Tag: The Listerdale Mystery

Agatha Christie – The Listerdale Mystery | Review

Title: The Listerdale Mystery

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 192

Rating: 4/5

This little collection of short stories was a lot of fun, but then I was always going to think that because I’m a big fan of Christie’s short fiction. It was also a pleasure to finally have a full collection to read, because the last few short story collections that I’ve picked up have been ones that included a ton of stories that I’d already read.

This might not be the best place to start if you’re new to Christie, but it does give you a pretty decent overall view of what her work is like, and you can read each of the stories as little standalones without any need to read previous novels or stories.

Overall then, if you spot this going cheap at a charity shop, definitely pick it up. Don’t go out of your way for it though, at least until you start to run out of other Christie books to read. As for me, I’m just a little sad because I’m starting to run out of her books.

Learn more about The Listerdale Mystery.


Agatha Christie – The Golden Ball and Other Stories | Review

Title: The Golden Ball and Other Stories

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 231

Rating: 6/10

 

Agatha Christie - The Golden Ball and Other Stories

Agatha Christie – The Golden Ball and Other Stories

 

The Golden Ball and Other Stories is one of Christie’s later collections, published in 1971 (five years before her death) – as such, it isn’t necessarily her best, but it still makes for a good read with a variety of tales on offer. Fifteen of them to be exact, and they’re reasonably diverse in terms of subject matter and pulled from her extensive back catalogue, back from when her writing was fresh and engaging.

Take The Listerdale Mystery, for example – that first appeared as the leading story in a short story collection published back in June 1934. At almost seventy years old, the story has aged well and like most of Christie’s work is highly enjoyable, if not as memorable as some of the longer novels. Likewise, The Hound of Death is the title of a 1933 collection, and many of the other stories were written at a time when Christie was at her most prolific.

Other short stories were, as far as I can tell, published in The Golden Ball for the first time, although I also couldn’t dredge up too much information on when they were actually written. I wouldn’t say that this is classic Christie, but it’s still worth a read if you’re an aficionado.

 

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

 

Click here to buy The Golden Ball and Other Stories.