Item: The Thirteen Problems
Rating: 4.5
Author: MurderByDeath

The Thirteen Problems

The Thirteen Problems
by Agatha Christie
Rating: ★★★★½
Series: The Agatha Christie Collection #
Publication Date: September 2, 2002
Pages: 201
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Agatha Christie Ltd/Planet Three Publishing

Thirteen short stories of unsolved crimes, solved by Miss Marple.

I (re)read this book for two reasons: I belong to a group reading Agatha Christie’s oeuvre in order of publication, and it fit a Halloween Bingo prompt – 13. Either one of those reasons would have been a good enough excuse to read this charming little collection of Miss Marple showing everyone up.

13 short stories: the first 6 of which share a common tie of being stories told at the Tuesday Night Club, an impromptu gathering where each person tells the tale of a mystery that went unsolved at the time. The next 6 stories are tied together in a similar way, as stories all told around the dining table one evening. The last story is a ‘stand-alone’ although it relies on the friendship established in the previous stories between Miss Marple and Sir Henry Clithering.

Without exception, each story is excellent. Some are more excellent than others; in my opinion, The Blue Geranium is the absolute stand-out, though Motive vs Opportunity comes close. The weakest was probably the last, for me, Death by Drowning. It’s solid, but in comparison, duller than the previous 12 stories.

I have a confession to make about Agatha Christie’s books: I dislike both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. I find that in the longer books Miss Marple tends to natter on a bit too much and plays the “old spinster” and “aww shucks” hands a little too strongly. Hercule Poirot is just … an amalgamation of the worst traits of Holmes and Dupin is as close I can come to a description. I don’t find him as comical as most.

However, these short stories offer the perfect dose of Miss Marple: for almost all the stories, her participation is relegated to the end, so the simpering is contained. I also really tried, while reading these, to re-imagine Miss Marple in my mind by remembering the subjectivity of the descriptor ‘old’ and the stereotype of ‘spinster’. Yes, Miss Marple has white hair and knits, but I know many a 50-60 year old that has white hair and knits. I don’t recall her age ever being mentioned in the books I’ve read so far, so perhaps I dislike Miss Marple because of popular portrayals, combined with current attitudes about the adjectives that Christie used 100 years ago, when they covered broader spectrums.

I was partially successful; it was a struggle. Ingrained conceptions die hard. Fortunately I have a lot of books ahead of me to use for mental re-programming. Now if only I could figure out a way to like Poirot…

As I mentioned, I read this for Halloween Bingo 2020 to fit the 13 square.

Halloween Bingo 2020: The Second Call

Second day, second call. For simplicity sake, I’m going to just post the calls in the order they’re made:

I’ve got Agatha Christie’s The Thirteen Problems going for the 13 square, and while I have Psych, it’s the square I traded with Lillelara for her Romantic Suspense square, so I have time to continue with 13 and start reading for another square yet to be called.

I finished my read for Dark Academia – Murder 101 – and enjoyed it thoroughly.

If I read a square that hasn’t been called yet, a ghost of stickers-yet-to-come will appear; once the square has been called, the sticker will become fully corporeal. (Alas, this only works in regular browsers, but I’m in too deep to try to do something different now.) As the squares get ticked off, a fully formed image will appear. Previously, I posted the finished image, but this year I’m going to leave it a mystery.

Below is the table that will summarise the books I’ve read for each square, and note if I took advantage of one of the Spell Pack cards, and which one. If all goes well, Book Titles will link to my review of the book here.

	Bingo Square	Date Called	Book Title	Date Read
Row #1
	Gothic
	Genre: Suspense
	Ghost Stories
	Dark Academia		Murder 101	Sept. 2
	Southern Gothic
Row #2
	Darkest London
	Black Cat
	Cozy Mystery
	Genre: Mystery
	International Women of Mystery
Row #3
	Grave or Graveyard
	Deadlands
	FREE SPACE
	In the Dark, Dark Woods
	Psych / Romantic Suspense
Row #4
	American Horror Story
	A Grimm Tale
	It was a Dark and Stormy Night
	Monsters
	Trick or Treat
Row #5
	Country House Mystery
	13	Sept. 01	The Thirteen Problems
	Locked Room Mystery
	Halloween
	Murder Most Foul

The Spell Pack cards are below – I’ve used a border in the same color as the card to mark the squares where I’ve used one.

