimensional ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Bringing on the Drama: The Listerdale Mystery by Agatha Christie from 2018-03-23T21:58:49

What's the opposite of a no-drama mama? While you're pondering that, get out your hanky and start dabbing lightly at the corner of your eye because we've got a weepie on our hands. Especially if, l...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 46: Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie from 2018-03-16T20:12:21

Real talk: we are not big fans of this one. But we *are* big fans of the three dogs discussed herein: 1) fictional dog Bob, our titular “dumb witness” (though whether he ever actually witnessed any...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Affair at the Bungalow by Agatha Christie from 2018-03-09T04:49:53

All good things must come to an end. At long last we hear from the final guest at the Bantry dinner party: Jane Helier, actress--and dingbat--extraordinaire. And boy does this one turn out to be a ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Getting Happy with Parker Pyne: The Case of the Discontented Soldier by Agatha Christie from 2018-03-02T22:23:23

Yes, we have another Christie detective to meet! But is he a detective at all? Let's explore this question along with an unfortunate "stuck in its time" element we were not expecting in this, the s...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 47: Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie from 2018-02-17T09:00:21

Welcome to Dame Agatha's twentieth mystery novel! There are those who love Cards on the Table, and those who loathe Cards on the Table. As it turns out, we (mainly) love it. Regardless of your feel...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Communing with Mr. Quin : The Coming of Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie from 2018-02-09T20:46:36

It's time, at long last, to meet the mysterious Mr. Quin! This is a special, spooky little corner of the Christieverse that may be a favorite with some fans, and unknown to others. Join us as we pa...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Herb of Death by Agatha Christie from 2018-02-03T02:32:28

We've all experienced the well-worn trope of the unreliable female narrator at this point, but in this story we have the rare example of the *unwilling* female narrator... with quite interesting re...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Four Suspects by Agatha Christie from 2018-01-19T23:22:08

This week's short story relies on both arcane technical knowledge *and* dubious cryptography, and yet it was not written by Dan Brown. Go figure. Come and sit a spell with us at Gossington Hall, at...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 48: Murder In Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie from 2018-01-13T21:28:59

It’s time for Dame Agatha’s first Middle Eastern-set novel! And while there is much to discuss here (including the fascinating real-life inspiration for our murder victim), unfortunately there wasn...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Companion by Agatha Christie from 2017-12-29T03:15:29

What better way to say goodbye to 2017 than with a tale of overlooked--hence underestimated--women? And who better to solve such a tale than our very own Miss Jane Marple? Though let's be real: she...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A *Very Special* Holiday Miss Marple Episode: A Christmas Tragedy by Agatha Christie from 2017-12-22T22:22:22

Last year we had M. Poirot over for a Christmas visit, so we figured it was only fair to extend the invitation this year to our dear Miss Marple. Luckily she accepted... with a dark tale of sandbag...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 49: The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie from 2017-12-17T01:28:16

A serial killer is on the loose… or *is* he (or she for that matter)? Come deep-dive with us--into the depths of this unusual Christie novel, in which our analysis gets granular enough to identify ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Blue Geranium by Agatha Christie from 2017-12-02T04:38:30

Miss Marple is back! And perhaps better than ever in this inaugural tale of the Tuesday Night Club redux, a.k.a. part two of The Thirteen Problems. Get your thinking caps on because Miss Jane Marpl...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Crackler by Agatha Christie from 2017-11-22T12:20:52

For the Americans among us, we may be looking forward to a little R&R over the impending Thanksgiving break, and why not add a little T&T to that equation? Regardless of your nationality, join us i...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A *Very Special* Episode: Murder on the Orient Express, the 2017 Film from 2017-11-17T21:48:29

Just as you, dear listener, have probably done, we have gone out and watched the Kenneth Branagh adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express! And we have thoughts. So many thoughts.... Take a listen...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 50: Death In The Clouds by Agatha Christie from 2017-11-10T11:21:01

Also known as the OG Jazz Age version of The Bridge meets Snakes on a Plane. There is a lot to unpack in this one, including our mixed/middling feelings about it despite its dishy setting. Come unp...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Special HALLOWE'EN Episode: The Dressmaker's Doll & Philomel Cottage by Agatha Christie from 2017-10-30T04:28:43

