Classic Fridays: Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Blurb: "Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe would be doing the world at large a service.” --Reverend Clement

The tranquillity of St Mary Mead is shattered when Lucius Protheroe is found dead. A thoroughly unpleasant character, there is no shortage of suspects with a motive for murder. Could it have been his unfaithful wife?  Her artist lover? The daughter, set to inherit?  Or even the mild-mannered vicar? Inspector Slack is at a loss. Perhaps Miss Jane Marple, the local village busybody, can help...

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I just finished reading the novel about a week ago, and it was just as enjoyable as I had imagined. With my busy schedule, I have had very little time for reading purely for enjoyment. This Agatha Christie project to compare the books with the British ITV television series has been great fun! 

This is the first Miss Marple novel and it was written in first person from the perspective of the Vicar. I enjoyed the prose and style of the novel and found the need to keep reading at each sitting longer than I had planned. Finishing a whole novel in 2 days is quite a feat for me these days, but that just goes back to the splendid writing of this author. I haven't had a chance to read a Christie mystery in a couple years so this was pure pleasure for me. 

When ITV decided to reboot Miss Marple back in 2004, this was the first book they revisited in film which makes sense as it is the first Marple novel. I must say that the screenplay was overall quite faithful to the text. Sure, they gave more screen time to Miss Marple than is given to her in the book. In the book, as the point of view character is the vicar, everything is experienced through his eyes and so Miss Marple in many ways seems more like a secondary character. The plot carries through much as the book did and the guilty parties were the same as in the novel. Overall, I was pleased with the film adaptation and Geraldine McEwan's performance as Miss Marple.

An audio introduction to the novel:

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Second Chances: A Free Read

I wrote this free read for White Rose Publishing some time ago. It's a Christian western story, approximately 10,000 words. Don't take it too seriously. I had a lot of fun delving into this genre.

Download it for free: http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/second-chances

SECOND CHANCES

Downloadable eBook

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Ellie Westin has waited two years for cowhand Joe Cameron to make her his wife. When he returns from the latest cattle drive, he finds her engaged to another man and about ready to join a wagon train to the Nevada silver mines…unless God gives him a second chance to right his wrongs and ask her the question she’s been waiting so long to hear.

Agatha Christie's Marple

I've blogged before about Agatha Christie's work and the recent series/films. Well, I broke down and purchased series 1-5 (used up those Amazon gift cards I've been holding on to). And in doing so I gave myself a summer project--an enjoyable project. I am going to watch the films and then read the corresponding novel and review them together.  Don't know how far I'll get but it is a fun prospect.

Excerpt: Snow Kissed

Excerpt:

 “So, what are you up to this afternoon?”

Before Holly’s expression could waver into a frown, she forced a smile. “I…I’m off for a snow walk.” Possibly my last in Meriden.

“That is what’s so stupid about this…this whole Winter Wonderland Carnival. There’s no snow!” He raised both his hands in aggravation.

“There might not be any right now, but there will be.”

“How do you know? There’s no snow expected. Cold, but no snow.”

“There’ll be snow tonight.” She stepped close to him, laying her hand in the crook of his arm. The contact brought a swirl of pleasure moving around inside her stomach—more so than normal. It must be from all the excitement of her news—nothing more than that.

“Just breathe,” she whispered to him, as she slowly took in a deep whiff. “You smell that?”

He shook his head. “What? Burgers from down the street?”

“No.” She laughed; he could be so dense sometimes. “It’s the first snowfall.” She inhaled another intoxicating aroma of winter air. “It’s coming.”

“And what’s so good about snow? It’s just annoying and inconvenient.” He pulled his arm away and folded them across his lean frame.

“Snow is beautiful…magical.” Her voice came out breathy with the idea of snow making her feel all tingly.

“It’s cold, wet stuff that falls from the sky.”

“Then there are the wonderful clothes: hats, scarves, gloves…”

“…galoshes, wool socks,” he countered.

