Christie, Agatha: By the Pricking of my Thumbs

Starring the endearing duo Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. They first appeared in "The Secret Adversary" as little blackmailers, then got converted into the more respectable detective trade, got married, and in this novel they're a middle-aged couple, going about their business.

It doesn't really start out as a mystery novel, I realise, and if you aren't expecting a mystery, you might be surprised, because of the sedateness of the setting - middle-aged Tuppence, visiting old ladies in a retirement home. The normalcy is only temporary, thank goodness, and Christie sets a tantalising web of mystery for us to unravel. Yes, even old ladies in retirement homes have mysteries about them too!

This is Christie at her usual fine level, and even though they're older, the Beresford pair are still as endearing (though in a long-married couple kind of way now...).

Rating: ****out of 5

Christie, Agatha: Black Coffee

Who doesn’t like Christie? My only regret is that I haven’t read enough of her books, there being so many other books in the library to take advantage of, since the Christie books seem to always be there.
This is a Hercule Poirot mystery, and as usual, well told. Poirot is called in to investigate a murder and a theft of a secret formula stolen from the murder victim - but the theft was done before the murder, and the murder was done in the presence of all the occupants in the house, practically under their noses!

This was actually a play, in fact, Christie's first stage play, and adapted into novel form by a Charles Osbourne (her biographer, I presume). This shows in the book - it's simpler in style and plot, and has a lot of dialogue and action descriptions in it. Nevertheless, a good read. I'd have liked to see it being performed on stage, but I don't think it's being done anywhere now. Christie's "Mousetrap" is still on, though!

Rating: **out of 5