It's Hallowe'en! (Yes, we are wedded to that apostrophe, unfortunately.) Join us (IF YOU DARE) as we dissect (LIKE CREEPY SCIENTISTS) two rather horrifying Christie short stories... with lots and l...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Man in the Mist by Agatha Christie from 2017-10-26T06:31:28

Quick: we say "Gilda," you say... what? Rita Hayworth? Gilda Radnor? Well, after this episode you very well may say "Ghost Cop." It's another caper courtesy of our pals Tommy and Tuppence, and this...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Case of the Missing Lady by Agatha Christie from 2017-10-20T05:49:41

Time to get your screwball on! This may be Christie's most Wodehousian story yet (and it's certainly got some competition). Join us as we dive into a delightfully lighthearted Tommy & Tuppence cape...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 51: Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie from 2017-10-13T05:43:03

Get ready for some drama! Both from this theater-saturated novel and from your intrepid co-hosts, as one of us quite liked this one, the other, less so. But it's not all tragedy, because stage play...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: Finessing The King by Agatha Christie from 2017-10-06T07:55:07

What happens when our adorably mischievous young married duo T&T get up to no good at a '20s masquerade? Someone gets stabbed through the heart, of course! Nor do the horror and hijinks end there, ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Tea with Tommy & Tuppence: The Affair of the Pink Pearl by Agatha Christie from 2017-09-29T21:34:03

Get ready for some light-hearted banter, folks, because Tommy and Tuppence are back! T&T sightings are relatively sparse in the Christieverse, but this early collection of short stories will help t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Very Special Anniversary (!!) Episode: Rankings & Other Musings from 2017-09-23T01:02:26

We officially turned one year old! Come celebrate with us by engaging in a granular evaluation of the state of our novel rankings thus far, with many a blast from the past! (Mary Cavendish and Jane...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 52: Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie from 2017-09-15T06:09:17

One might be inclined to ponder why they would ever ask Evans anything at all after we're done discussing this mid-career Christie thriller.... But let's focus on the positive, shall we? This episo...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Lemesurier Inheritance by Agatha Christie from 2017-08-31T05:54:42

A.k.a. the one that got away. Yes, friends, this is the *only* Poirot short story not to be adapted by the ITV series starring David Suchet. And while it's a bit... out there, we found ourselves wi...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Thumb Mark of St. Peter by Agatha Christie from 2017-08-25T04:59:26

Things get a little wild when Miss Jane Marple herself tells the story in this, the final installment of the Tuesday Night Club. We've got carp; we've got haddock; we've got insanity; we've got the...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: Motive v. Opportunity by Agatha Christie from 2017-08-18T03:51:52

Are you a fan of the 1990 blockbuster smash-hit film GHOST, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and--most importantly--Whoopi Goldberg? If your answer to this question was a resounding "yes!" then...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 53: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - Part 2 (The Films) from 2017-08-11T05:54:36

Our first interview! We were so thrilled to chat with Christie scholar Mark Aldridge, author of Agatha Christie on Screen, about the many film adaptations of Murder on the Orient Express…. Please j...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 53: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - Part 1 (The Text) from 2017-08-04T04:35:16

This is a big one! So big, we decided to break it into two parts. This episode deals with the novel only; next episode we will tackle the three English-language adaptations and also touch on the fe...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Blood-Stained Pavement by Agatha Christie from 2017-07-29T02:44:29

Another day, another episode wherein Miss Marple outsmarts all those foolish enough to underestimate her. This one is quite a pitch-black little story, as evidenced by its rather fantastic alternat...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: Ingots of Gold by Agatha Christie from 2017-07-22T01:32:50

What do Poldark, Daphne Du Maurier, and the Spanish Armada all have in common? If you said Cornwall, then you are an ideal listener for this week's tale of Cornish intrigue brought to you by Miss M...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 54: Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie from 2017-07-17T04:49:48

This one is a little controversial! In a few different ways. Join us for a rollicking discussion of our latest Poirot novel, including such topics as: feminist literary theory (and whether it has a...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Special SUMMER HOLIDAY Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: Problem at Sea by Agatha Christie from 2017-06-29T17:59:37