She continued, not to be undone by his cynicism. “Fresh baked cookies, hot apple cider, hot cocoa, hot toddies…what is a hot toddy?”

He nearly laughed at her, a cute smile building in the corner of his mouth as he shook his head. 

Available at Amazon.

Spotlight Title: Snow Kissed

Today is one of those days Logan Reilly wished he?d stayed in bed. Not only does he have to deal with the annoying Winter Wonderland Carnival but his close friend, that whimsical lover of snow, Holly Armstrong, is leaving town forever. The question is why didn?t she tell him and why today, of all days, does he realize she might be more than a friend?
Holly can no longer stay in town knowing the man she loves only sees her as a friend. It?s time to move on; besides she has other career prospects.
As the carnival unfolds, watch God work in amazing ways. Can He change Holly's mind and make her stay? Can He help Logan see beyond the friendship? Only time can tell.

Now at Amazon

Cookson Revisited

Last year, I watched my first Catherine Cookson movie based on one of her novels. I made a comparison of Cookson to Dickens in a blog last Fall. Basically, I just did not enjoy the characters or the story, but I waited to make a final judgement call until I'd watched some more. I do know people who love these and have encouraged me that if I watch period dramas I should give them a try. Well, I watched four more Cookson movies in the last two weeks. Has my opinion changed? Not really. They really aren't my cup of tea and even though I can watch a whole lot more of them on Netflix I am probably going to pass on them.

For me, I think these stories are just too violent, they don't contain many characters that I am attracted to and the plots are driven by all the most horrible and low parts of the human experience. It's not that I just need a fluffy Jane Austen plot to enjoy a period drama. For instance, I loved George Eliot's Daniel Deronda as well as Anthony Trollope's How We Live Now. But the Cookson plots go a step too far so that by the time you get to the end you wonder how this can conclude with a satisfying ending. Most often I am left wanting by the finish. Others may like Cookson but as for me I think I'll go back to Dickens and Austen.

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie

It is a well-documented fact that I love a good mystery. And in the last 10 years or more I have become an avid fan of Dame Agatha Christie. I also enjoy a good period drama and most anything produced by the BBC. So for the last several years I’ve been watching the Marple series which has starred both Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. 

They have been very enjoyable films even though the novels and series can vary greatly. This past week I started watching some of the Marple series episodes which I missed when they first aired. One of these was By the Pricking of my Thumbs and that along with Miss Marple two other of Ms. Christies sleuths would appear in the film—that of Tommy and Tuppance. Now I have read the Tommy and Tuppance novels and I loved them. I even watched the tv series staring Francesca Annis and James Warwick which was wonderfully cast. Unfortunately, the new version of By the Pricking of my Thumbs from 2006 was a bit wanting. I watched the film and enjoyed it but I knew something wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t just that the film included Miss Marple and this novel wasn’t a Miss Marple story. No, the problem was somewhat due to the casting of the Tommy & Tuppance characters and even more to the writing of these characters. This T & T were not the two I remembered from the early novels. 

So, I got a copy of the book and read it in a couple days. It was very good (no surprise) and I saw that Ms. Christie had preserved her sleuthing couple. They were older, more mature but in essentials still the Tommy and Tuppance of their youth. The screenwriters had also dismantled the plot of the original but of course they seem to be doing that to all her stories in this recent series. I have to wonder why. Why change something that is already so good. Are they doing it to appeal to a modern audience? Are they doing it to be more cinematically exciting? No. They just seem to be making changes for no other reason than to just make changes. I remarked to my oldest son, “perhaps they are changing the stories so that we don’t know how they are going to turn out in the end.” Hmm, I guess we just have to try to enjoy them as they are and not worry about their faithfulness to the original. But in the case of By the Pricking of my Thumbs I have to say badly done. I can forgive a change in plot and even ‘who done it’ but changing who Tommy and Tuppance are—that I cannot forgive.