The Sittaford Mystery - the boots! You’re probably too young to know this, but years ago there were no such things as ‘ski boots’. The first time I went skiing, in 1970, skis were made from wood with metal runners, and you used stout leather lace-up hiking boots. The boots slotted into the skis and you tied them on with cord. Your feet got very cold even with several pairs of socks. So in the story, the boots would just look like boots!
Thanks! I did not know that! Definitely something worth considering in a reevaluation. The terms ski boots is used in my edition, however, but now with this information I suspect the term is meant to be read as boots delegated for skiing and not actual ski boots.
Crooked House & And Then are brilliant, even outside of the genre, Imo. Endless Night is unique bcs the narrator is a working class guy, but it's pretty easy to spot the killer as there simply aren't too many characters & It's Roger A. + Death on the Nile. Ppl read a lot of AC books should see it easily. I've got a soft spot for By the Pricking of My Thumbs. I used to loooove it as a kid. And the beginning is just flawless, as well as the spooky atmosphere.
I wish it had been Colonel Race who'd gotten the solution in Sparkling Cyanide. Superintendent Battle had some solutions, after all. I did like that Tuppence had the presence of mind to choose an alias with the initials PB and Tommy's retort that he doesn't have large Bs embroidered on his pants. Superintendent Battle emulated both Poirot and Miss Marple in Towards Zero - knowing Audrey's innocence by the analogy to his daughter was pure Marple and he gets the unsymmetrically cleaned room from Poirot, as he recognizes.
Spoilers in here, especially for Sittaford Mystery: I again agree with most of your rankings and points (generally, I'm not talking about ranking a book one spot lower or higher), so here are just the few points with which I don't agree. I would have ranked Secret adversary roughly around position 14/15 and Sittaford Mystery around 6/7. I loved all the characters in Secret Adversary, but I never cared much for the plot itself. As for Sittaford Mystery, I disagree that Christie cheated, because the boots are IMO only an additional clue. To solve this one, we needed three informations, which we got: 1.) Sittaford is up on a hill and Hazelmoor down in the valley, 2.) There's snow everywhere, 3.) The major excelled in skiing. Given these three informations, one can second guess his decision to *walk* down to Hazelmoor instead of skiing right from the beginning. I did, and as a result it was one of the few Christie's, that I actually solved, which is why I can't agree that she cheated. The only other minor quibble I have is that I don't have any problems with the first murder in Towards Zero. The killer acted in a hurry and thought of this method on the spot. At worst from the killer's point of view, it wouldn't have worked and he would have tried something else. I have more problems with the MacWhirter subplot in this one and especially his relationship with Audrey. Pale Horse is highly underrated and I love, that you rank it so highly.
I can understand this. In retrospect, I think maybe I did put the Sittaford Mystery a little too low. I had it at #10 before I knocked it down because of the boots which I think maybe I knocked it down too much. There is certainly a case for it being even higher than that. The first murder in Towards Zero really didn't hurt its position. It was probably always going to be #4
Hallo! Very good list, I really enjoyed it. ❤ If you replace sparkling cyanide and endless night (endless boredom) with Evans and 7 dials mystery and rearrange top five 1. And then there were none 2. Crooked house 3. Ordeal by innocence 4. Death comes at the end 5. Towards zero we agree totally Thanks for the video
My one problem with "N or M" is that there is one moment and only one where Agatha Christie gives Mrs. Sprot's first name as Millicent. It's so glaringly obvious once that happens that you know she is M. Even decades after reading that novel, it still sticks out like a sore thumb. Have you thought about making a list of Anne Perry novels? Haven't read any old-time mysteries in a while, but I still enjoy them.
I open to covering Anne Perry down the road even though she isn't Golden Age. I have read the first few Thomas Pitt novels and enjoyed them. It never even dawned on me that Millicent Sprot's name beginning with M was a clue.
I don't know if I'd agree Murder is Easy is better plotted than Death Comes as the End. I think you can argue its more readable than it and Secret Adversary. But to each his or her own!
The Sittaford Mystery - the boots! You’re probably too young to know this, but years ago there were no such things as ‘ski boots’. The first time I went skiing, in 1970, skis were made from wood with metal runners, and you used stout leather lace-up hiking boots. The boots slotted into the skis and you tied them on with cord. Your feet got very cold even with several pairs of socks. So in the story, the boots would just look like boots!
