Words on Wednesday: Recent Reading

Most of my reading lately has been the works of my favorite mystery writer.  And surprisingly there were several stories that felt new -- and i think at least one really was a previously unread!

• Appointment with Death: A Poirot novel, set on his Middle Eastern vacation, in which he enters the investigation with a curiously overheard conversation.  An advantage of rereading years later: the speaker in the overheard conversation says he got the idea of method of the murder from a book.  This time around, i recognized the story referenced.
• Mr. Parker Pyne Investigates: lots of fun, Mr. Pyne is a retired civil servant who helps his clients to happiness through his knowledge of statistics - and perhaps some methods of questionable ethics.  http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-pyne-poirot-nexus-part-i-parker.html
• The Mysterious Mr. Quin: Mr. Quin is a weird one.  He shows up at opportune times, and shows Mr. Satterthwaite "things he already knows" so that Satterthwaite can solve/prevent the crime and help the lovers find happiness.  i found myself wondering if Quin represents a theophany.
• Thirteen for Luck: A Selection of Mystery Stories for Young Readers by Agatha Christie : i was surprised that i was able to check this one out of the library, since it belongs to a local school & those often are unavailable to nonstudents.  However, its stories are well-suited to introducing kids to Ms Chrisitie.  At one time, i owned a copy of The Regatta Mystery, though it's escaped me, and i wanted this to read the two Parker Pyne stories, including my favorite, The Problem at Pollensa Bay, one of two Pyne stories not in . . . Investigates.
• The Sittaford Mystery: Another one i once owned, this one i deliberately gave away with instructions to "do as you like," because i though i'd never want to read it again.  As i started it this time, i first thought i'd been right.  Then, on about page 68, Emily Trefusis was introduced to the story. i wish Christie had written other stories about her.
• The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories: Some stories i love and others i didn't like as well, but about half of them new to me.  i especially love the title story, Christie's farewell to Mr. Quin.
• Towards Zero: Okay, it's because of this book, which i should not have touched today, that this is being posted so late.  It's another that i gave away not wanting back, thinking it too intense for my tastes, but that's another thing (see above entry, Appointment with Death) that's changed over the years. i couldn't put it down; since i read the ending early on, i knew who the murderer was, but still was fascinated. 
  
    i love the way the book starts months before the murders, with the introduction of various characters and the unnamed murderer making his plans.  A contemporary reviewer lamented that those of us who love everything Christie wrote surely miss the thrill of her especially masterful stories like this one.  Truly, it is.

20+hours later:  i forgot Three Blind Mice and Other Stories, and Hercule Poirot's Christmas.
There's several good stories in Three Blind Mice  .  Christmas is one of those with the dysfunctional rich family in a huge house, which i often confuse with 4:50 from Paddington but never Pocket Full of Rye.