The Hollow by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot Mystery #26)

The Hollow is a 1946 novel written by the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie and the 26th book to feature Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. It features the classic setting of an English country house and the usual cast of characters and suspects in a murder which takes place there. It is notable for not including…

Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case and Absent in the Spring; Psychology, Suggestion, and Shakespeare

Agatha Christie is the Queen of Crime Fiction. Born in Torquay, Devon as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller on 15th September 1890, she is best known for her murder mysteries featuring creations and sleuths such as Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Tommy and Tuppence, as well as penning the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap, which…

Death of a School Girl (The Jane Eyre Chronicles #1) by Joanna Campbell Slan

Death of a School Girl is a 2012 murder mystery novel by Joanna Campbell Slan which is inspired by my favourite novel of all time, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847). It’s always exciting to discover a new interpretation of Jane’s story, or one that imagines her life after her happy ever after in Charlotte’s novel. So what…

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (Roderick Alleyn #1)

I started this blog with the aim of opening up my reading a little in terms of crime fiction. For me, you just can't beat Agatha Christie. However, over the past year or so I've discovered some amazing crime writers and decided to blog about them. One writer who is frequently recommended to me is…

Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World by Mark Aldridge

Hello everyone and a Happy New Year. I  hope 2021 is being a little kinder to you than 2020. I haven't posted on here for a while. Sometimes reading so many classic crime books leaves too little time for writing about them! 2020 was a good year for my reading and new literary discoveries, particularly…

The Floating Admiral by The Detection Club

The Floating Admiral is a 1931 murder mystery written by various members of The Detection Club. The literary club was formed a year previously in 1930 by the likes of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Freeman Wills Croft, and Anthony Berkeley. Its first president was Father Brown creator, G.K. Chesterton. Berkeley in particular played a prominent…

The Opening Night Murders by James Scott Byrnside (Rowan Manory #2)

I've never been able to get into podcasts despite the fact that the whole world seems to love them right now. I always find myself dipping in (and mainly out) because for some reason they just don't seem to hold my attention. I think this is the same reason I struggle to listen to radio…

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

This year I've managed to get through a fair few Agatha Christie novels (mainly Poirot), but I've also been managing to read some works by her contemporaries and and fellow classic crime giants. To be honest though, I never like to stray too far from Christie for too long, and I enjoy the Poirot books…

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Thursday Murder Club #1)

Television viewers in the UK will be very familiar with Richard Osman by now; he's the tall, clever one from the likes of shows such as Pointless and House of Games. He's also fairly well known in other parts of the world due to the success of the shows he's been involved with over the years. Osman has…

The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley (Roger Sheringham Mystery #5)

The Poisoned Chocolates Case is a 1929 whodunnit by Anthony Berkeley and the fifth novel to feature amateur detective, Roger Sheringham. Born in 1893 as Anthony Berkeley Cox, he served in the British Army during World War One, and later became a journalist. In 1925 Berkeley published his first novel, The Layton Court Mystery, anonymously. The novel…