The ABC Murders

I looked back at some of my earlier Agatha Christie reviews, and several mention books that have stayed on my shelf for 30 years. It's now closer to 40 for some of them, like The ABC Murders. It's got a stamp from The Book Swap, which closed before I graduated from high school, and above the stamp there's the name of the original owner and "November 1st, 1977." I wonder what I would have thought of it as a teenager? Although written only about 20 years into Hercule Poirot's 50 year career, he's showing his age, admitting to Hastings that he dyes his hair and being dismissed by the young policeman assigned to help him.

Someone killed Mrs. Asher in her Andover candy shop and left an ABC guide on the counter. Poirot got involved because someone sent him a letter announcing the murder. Soon, another announced murder happens, of Betty Bernard in Bexhill-on-Sea. Eventually Sir Carmichael Clarke's body is found in Churston, and the murder taunts Poirot with the threat of another death soon, in Dorchester. It's a classic Christie, with red herrings and obvious suspects, but there's also a slightly melancholy hint. Poirot was never a young character, but both he and Hastings are aging and there's a sense of the world changing. 35 years ago, I would have only seen the well crafted puzzle.  Now, I see the emotional shades.

Death in St. Petersburg

Ballet, murder, and revolution come together in Tasha Alexander's Death in St. Petersburg.  Shortly after Christmas, 1899, Colin Hargraves traveled to St. Petersburg on business, and a few days later Lady Emily and her friend Cecile du Lac followed to welcome in 1900 a second time (Russia still used he Julian calendar at the time). After a performance of Swan Lake, they discover why Nemesteva's understudy (and childhood friend) Katenka performed the final act; the star ballerina's body is lying in a pool of blood near the theater's back entrance.  Did Katenka kill her rival/friend? Or was it her brother, Nemesteva's former lover? Perhaps the killer is one of the revolutionaries Colin is tracking at the behest of Queen Victoria (grandmother of the Czarina). Once again, Alexander uses parallel narratives (here, the second narrative is Katenka's diary) to dole out clues and motivations, creating a well-supported solution that the reader solves at about the same time as Colin and Emily.

Quarrel with the King: The Story of an English Family on the High Road to Civil War

Quarrel with the King was both interesting and vaguely unsatisfying.  Covering both the changes to society and the nobility during the reigns of James I, Charles I, and the Republic and the history of the Earls of Pembroke, Adam Nicolson's book never seemed to fully connect the two threads.  This short book gives only surface treatment to two (perhaps not as intertwined as the author thought) tales which deserve deeper treatment.

Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life

Despite some highly publicized tragedies, I've never bought the Broken Child Star myth.  I've always thought that most of those who don't transition to an adult role (sometimes behind the scenes) in the entertainment industry live somewhat ordinary lives.  Quinn Cummings is one of those former stars now living as normal a life as anyone with a sense of humor and a job as a free lance writer can.  Tales from the Underwire, her first book, describes her life and how she got there.  Obtaining a cow's heart for her daughter to dissect, fighting off a catnip-addled cat while trying to sleep on the sofa, or fearing that she's about to walk into the cold open of Law & Order while posting fundraiser notices, she navigates modern life with an eye for everyday absurdities. It's the perfect commute book, segmented enough that you can put it down, but entertaining enough that you don't want to.