agathachristieclubr3

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

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Reading on #Litsy with Christie‘s Capers (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle #AgathaChristieClubR3

4 Stars • The Seven Dials Mystery (1929) by Agatha Christie is the second novel featuring Superintendent Battle. During a house party, a young guest, Gerry Wade, dies unexpectedly after a prank involving sleeping pills goes awry. ⬇️

suvata The incident raises suspicions among the guests, including the curious and bold Bundle Brent, who begins investigating. Their inquiries lead to the discovery of a secretive group called the Seven Dials, connected to espionage and a missing scientific formula. As the stakes rise with further incidents, Superintendent Battle takes charge, unraveling a complex web of intrigue. 3d

Librarybelle Glad you liked this one! 3d

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Librarybelle

Partners in Crime: A Tommy & Tuppence Adventure | Agatha Christie

**Update: Short story titles in comments!!!**

We‘re joining forces with Tommy and Tuppence for November‘s book! This is a collection of 17 short stories featuring the duo.

Discussion on the 30th. All are welcome to join. Please let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list.

It‘s after 11pm on the US East Coast; I‘ll post the short story titles in the book tomorrow! #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

janeycanuck, suvata, Aims42, MallenNC, Soscha, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, MariaW, elkeOriginal, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Gissy, OutsmartYourShelf, mrp27, Larkken, Suet624, Cailey_Mac, ferskner, Marmie7, MaleficentBookDragon, majkia, Bookwormjillk, StayCurious, Teresereading, Laughterhp, RainyDayReading, Skygoddess1, Morr_Books, PathfinderNicole, dabbe, tdrosebud, MaGoose, ElizaMarie, bcncookbookclub, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, Sparklemn, PageShifter, willaful, kimrenee, BookNook, AnishaInkspill, ChaptersofChaos

Librarybelle @LitsyEvents 4d

ChaptersofChaos I'll start reading tomorrow! 4d

Librarybelle Yay, @ChaptersofChaos ! 4d

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Librarybelle And here are the short stories in this collection: A Fairy in the Flat, A Pot of Tea, The Affair of the Pink Pearl, The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger, Finessing the King, The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper, The Case of the Missing Lady, Blindman‘s Buff, The Man in the Mist, The Crackler, The Sunningdale Mystery, The House of Lurking Death, The Unbreakable Alibi, The Clergyman‘s Daughter, The Red House, ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 3d

Librarybelle ⬆️⬆️⬆️ The Ambassador‘s Boots, and The Man Who Was No. 16 (edited) 3d

peanutnine I'm reading Christie's books in series order and this one just so happens to be my next read, so tag me in your discussion post this time around please. Would love to discuss 😊 2d

Librarybelle Will do, @peanutnine ! 😁 2d

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kspenmoll

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

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Really enjoyed this book- the characters, the sense of humor, the adventure. Sad to her Christie‘s female main character, Bundle does not reappear in any of her books again. She is strong willed, intelligent, adventurous, self possessed. #christieCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Librarybelle

Aims42 I wish more series did those big, multiple story editions 😕 It would be so handy (edited) 4d

Itchyfeetreader Love your table ! 4d

Librarybelle Yay!! 4d

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Librarybelle

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

So sorry I did not send reminders about this weekend‘s discussion—you can tell when life is busy when you don‘t even have time to get on Litsy!

I have 5 questions posted as spoilers for our discussion of Seven Dials. You can find these on my feed, the book‘s feed, or by searching #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3 .

Next month we revisit Tommy and Tuppence in a collection of stories! More info tomorrow!

kspenmoll I just got the book today- sorry to be behind! 6d

Aims42 I started this but couldn‘t get into it so I bailed 😕 I have the next Tommy & Tuppence on my kindle ready to go for November 🤩 5d

Sparklemn I wasn‘t able to finish this due to distractions but will pick it up later. 5d

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TheAromaofBooks Whoops, somehow I got mixed up and read Partners in Crime instead of The Seven Dials Mystery this month 😂 Well, I am so prepared for November haha 5d

Librarybelle One less to read in November, @TheAromaofBooks ! 😂 5d

kelli7990 I haven‘t started this one yet. 3d

Librarybelle No worries, @kelli7990 ! 3d

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Librarybelle

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

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5. As this is a sequel of sort to Chimneys, we revisit with Bundle and Superintendent Battle and other characters from Chimneys. We'll see Battle again as we continue our Christie journey, but the other characters do not come back. Why do you think Christie ended their story?

Are there any comments you wish to share about the characters? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin I like Bundle but Christie already has a plucky lead in Tuppence so no need for another perhaps? 5d

CogsOfEncouragement Always fun to have a sharp woman get herself mixed up in things that others will underestimate her in. I am disappointed to hear there is no more of Bundle. I took the ending to be a set up for more of her. So be it. @Cuilin I do like Tuppence. After I read The Secret Adversary (years ago) I searched out the rest of the series at my library and was delighted with how Christie continued with Tommy & Tuppence. 5d

willaful I guess probably the critical response led to her deciding to stick with T&T. 5d

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MallenNC I can see how Bundle and Tuppence serve the same role in a story. So as @willaful said, with the positive response to Tommy & Tuppence it made sense to stick with those stories. 5d

kspenmoll I just finished- late but so sad to hear no more Bundle-what a wonderful self possessed, adventurous woman! 4d

BarbaraJean I'm joining the chorus of disappointment over there being no more Bundle stories! As others have said, it makes sense that Christie would continue with Tuppence instead, if those stories were better received. But from what we've read so far, I like Bundle better. 2d

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Librarybelle

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

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4. Definite spoiler ahead to those who have not finished...

