Welcome to Litsy!

#26Shorts2026 #3BookChallenge2026 #2026Reads #ChristiesCapers #192030

With the holiday mood still in the air the title of this short spoke to me, a Poirot story by Agatha Christie. I haven't read many stories by Agatha Christie but the ending of this was unexpected, and the friendship between Poirot and Hastings is warming and kind of like the hot chocolate Poirot sips at the beginning of this story.

A reread of one of the greatest mysteries ever written was an easy pick for September! #12booksof2025 @TheEllieMo

A truly ghastly woman is murdered on an excursion to Petra. So ghastly in fact that the first half of this book is quite unpleasant to read. There wasn't really anyone to root for at all.

Luckily once Poirot gets on the case, we once more have a proficient mystery to unravel.

Not my favourite, but Christie is still a better plotter than most, even on an off day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#12Booksof2025 July / Book 7 : I'm loving reading Christie's oeuvre in publication order with @Librarybelle - I feel like participating in #ChristiesCapers is making me pick up on how Christie's life influenced her themes. But this one was just a true classic that didn't disappoint, and I somehow had never read it before so going fresh was so much fun!

Six short stories, 5 featuring Poirot & 1 with Miss Marple, ranging from good to excellent:

1. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding 3.5*

2. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest 4*

3. The Under Dog 4*

4. Four and Twenty Blackbirds 4*

5. The Dream 4.5*

6. Greenshaw's Folly 4.5*

Short story collections can be a bit hit & miss, but this one was definitely a hit!
4.5🌟

Read this a little over a year ago, but had to re-read to be sure I read all books in proper chronological order. I may have liked it more this time as I spent more time focusing on each character and what they brought to the story. While brief, I especially enjoyed the banter between Katherine and Miss Viner. A very pleasant re-read. #ChristiesCapers, #AgathaChristieClubR3

These are the first set of books I'll read in 2026:

Argonautika is one of the two books this month for #StorySpins
Brave New World, first sci-fi book of the year that I've always been meaning to read #ClassicLSFBC
Hannibal Rising, first book of my Long Reads Workout part of the #3BookChallenge2026
The Chocolate Box, (loved the title) first short story for #26Shorts2026
War Music, along with these is one of the books I am reading for #2026Reads

Of course I am reading the background information on Poirot again. 🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️

Trying to get back on track with the monthly Agatha Christie reading. Even though I like Hastings, he was not as missed as expected because Katherine made a good sidekick. It is a good story, but I don‘t like how Christie/Poirot sometimes uses information we as the reader don‘t get and can‘t come up with the solution on our own - not that it often happens to me. 🤣

Didn‘t see it coming AT ALL!