Thanks! I did not know that! Definitely something worth considering in a reevaluation. The terms ski boots is used in my edition, however, but now with this information I suspect the term is meant to be read as boots delegated for skiing and not actual ski boots.
Crooked House & And Then are brilliant, even outside of the genre, Imo. Endless Night is unique bcs the narrator is a working class guy, but it's pretty easy to spot the killer as there simply aren't too many characters & It's Roger A. + Death on the Nile. Ppl read a lot of AC books should see it easily.
I've got a soft spot for By the Pricking of My Thumbs. I used to loooove it as a kid. And the beginning is just flawless, as well as the spooky atmosphere.
I think And Then There Were None is quite possibly the greatest novel ever written.
I wish it had been Colonel Race who'd gotten the solution in Sparkling Cyanide. Superintendent Battle had some solutions, after all.
I did like that Tuppence had the presence of mind to choose an alias with the initials PB and Tommy's retort that he doesn't have large Bs embroidered on his pants.
Superintendent Battle emulated both Poirot and Miss Marple in Towards Zero - knowing Audrey's innocence by the analogy to his daughter was pure Marple and he gets the unsymmetrically cleaned room from Poirot, as he recognizes.
Spoilers in here, especially for Sittaford Mystery:
I again agree with most of your rankings and points (generally, I'm not talking about ranking a book one spot lower or higher), so here are just the few points with which I don't agree. I would have ranked Secret adversary roughly around position 14/15 and Sittaford Mystery around 6/7. I loved all the characters in Secret Adversary, but I never cared much for the plot itself. As for Sittaford Mystery, I disagree that Christie cheated, because the boots are IMO only an additional clue. To solve this one, we needed three informations, which we got: 1.) Sittaford is up on a hill and Hazelmoor down in the valley, 2.) There's snow everywhere, 3.) The major excelled in skiing. Given these three informations, one can second guess his decision to *walk* down to Hazelmoor instead of skiing right from the beginning. I did, and as a result it was one of the few Christie's, that I actually solved, which is why I can't agree that she cheated.
The only other minor quibble I have is that I don't have any problems with the first murder in Towards Zero. The killer acted in a hurry and thought of this method on the spot. At worst from the killer's point of view, it wouldn't have worked and he would have tried something else. I have more problems with the MacWhirter subplot in this one and especially his relationship with Audrey.
Pale Horse is highly underrated and I love, that you rank it so highly.
I can understand this. In retrospect, I think maybe I did put the Sittaford Mystery a little too low. I had it at #10 before I knocked it down because of the boots which I think maybe I knocked it down too much. There is certainly a case for it being even higher than that. The first murder in Towards Zero really didn't hurt its position. It was probably always going to be #4
Hallo! Very good list, I really enjoyed it. ❤
If you replace sparkling cyanide and endless night (endless boredom) with Evans and 7 dials mystery and rearrange top five
1. And then there were none
2. Crooked house
3. Ordeal by innocence
4. Death comes at the end
5. Towards zero
we agree totally
Thanks for the video
My one problem with "N or M" is that there is one moment and only one where Agatha Christie gives Mrs. Sprot's first name as Millicent. It's so glaringly obvious once that happens that you know she is M. Even decades after reading that novel, it still sticks out like a sore thumb. Have you thought about making a list of Anne Perry novels? Haven't read any old-time mysteries in a while, but I still enjoy them.
I open to covering Anne Perry down the road even though she isn't Golden Age. I have read the first few Thomas Pitt novels and enjoyed them. It never even dawned on me that Millicent Sprot's name beginning with M was a clue.
@@summationgathering The interesting thing about Anne Perry is that she has actually been convicted of murder, under her birth name Juliet Hulme
WHAT ABOUT THE LABORS OF HERCULES?
I ranked them individually here: th-cam.com/video/Mw3LgtYxHF0/w-d-xo.html
Endless Night makes me feel very uncomfortable, when I see it and I always turn on something different.
I can see that.
Murder is Easy is much better than Death Comes…better plotted and much more readable. It is better than The Secret Adversary too.
I don't know if I'd agree Murder is Easy is better plotted than Death Comes as the End. I think you can argue its more readable than it and Secret Adversary. But to each his or her own!