The real mystery of this very special episode is why Hercule "mal de mer" Poirot would choose to spend his summer holiday in a boat on the Mediterranean, but luckily for us he does, along with a ca...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Idol House of Astarte by Agatha Christie from 2017-06-22T17:33:47

Have you watched the new Murder on the Orient Express trailer? We have, and we have thoughts. Many of them. We also have a new Miss Marple short story, one that may be a little short on clues, but ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Miss Marple Nightcap: The Tuesday Night Club by Agatha Christie from 2017-06-10T07:32:57

So much to discuss in our first Miss Marple short story, including: 1) the "Peter Panning" of yet another beloved Christie detective; 2) the perils of dismissing your dear Aunt Jane if you happen t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 55: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie from 2017-06-02T05:28:55

There is so much to cover in this devilishly clever and somewhat underrated Poirot mystery. (Plus cocaine. A lot of cocaine.) Join us as we discuss just how bad a job M. Poirot does in this one (it...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Chocolate Box by Agatha Christie from 2017-05-26T22:06:52

All right, it's time to talk about the *one* case our M. Poirot failed to solve. A better title might be: The One That Got Away, or in the case of the Suchet adaptation, The One *Who* Got Away.... ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Lost Mine by Agatha Christie from 2017-05-19T21:40:05

There are so many things lost in this story: a mine; the papers pinpointing the location of said mine; the narrative facade whereby Hastings is supposedly the one telling us this story (more on thi...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
*Special Announcement* in re Agatha Christie: A Reappraisal (a.k.a. We're Going to Cambridge!) from 2017-05-12T22:27:09

We are heading to the University of Cambridge in June to present a paper on Agatha Christie! We wanted to share this news with you because 1) we are so excited; and 2) we encourage you to join us t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 56: The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie from 2017-05-05T19:57:31

Well, this turned out to be rather a delightful read, despite a surprising number of unpleasant characters of the male persuasion. Perhaps that is the ultimate revenge of our plucky heroine, Emily ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Veiled Lady by Agatha Christie from 2017-04-29T03:07:37

Irish brides, Chinese boxes, Dutch murders... this mini-thriller masquerading as a Poirot short story has it all! Except for clues. But what it is lacking in clues it makes up for in FUN, particula...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Case of the Missing Will by Agatha Christie from 2017-04-22T21:36:31

It isn't often we're more critical than adoring of *both* a Christie story and its adaptation, but that seems to be the case here. I guess you could say where there's a missing will, there's a miss...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 57: The Murder at the Vicarage (I.e. Our First Miss Marple!) by Agatha Christie from 2017-04-11T02:22:13

Introducing… Miss Jane Marple! We could not be more thrilled to have reached, at long last, Dame Agatha’s most celebrated amateur detective. Join us as we endeavor to untangle not just the rather t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman by Agatha Christie from 2017-03-30T05:39:42

This one is a comely little Christie puzzle that is definitely not going to win any awards for ingenuity, but it's pleasant enough to read. And to discuss. Warning: you might not want to sit down t...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim by Agatha Christie from 2017-03-22T07:42:26

This week's pleasing Poirot puzzle is noteworthy for a few reasons: 1) it features Agatha Christie's recitation of the different ways a person might disappear, written five years *before* her own d...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 58: The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie from 2017-03-17T08:40:22

Join us as we frantically dig our way out of the grand old estate of Chimneys (last visited in The Secret of), like cartoon convicts shoveling our way to freedom.... This is the last of the early C...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Kidnapped Prime Minister by Agatha Christie from 2017-03-08T07:56:53

This one gets pretty political! (Because if there's one thing we're missing these days, it's politics....) However, it's at least OLD politics (also known as history), taken from four discrete peri...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
The Witness for the Prosecution: An Agatha Christie Classic from 2017-03-01T07:38:43

Back in 1925 Agatha Christie published a short story called "Traitor Hands," which would go on to spawn a successful play and several film adaptations, including the celebrated "Witness for the Pro...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 59: The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie from 2017-02-15T20:08:39

Tell people you're reading a Christie novel set on a train--a Poirot, no less--and they'll almost definitely think you're reading Murder on The Orient Express. And you might be! But you might also ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Gone Girl: The Notorious Real-Life Disappearance of Agatha Christie from 2017-02-06T06:49:50

We’re going true-crime for this one… or is that true-hoax? Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction, and Agatha Christie’s real-life disappearance for eleven days in 1926 is the perfect enca...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan by Agatha Christie from 2017-01-27T21:06:17

Put on your thinking cap and solve this bare-bones locked-room logic puzzle with us. Then discard your thinking cap and revel in the theater-filled antics of the much more robust Suchet adaptation....