Cards used:
Bingo Flip: Lillelara has agreed to trade my Psych square for her Romantic Suspense square.

I’m planning a follow up post with tentative titles for each square.

Murder 101

Murder 101
by Maggie Barbieri
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780312355371
Series: Murder 101 #1
Publication Date: October 31, 2006
Pages: 288
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur

Safely away from the chaos of Manhattan, St. Thomas, a small college on the banks of the Hudson River in the Bronx, is supposed to be tranquil, bucolic, and serene. Unfortunately, English professor Alison Bergeron has found it to be anything but. Recently divorced from a fellow professor and even more recently without a car---it was stolen---she has been hoofing it to school. One Friday evening, two NYPD homicide detectives drop by her office. The good news is that they found her beat-up Volvo; the bad news is that the body of one of the students in her Shakespeare seminar was in the trunk.

Not only are Alison's chances of getting the car back bleak, but suddenly she's the primary suspect on a list that includes, among others, the murdered student's drug-dealing boyfriend, Vince, and the girl's father's business rivals (he's head of an old Italian family . . .).

Accused of a crime that she didn't commit, Alison enlists her best friend, Max's, emotional support and services as an amateur sleuth. Their fumbling efforts to clear Alison's name could land her in even hotter water with Detective Bobby Crawford, the handsome investigating officer (and former altar boy)---not to mention the nuns at St. Thomas. . . .

This was a re-read of a book I’d read years ago, the first in a series that takes place on a private, catholic college campus. Our MC is a professor of English literature and the formula is fairly basic: she’s an unwitting suspect in a campus murder, and the investigating detective is a tall slab of gorgeous. Peril and protection follow.

Same old, same old right? Yes, and no. When Barbieri wrote this 14 years ago, this formula wasn’t yet so much a formula as it was a trend, and as such, this book doesn’t feel derivative – at least not to me. This story was written before ‘cozy’ became synonymous with ‘fluffy’ and ‘vapid’. So we have likeable characters we genuinely cheer on, that are going through some rather heavy duty events involving very real violence. When the MC sees crime-scene photos, she passes out, then vomits all over the detectives shoes – twice. But instead of being played for laughs, the author makes us feel the mc’s embarrassment – and the detective’s embarrassment for her.

The plotting was good; not spectacular, but this is a first book, and it was adequate enough that I didn’t guess the culprit. The author did well with presenting an array of viable suspects, and when it came down to it, the solution made sense.

I’m glad I re-read this; I’d forgotten why I loved cozies so much; it’s nice to see that what I fell in love with is not the derivative nonsense cozies have become today. Of course, I now want to re-read the entire series.

I read this for Halloween Bingo 2020, specifically for the Dark Academia square.

Halloween Bingo 2020: The First Call

Let the games – Halloween Bingo – begin! Today, or yesterday – depending which side of the International Date Line you’re on – was the official start of our annual Halloween Bingo. Most of it is taking place on GoodReads this year, and I’m trying, but I really can’t stomach that place, so most of my updates and tracking will be done here.

The first call today was:

My original pick for this, as it is every year I’ve had this square, was Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon but I’m in another group reading Agatha Christie in order, and we’re currently reading … The Thirteen Problems, so it just makes sense to use this book for the square.

