Cat Among the Pigeons

Cat Among the Pigeons

By Agatha Christie

Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of an unpopular games mistress—shot through the heart point-blank.

The school is thrown into chaos when the “cat” strikes again. Unfortunately, schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much. In particular, she knows that without Hercule Poirot’s help, she will be the next victim.…

What a misleading blurb! There's absolutely no mention of the missing royal jewels which were smuggled away from a faux middle-eastern country in the midst of a revolution, and which are now ensconced at said British girls' school.  And misleading tagline! I think it's a bit of a stretch to call this a Hercule Poirot novel - yes, he's in it, and solves the mystery, but he basically comes in 90% of the way there, talks with one of the schoolgirls and the police, and then sits everyone down to do the reveal.  Much less detection that his normal métier. Although it was still a relief to have him and not ersatz Poirot.  And this wasn't one I'd read before, so I was very pleased to get into it.  Did it hold up?

Well there's a fair amount of the trademark Christie stereotypes and semi-racism (that's when they acknowledge that people are being racist, but it's intentional so it's supposed to be a joke).  This one has not only aforementioned middle-easterners, but also spanish dancers, french schoolteachers, and emirs.  As usual, the level headed people are lauded and the dramatic people discover things that get them killed (also they're nosy and can't keep their mouths shut). 

I always try to pay very close attention to clues and things, in the hopes that I will someday, solve the mystery before the detective does! Alas, I managed to guess one part of the mystery (kidnapped princess was not actually the real princess) but failed to get any of the murders - but I argue that having two different murderers with two different motives was a cheap trick! I also kept hoping that it was a fake-out that the prince and his pilot friend both died, since they seemed so nice in their initial chapters. I know Christie does sometimes have the victims narrate a bit of the story, but it was a little poignant here.  

Overall, I liked it, although I might have liked it better with at least 100% more Poirot.  It did keep me guessing, and I think any Christie is generally pretty good. I do like the ones where one of the couples ends up together so I definitely convinced myself that's what was going to happen here and I have to say - you got me, Dame Christie.  I fell for it.  Anyway, if you like Christie, by all means, read this one.

Ten Second Reviews

Cut to the Quick

By Kate Ross

Julian Kestrel is the walking definition of a Regency-era dandy. He cares about little beyond the perfection of his tailoring, he lives for the bon mot, and his life has the specific gravity and the fleeting charm of a soap-bubble. At least that's what he'd like you to think. In fact, it rather suits Kestrel to be perpetually underestimated, particularly when as in this instance his weekend at a glamorous country estate is spoiled by a dead girl's body being found in his bed.

I did like this one - it was a nice break from modern day thrillers, which can be so overwrought.  This one is much more of a classic mystery, with interrogations and secrets discovered, although there is still the confrontation of the murderer, here, it's with the guise of an actual magistrate's duty.  It feels like a pretty chunky book - there's a lot to the back story, which comes out in pieces (and more than a few coincidences, but they aren't the most egregious), so it took me a while to get through it.  Overall, I enjoyed the Regency setting, and the characters, enough to look into the sequel.  Onward and upward!

Comics for a Strange World: A Book of Poorly Drawn Lines

By Reza Farazmand

 

This follow up in the Poorly Drawn Lines series was not nearly as good as the first, for some reason.  Possibly because it felt like it focused more on robots and technology than absurdist humor.  So-so, but I would get the first book and skip this one.

A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie

By Kathryn Harkup

 

This is an alphabetically arranged examination of the poisons used in Agatha Christie's books (funny: you'd never know it from the title).  I really liked this one - first of all, I never realized that Christie was a chemist, and that she kept her poison use really factual and close to reality.  Maybe this is a little embarrassing, but I barely noticed the actual murder weapon when I was reading  - it almost felt superfluous sometimes, since motive seemed so much more important (and Christie always made sure multiple suspects would have been capable of the means).  Harkup goes into detail not only in how Christie used the poison in a particular book/story, but also into the poison itself, famous real life murders, effects on the body, etc.  I have just one complaint, which is that Harkup gets into the chemical properties of the poisons more than is really necessary for most laypeople (and geez, I hope all of her readers are laypeople and not budding young poisoners looking for tips) so I tended to skim the passages about enzymes and receptors and molecules.  But the rest is highly enjoyable, although I would recommend against reading it while sitting with a dying relative receiving morphine, because it will give you bad dreams.