crime – Page 9

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie – Book Review

April 3, 2019September 10, 2023yggdrasille

“Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?”

This Poirot novel was written as Christie’s response to her brother-in-law James, who had complained that her murders were getting too refined and anaemic. You’d hope that James’ craving for a ‘good violent murder’ was satisfied with this locked room murder mystery: its chief victim, a cantankerous wealthy patriarch, is found in a pool of his own blood, his throat cut, after making a noise described by witnesses as “a soul in hell” or “a stuck pig”.

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie – Book Review

March 1, 2019November 9, 2022yggdrasille

An earlier Miss Marple murder mystery, this clever and engaging novel is, in Christie’s own words, a variation on an old classic scenario in detective fiction.

4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie – Book Review

February 7, 2019November 9, 2022yggdrasille

4.50 From Paddington probably sits squarely in the middle of Christie’s Miss Marple series – not a classic, but hardly one of the worst either.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie – Book Review

January 4, 2019November 9, 2022yggdrasille

This classic Poirot murder mystery always hovers near the top whenever a discussion of Christie’s greatest novels arises, rightly so. Along with a handful of later books, it made her name and displayed her particular genius for a simple yet daring concept, and an ending that yanks the carpet from under the unsuspecting reader’s feet.

Endless Night by Agatha Christie – Book Review

December 20, 2018November 9, 2022yggdrasille

Though Christie wrote a great many standalone crime novels, Endless Night feels like a true departure, different to everything else she wrote before or since. It’s not a classic detective story with classic detective tropes, there is barely any criminal investigation and the crime itself happens almost three-quarters into the story. Back when I first read it as a teenager my reaction was ambivalent, but even then this eerie novel imprinted on my brain as much as the haunting passage from William Blake’s poem it takes its name from. Revisiting it now has cemented Endless Night as one of my Christie favourites.

Crooked House by Agatha Christie – Book Review

November 15, 2018November 9, 2022yggdrasille

Another of my favourite standalone Christie novels, this book also came with the author’s foreword calling it one of her own special favourites and a joy to write (according to Dame Agatha the usual ratio is one book that’s real pleasure to five that are hard work).

The Secret in Their Eyes – Film Review

October 16, 2018June 24, 2025yggdrasille

This gripping crime drama (winner of the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Academy Awards) is the first film from Argentina I’ve seen. I definitely would like to watch more.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – Book Review

October 12, 2018November 9, 2022yggdrasille

This novel, the world’s best-selling mystery with over 100 million copies, has recently been voted readers’ favourite Agatha Christie novel in a global poll. Though I’d probably struggle to name my own personal favourite Christie novel, I’m not inclined to argue with this honour.

Insomnia – Film Review

October 10, 2018yggdrasille

I’ve been watching bleak and moody Danish noir lately, so I thought I’d change it up and watch some bleak and moody Norwegian noir instead, namely this 1997 thriller with Stellan Skarsgard.