One other major concern from reviewers was the reveal at the end. A few called the ending absurd. Others felt the ending did not fit with the story: says one reviewer, “There is no particular reason why the masked man should be the particular person he turns out to be.“

What did you think of the ending? Was this a believable conclusion? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin The reveal was a bit disappointing but again as Christie is playing with and testing her writing genres, she‘s also testing endings and twists. 5d

CogsOfEncouragement I liked the reveal. I'm not mad about it, nor disappointed. Likeable characters in a cozy mystery. Good fun. 5d

willaful I liked it. I think it was Christie poking fun at herself. 5d

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MallenNC I liked the description of how the person pulled of the whole scene including shooting himself. It was clever 5d

kspenmoll I was surprised- liked the end. 4d

BarbaraJean Like @CogsOfEncouragement, I'm not mad about it! I did find the reveal surprising, and some of it felt like a stretch, but I don't think I was expecting believability. It was fun! 2d

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Librarybelle

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

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3. Christie herself liked this novel and found it very easy to write, as she did not need to deeply plan out the mystery. She called this novel a “light-hearted thriller type.“ Do you agree with Christie's assessment of the novel?

One modern-day reviewer noted that they could tell Christie did not really plan out anything in the novel, as the plot was “immensely tedious.“ What do you think? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin It was a bit muddled. I thought it a fun light hearted caper. It was just what I needed. 5d

CogsOfEncouragement Yes, a light-hearted (cozy) mystery. Which is right up my alley. 5d

MallenNC I found the plot a little hard to follow at times but I think light-hearted mystery is a good description 5d

BarbaraJean I agree with @Cuilin that “caper“ feels more accurate. Thriller seems too strong of a word for this! I think Christie does lighthearted a lot better than thriller, especially in these early books. 2d

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Librarybelle

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

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2. Let's dive into what her contemporary readers thought, which was not positive. Reviewers indicated a dislike for returning back to “Gothic romances“ and not the more deductive art of her mysteries (Poirot!) and “far below her standard“ writing.

We've compared Seven Dials to Chimneys, but let's take a broader comparison to her other mysteries we've read so far. Do you agree with the reviewers' assessments? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin I think Christie was still trying to figure out what sort of a writer she was. I would say she was still in her experimental stage. 6d

CogsOfEncouragement This didn't have some of the entertainingly shocking twists like some of her other mysteries, but I did enjoy it. 5d

willaful I think it's worn better than they expected. Reading it with knowledge of Christies work, you can see both the cleverness and the meta-ness. I feel like it was kind of a last gasp of her previous adventures and poking fun at them at the same time. Saying, “ok, I know these are dumb and I'm gonna be moving on.“ 5d

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MallenNC I liked this one but I don‘t think I‘ll remember much about it. I think it was enjoyable but as @CogsOfEncouragement said, it didn‘t have those standout twists. 5d

kspenmoll @willaful You said it all so well. This book was just pure fun for me. 4d

willaful @kspenmoll 😍 4d

BarbaraJean So interesting--this one felt more deductive to me than a lot of her earlier books. Like @Cuilin, I do think she was still experimenting. And I felt like this “recipe“ worked better than some of her earlier experiments. I could see the development of her writing--although there were similarities, she toned down a lot of the elements that didn't work well in Chimneys, Big Four, Secret Adversary, and Man in the Brown Suit. 2d

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Librarybelle

The Seven Dials Mystery | Agatha Christie

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1. Christie returns to the characters from The Secret of Chimneys in this novel. What did you think of the book overall? How does it compare to Chimneys?

We'll get to reception of the novel next! #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

CogsOfEncouragement I have read about fifteen Christie's but I did miss out on reading The Secret of Chimneys. I liked this one, and I like Battle. 5d

willaful I think this is my favorite of her “bright young things“ books. It's funny, has a sense of humor about itself, and I like the silly romance. 5d

MallenNC I enjoyed this one. But even though I knew it wasn‘t a Poirot book I was still expecting him. I liked Bundle. 5d

kspenmoll I really enjoyed all the characters! 4d

BarbaraJean I liked this one a lot more than Chimneys, and I'm glad we got more Bundle here. Other than Bundle, I was distracted by trying to remember who else was who from the previous book! I feel like Christie played more to her strengths here. There was less international intrigue, and fewer moving pieces--it didn't feel like she was trying to do too much (as I felt with Chimneys). 2d

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BookNook

The Murder on the Links: A Hercule Poirot Mystery | Agatha Christie

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#ChristiesCapers, #AgathaChristieClubR3
While good, not one of ACs best. The characters and relationships were intriguing, and the plot twists certainly kept me guessing, but it seemed the ultimate solution had to be a bit forced. Might be just me. I did enjoy the book over-all.

Librarybelle I like that we can see Christie‘s progression as a writer by reading these in order! 3w

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