	Bingo Square	Date Called	Book Title	Date Read
Row #1
	Gothic
	Genre: Suspense
	Ghost Stories
	Dark Academia
	Southern Gothic
Row #2
	Darkest London
	Black Cat
	Cozy Mystery
	Genre: Mystery
	International Women of Mystery
Row #3
	Grave or Graveyard
	Deadlands
	FREE SPACE
	In the Dark, Dark Woods
	Psych / Romantic Suspense
Row #4
	American Horror Story
	A Grimm Tale
	It was a Dark and Stormy Night
	Monsters
	Trick or Treat
Row #5
	Country House Mystery
	13	Sept. 01	The Thirteen Problems
	Locked Room Mystery
	Halloween
	Murder Most Foul

The Spell Pack cards are below – I’ve used a border in the same color as the card to mark the squares where I’ve used one.

Cards used:
Bingo Flip: Lillelara has agreed to trade my Psych square for her Romantic Suspense square.

I’m planning a follow up post with tentative titles for each square.

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Fifth row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares. This last row was challenging, but if I get through these, I’ll have knocked a few old-timers off the TBR shelf. These are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 5

This one’s been on my shelf for ages, because I’m missing the first in the series. But it’s time to get over it and just read it. The summary indicates our MC is parked at her fiancee’s country estate.

This is another of those books that have made it on the lists of Halloween Bingo past, but never got read. I don’t know why, only that each time something else that fits has grabbed my attention.

I can always count on this anthology for the Locked Room square; there are so many stories in it, it’ll take me forever to read them all. But I need to remember to look up which ones I read last year, so as not to duplicate myself.

Not sure about this one; Revenge of the Cootie Girls would be a re-read of a mystery that takes place on Halloween, but I also have Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett; another re-read that fits because my edition has a pumpkin on the cover. Decisions, decisions.

I only have this one Anthony Berkley because I’m not sure I’d really like his writing, based on what I’ve read about him in other books. But this story sounds like a lot of fun, so it’s time to crack it open.

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Fourth row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares. This fourth row has been the hardest by far, and I’ve had to invoke two more Spell Pack cards to make them work These are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 4

There was no way I was reading anything for American Horror Story as Horror really isn’t my jam. So I used the Transfiguration Spell Card to turn this square into Spellbound, which gives me the perfect excuse to read Kevin Hearne’s new book that takes place in the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles: Ink & Sigil. This is one of 2 books I’ve purchased for this year’s Halloween Bingo, and I can only hope it arrives in time.

Another square I’m invoking a Spell Pack card for – this one Wild Card. My wild card author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I haven’t decided which title yet – but it’ll either be one of the Sherlock Holmes stories, or I have a book of Tales of Terror and Mystery I might give a go.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to read for this one but then I saw the book list of titles suggestions for the prompt, and there it was. H.R.F. Keating’s novelisation of Neil Simon’s movie, Murder by Death; my namesake. The ending pisses me off, but eh – it’s still worth a re-read.

This is both a re-read and a purchase, because apparently, I originally read this digitally. I’ve also bought the Alex Price entries and the newest title that centers on the cuckoo whose name escapes me at the moment, so it might be one of those instead.

I consulted the lists for this one and decided on Dorthy Sayers’ hangman Holiday; I have it and I don’t think I’ve read any of the stories yet.

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Third row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares. It’s funny how the further down the card I go, the harder a time I have finding books. These are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 3

I’m going to try – again – to use A Graveyard for Lunatics by Ray Bradbury for this square; I’ve had it on my Bingo list for the last two years and replaced it both times. If I don’t read it this year, it’s going in the box.

I’ve read all the previous books in the Iron Druid Chronicles on Audio, but I have this hardcover, so I’m going to actually read Staked by Kevin Hearne.

Ah Edgar; any book that is mystery, suspense, horror or supernatural, which makes Ellis Peters’ The Leper of Saint Giles, the next in my Br. Cadfael TBR, the perfect fit.

I thought at first I’d have to Spell Pack this, but I ran across this on my TBR and it seems to take place in the woods of both Switzerland and the UK. Holt is hit or miss with me as the romance is sometimes to much the focus. We’ll see.

