I made her promise not to go out on the balcony; I said I’d had a dream. That impressed her—one can do a lot with superstition sometimes.
A Christmas Tragedy
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery (novella)
About: This is a short novella of Miss Marple recounting a murder she wishes she could have prevented one Christmas. I listened to it as an audiobook and it lasted only 40 mins so it's a very quick listen.
Thoughts
I think I’m turning into a Marple stan. There's such a cosy atmosphere in the Miss Marple stories. It wasn't as Christmassy as it could have been but overall I enjoyed this. Even that the murder has long taken place and this is a retrospective narration, there is still tension and mystery. Which is surprising really as the murderer is told to you and yet Agatha Christie manages to stow doubt in the inevitable. And while it does have a similarity to one of Christie’s more famous works, there was enough originality to hold my interest.
It is the quietest and meekest people who are often capable of the most sudden and unexpected violence for the reason that when their control does snap, it goes entirely.
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery (short story)
About: A rich old gentleman demands all his family stay with him for Christmas, seemingly for the enjoyment of teasing and antagonising them. Then, after threatening to change his will, he's discovered dead in a locked room. Blood everywhere. A crime of hate or greed or something deeper, Poirot is soon on the case.
Thoughts
The full cast version feels a bit chaotic at first as there's a lot of characters to get to grips with, and they all hate the victim or at least it's made clear that there's no love lost at his death. I liked the dramatics of the murder, guessed a couple of the twists but not the overall one, and enjoyed how quickly everything escalated. It has a similarity to one of Christie's most famous mysteries - which I won't name for spoiler reasons and there isn't a lot of newness to the story. However, it does have a tense, bitter atmosphere that suits the Christmas backdrop and comes with a long list of suspects. For being such a quick listen (1hr 20mins) I enjoyed this and would recommend.
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