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie from 2017-01-20T21:34:10

Do you believe in spirits? Well then M. Poirot believes in YOU. Especially if you happen to find yourself in the vicinity of a murderer willing to kill FOUR people (so... a serial killer) for the s...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 60: The Big Four by Agatha Christie from 2017-01-09T19:03:31

How do you fit a square peg in a round hole? Awkwardly! In this case the square peg is our beloved M. Poirot, and the round hole is one of Dame Agatha's breezy thrillers from her early years. And y...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Special HOLIDAY Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie from 2016-12-24T00:23:26

What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with a very special Christmas-themed episode? Join Poirot as he partakes of a traditional English Christmas involving pudding, mistletoe, a fres...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Million Dollar Bond Robbery by Agatha Christie from 2016-12-19T10:32:47

Toot, toot: all aboard the transatlantic steamer "Olympia," where a robbery has occurred. Or has it? Join us as we pick apart this elegant yet unfairly presented short story, and then revel in the ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 61: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie from 2016-12-13T03:46:02

Ah, finally, our first real classic. A great, inventive, rule-breaking classic. Before there was "Gone Girl," our inimitable Dame Agatha was playing the long narrative con. Plus, we get Poirot in a...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge by Agatha Christie from 2016-12-01T20:38:36

We all know getting the flu isn't fun, but if you're Hercule Poirot, this dreaded illness has the extra side-effect of unleashing an un-chaperoned Captain Arthur Hastings on the world as replacemen...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 62: The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie from 2016-11-24T02:33:53

Are you a reader who loved "The Man in the Brown Suit" but found it sorely lacking in English country homes? Well, fear not, because this week's episode tackles a Christie novel overflowing with ro...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Cheap Flat by Agatha Christie from 2016-11-11T23:54:06

Call it what you will: a flat, an apartment, a love-nest, a pad.... A humble abode is hard to find--especially, apparently, if you live in early Twentieth Century London, where a cheap flat just ma...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 63: The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie from 2016-11-05T02:37:55

This is about as close as an Agatha Christie novel gets to an episode of "The Love Boat," and in some ways it gets kind of close! Climb aboard as we journey from England to South Africa with our pl...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor by Agatha Christie from 2016-10-28T16:43:42

Our second short story episode! And while there's more than enough tragedy to go around in the original version--including a(n arguably) coerced confession and incredibly poor doctoring skills, the...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 64: The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie from 2016-10-21T21:01:36

So... there is surprisingly little golf in this Poirot novel, given its title, but there are many, many other things: an unfriendly rivalry between detectives; not one, but two romantic subplots; a...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
A Hercule Poirot Amuse-Bouche: The Adventure of the Western Star by Agatha Christie from 2016-10-16T06:36:29

Our first "interstitial" episode between novels. Brush up on your Nineteenth Century detective novels and clichéd Twentieth Century portrayals of Asian culture. Also, take a closer look with us at ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 65: The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie from 2016-10-07T21:29:41

Time for Dame Agatha's very first thriller featuring the delightful detective duo Tommy & Tuppence taking on the devious criminal mastermind "Mr. Brown." Was Tuppence modeled at least somewhat on y...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 66: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Part 2 from 2016-09-30T11:00:09

In which we dive into the delicious world of David Suchet and Hugh Fraser as Poirot and Hastings. (Shout out to Philip Jackson as Inspector Japp, too.) We also introduce you to our ranking system, ...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
And Then There Were 66: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Part 1 from 2016-09-22T17:27:47

Episode 1! In which we tackle Agatha Christie's first published novel--and first Poirot novel--The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Deep-dive with us as we try to figure out how Christie crafted this c...

Listen
All About Agatha (Christie)
Teaser from 2016-09-15T07:37:07

A preview of the upcoming podcast. Also: happy 126th birthday, Dame Agatha!

Listen