No way could I do Psychological books; they mess with my head way too much. So I’ve invoked my first Spell Pack card: Bingo Flip and Lillelara agreed to swap with me for Romantic Suspense. I chose a Phyllis A. Whitney for this flipped square: The Turquoise Mask. One of her older ones, so hopefully one of the better ones.

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / Second row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares and these are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 2

I was going to do a re-read of Sherlock Holmes, but I’ve just found Martin Edwards’ anthology Capital Crimes on the TBR so I’m going with a selection of stories chosen by whim for this square.

I thought this was going to be a bridge too hard and planned to use a Spell Pack card, but I pulled Amanda Flowers’ Murders and Metaphors off the shelf, and voila! A Black Cat. Sorted.

Too easy and likely one I’ll just choose when I’m ready to start reading a cozy.

TBD

Stuart Palmer’s The Puzzle of the Happy Hooligan has been lingering on the TBR for awhile now; it’s either going to be a hoot or tedious. Time to find out which.

Usually this one is tough for me, but I found the first one in this series last year and enjoyed it enough to order the next two, leaving me sorted with Ovidia Yu’s The Betel Nut Tree Mystery

Halloween Bingo 2020 – Planning post / First row

I’ve been going through my TBR pile, matching books to bingo squares and these are my tentative plans so far, totally subject to change without notice.

ROW 1

For the gothic square, I’ve chosen Mary Roberts Rinehart’s The Red Lamp. William Porter has just inherited Twin Hollows, an isolated lakeside estate shrouded in mystery and doom. William and his wife aren’t easily swayed by ghost stories, until a shadowy apparition beckons to them from the undying glow of a red lamp.

This square was a bit of a stumper for me, but I remembered the first of LynDee Walker’s new series was on my TBR: Fear No Truth, so I’m giving that a go.

A no-brainer for me, as I’ve just purchased Simone St. James’ new book The Sun Down Motel.

Now I just have to find a bright sunny morning to start it so I don’t scare the crap out of myself.

I’m going for a re-read for this square, Maggie Barbieri’s Murder 101, the first in her cozy series featuring a college professor.

Not sure what I’ll do for this square yet; I thought about re-reading Carolyn Hart’s Southern Ghost, but … meh. I’m going to see if I can find any Barbara Michaels I haven’t read yet.

TBD

Halloween Bingo 2020: The Lockdown Edition

It’s here! I’m a bit behind everybody else because I was late requesting my card, and the move over to the WP site presented a significant challenge: could I re-create my fancy sticker overlays here the way I did on BookLikes? The answer: Yes, with a lot of swearing. WP like to add extraneous style information on their images, which I’m sure is meant to make it easier for all experience levels to create their posts. But that extraneous code kept breaking my card. But I finally won and my card is below:

If I read a square that hasn’t been called yet, a ghost of stickers-yet-to-come will appear; once the square has been called, the sticker will become fully corporeal. As the squares get ticked off, a fully formed image will appear. Previously, I posted the finished image, but this year I’m going to leave it a mystery.

	Bingo Square	Date Called	Book Title	Date Read
Row #1
	Gothic
	Genre: Suspense
	Ghost Stories
	Dark Academia
	Southern Gothic
Row #2
	Darkest London
	Black Cat
	Cozy Mystery
	Genre: Mystery
	International Women of Mystery
Row #3
	Grave or Graveyard
	Deadlands
	FREE SPACE
	In the Dark, Dark Woods
	Psych / Romantic Suspense
Row #4
	American Horror Story
	A Grimm Tale
	It was a Dark and Stormy Night
	Monsters
	Trick or Treat
Row #5
	Country House Mystery
	13
	Locked Room Mystery
	Halloween
	Murder Most Foul

The Spell Pack cards are below – I’ve used a border in the same color as the card to mark the squares where I’ve used one.

Cards used:
Bingo Flip: Lillelara has agreed to trade my Psych square for her Romantic Suspense square.

I’m planning a follow up post with tentative titles for each square.