A twist: ‘Death Comes as the End’ (1944) set in ancient Egypt
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Christie ventures outside of contemporary England to tell an ancient Egyptian story – albeit one with familiar parallels.
Mystery
A twist: ‘Death Comes as the End’ (1944) set in ancient Egypt
‘Bloodless’ an amusing dive into Savannah, weird science
Book review: Preston & Child’s 20th Pendergast novel is a wild page-turner, but it crams in too many ideas to be as memorable as their earlier gems.
‘N or M?’ (1941) encapsulates life during World War II
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): The T&T novels keep surprising me as being better than their reputation. I think “N or M?” is the best of the first three.
Allen sticks around London for a sugar-free ‘Scoop’ (2006)
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): The previous year’s “Match Point” was so good that Allen can be forgiven a few middling trifles. “Scoop” is one of them.
Christie dives into romantic minds in ‘The Hollow’ (1946)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): “The Hollow” is Christie’s elite piece of character writing to this point. As a bonus, it’s a strong Poirot potboiler too.
‘Grave Descend’ (1970) flirts with high-seas thrills
Michael Crichton Monday (Book review): The seventh John Lange novel isn’t as deep as it could’ve been, but the mystery plot makes it a page-turner.
Murder mystery almost an afterthought on ‘American Rust’
First episode impressions (TV review): The genre of a dead body in a dying town is well-worn. But “American Rust” is at least appealingly well-worn.
Christie reflects on death in ‘Sparkling Cyanide’ (1945)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): One of Christie’s most cinematic novels shuffles the chronological approach but in other ways goes by the book.
‘A Case of Need’ (1968) makes case as Crichton’s first gem
Michael Crichton Monday (Book review): What was Crichton’s first great novel? A case could be made for the medical thriller “A Case of Need.”
Makeovers, musings come to fore in ‘Moving Finger’ (1943)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): This isn’t Christie’s deepest work, but it’s an enjoyably brisk yarn touching on small-town gossip and self-confidence.