Mediocrities of Murder Monday

[evelyn_b]

Begun recently: Agatha Christie's An Overdose of Murder is not bad. A dentist apparently shoots himself in the middle of the work day, but why would he do that? Hypothesis: He probably wouldn't? So far there is not much to say about this book except it has lots of Poirot being Poirot. This is not always the most important thing in a Poirot book,

Comments

[sallymn]

I'm pretty sure I've read the Agatha Christie one, but recall very little if anything about it...not a good sign :(

[evelyn_b]

I don't think it's going to suddenly turn into one of her best books, but it's all right so far! Some of the writing is curiously choppy, but Poirot is in excellent form, so it evens out, more or less.

[sallymn]

I get the feeling (from Ariadne's rant in one of the books) that Christie really got tired of Poirot at some stage, but there's no doubt he was a great creation (and to be fair, she's not exactly rated highly FOR her characters, but I like enough of them to argue she was better at characterisation than critics like to say)

[evelyn_b]

There are different ways of being good at characterization. Christie's characters are not usually built for change and growth, but neither are most characters in most books in any genre. Poirot is an excellent invention whose voice is always recognizable and distinctive (though I don't blame Christie for being sick of him sometimes).

And even the most stock of her stock characters usually have sharp, clear outlines and take up space on the page -- and they usually manage enough of an illusion of depth to be plausible murderers, which you can't always say for the characters in a mystery novel. I've read enough mediocre ones by now to have a healthy appreciation for Christie's characters.

[scripsi]

First I thought you read a Christie I have managed to miss, but then I realise that my copy has Another title; One Two Buckle My Shoe. No, not really one of her best.

Have you noticed that is Christie describes clothes in detail, it very often means it has some bearing for the plot. :)

[evelyn_b]

Ah, true. The nursery-rhyme title is really better (An Overdose of Death is a bit redundant -- isn't any death more than you want or need?) -- and the chapter titles are all lines from the nursery rhyme anyway

True! Though to Christie's credit, it isn't at all out of character for Poirot to notice that someone's shoe buckle has come off, or to frown deeply when he sees the same shoe later and it still hasn't been fixed. So untidy. :(

[scripsi]

Yes, I quite like her use of rhymes. She does it several times, so I guee she enjoyed it too. :)

Poirot would notice something like that! :D But there are a number of books when the solution lies in a costume detail.

[lost_spook]

Ah, I was trying to remember which book that actually was - One, Two, Buckle My Shoe was what I had in my head & I see it is. It isn't one of the best, as I recall. A pretty late one, and it shows, I think.

I'm sorry your detectives are disappointing you! Bad detectives. Or worse, bland detectives! With Campion, I always feel rather as if there must have been a Book 1 with all the origin stuff in that I missed, but I enjoyed some of them quite a lot anyway. I just have no idea which ones.

[evelyn_b]

Poor old Campion. I think my hopes for him were just too high. Plus he always seems to get about one funny scene per book, and then I think, "Ah-ha! Now the good times will begin!" and then the good times do not begin.

I keep hearing that The Tiger in the Smoke is the best Campion book and takes the series in a different/interesting direction, so I am contemplating just reading that next and then doubling back later if I decide it's worth it.

[lost_spook]

All I can remember about individual Campion books is Dancers in Mourning and if they had Amanda in. (I don't remember a single thing about The Tiger in the Smoke. But then unless I re-read books, this is true of nearly everything I've ever read these days.)