On Sunday evening, it was a little too chilly to sit comfortably in the screen house.
“Let’s have a fire,” I suggested.
For Christmas, Dee had bought us a new fire pit, and in early spring we had tested it once on the patio. We wanted to see if the fire pit worked properly—it did—and after that trial run, we set it to one side to be used come fall.
Fall, it seems, has come tapping on our shoulders. Both Clif and Dee agreed that a fire was a good idea, and soon we were having drinks around the fire pit.
I realize this fire looks out of control, but it really didn’t seem that way when we were sitting around it. I am happy to report that the fire stayed in the pit, and the only thing that burned was the wood that fed the fire.
As we chatted and had our drinks, the neighbor’s cat came for a visit.
Fortunately, he left without catching this little chipper.
Above us, the sky was a brilliant blue.
In Maine, September is surely one of the most beautiful months of the year—warm days, cool nights, and usually not too much rain. I probably should have saved this post as an item for Thankful Thursday, but here it is on Monday, a grateful way to begin a week that supposedly will be filled with blue skies and sunshine.
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Reading
Agatha Christie: The Mirror Crack’d , A Caribbean Mystery, and Nemesis from Five Complete Miss Marple Novels
Confession Time: Until this past month, I had never read an Agatha Christie novel. Seems incredible, I know. I am nearly sixty-seven, and I hadn’t read the grande dame of mysteries.
My excuse? I am not a huge mystery fan. They are not the books I naturally gravitate toward. (That would be literary fiction and fantasy. Not the usual combination, I know, but there it is.)
So what changed my mind? Shane Malcom-Billings, a librarian extraordinaire who work at our town’s library. He has put together an Agatha Christie book club, and I thought, why not? Somehow, it sounded fun. Shane is a wonderful book club leader, and I’m looking forward to his take on Agatha Christie. Our first meeting is this Friday, and it will be one where we discuss Agatha Christie in general. After that, we’ll be reading specific books. I figured I should read a few novels so that I would have something to add at that first meeting.
I found a compendium of five Miss Marple novels—the three I read are listed above—and off I went, staring with The Mirror Crack’d.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading The Mirror Crack’d. Would I like it? Would the writing be full of clichés? Would the story come at the expense of the characters? Here are my answers: Yes, no, and somewhat.
The writing style is solid and is not loaded with hackneyed phrases. Miss Marple is a wonderfully sympathetic character, a woman who is dealing with aging and all that this brings yet who is still sharp enough to solve mysteries. If I were younger, I might not be as drawn to Miss Marple as I am, but as I approach my seventies—my, that sounds old!—I am completely sympathetic with her frailties.
There is also a fair amount of humor in the books, especially when Miss Marple puts on a doddering old-woman act to trick characters into revealing more than they want to.
The other characters, I’m afraid, are more one dimensional. They are there to commit crimes, to be suspected of having committed a crime, or to help Miss Marple. Not much nuance.
Never mind. I like Miss Marple so much that I’m willing to overlook the lack of depth in the other characters.
What will I think of Christie’s other protagonists?
I don’t know. Stay tuned.
Notes From the Hinterland 
What a lovely gift from your daughter. Fire pit season in Maine sounds lovely! I’m the same as you around mysteries. I remember reading one Agatha Christie book as a kid and it was a push to get through. I believe it was “Murder on the Orient Express.”
Love fire pit season in Maine. As it turnd out, I am reading Murder on the Orient Express right now.
I love the fire pit. I have never been to Maine in September and now I am putting that on my list; maybe next fall. I am an Agatha fan so am happy you are moving in that direction. Miss Marple is adorable! I want to be more like her! Enjoy!
If ever you come to Maine and have some free time, let me know! Miss Marple has a lot of wisdom.
Hi. I’ve read a number of AC books over the years. Some are better than others, which is only to be expected. A very good one is The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd.
Perhaps we’ll be reading that in our group.
Looks like a good start to autumn. I think I read my first Agatha Christie when I was about 10 (followed by Dorothy Sayers). Got me into detective fiction when I was young! I enjoy her books though haven’t read one for a few years, I do love the BBC radio serialisations to listen to. You need to get in to Poirot, but she wrote a lot of other things too without her famous detectives.
I am reading Murder on the Orient Express right now. I like it, but I think I am more of a Miss Marple fan.
I can imagine you’ll be enjoying the fire pit as much as you did the screen for your patio table. I will also admit that I’ve never read any of her books, and all I read are mysteries. 🙂 Enjoy your week of great weather.
We are enjoying that fire pit. If you give Christie a try, let me know how you like her.
I love your fire pit. They are great for extending the ‘sitting outside’ season until spring arrives again. EVenings are best under the stars 🙂
Yes,yes! Such a lovely way of putting it.
Sitting around a fire pit sounds like a nice way to enjoy the cooler autumn evenings. I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie’s books. I think I have most of them in my library and have read them all at least twice.
Love that fire pit. How nice to have your own collection. She certainly wrote a lot of books.
How lovely to have the fire pit to bring you gently into the Autumn season. Meantime, good luck with Dame Christie. I haven’t read her in years but did enjoy the books at the time.
The fire pit is wonderful for the fall.
I happen to be one of those outliers who doesn’t like Agatha Christie’s writing. I generally don’t like detective and murder fiction anyway, but even if she wrote general fiction I don’t think I’d read her. I just don’t think she was a very good writer and it amazes me that she is one of the most published and sold authors in the world.
Different books for different readers. Her staying power is remarkable.
Have you tried Marjorie Allingham? I think that she is a more entertaining crime writer than Christie.
No, I have never tried Allingham, but I will check her out.
She is my favourite crime writer of that era.
I think I read her when I was a kid, but I remember nothing. Maybe I should try one now. I’m of a similar age as you, so it would be a different experience than when I was a teenager.
Yes, very different. I really identified with Miss Marple and her aging body.
Woo hoo for drinks around the fire pit. I’m not a great mystery fan and have never read Agatha Christie but I liked her in Dr Who 😁
I missed that Dr. Who episode!
Then you are under the illusion she thought up the stories😊
Tee-hee!
A fire pit sounds like a lovely idea. Unfortunately, I think we’ve left it too late, since we’ve just moved from our house to a lovely apt. A fire pit probably wouldn’t be welcome on our balcony!! 😂
Probably best not to have a fire pit on the balcony. 😉
I think we can start a new theme, because after reading this it felt like a Marvelous Monday!! Fall weather and drinks by the fire pit are absolutely marvelous and so is your new book club. I may have to join you in reading Agatha Christie for the first time (I’ve watched old shows and recent movies) and have a wonderful time at your book club and celebrating everything that is marvelous about September!!🍁📖🎂🙂
Yes, Marvelous Monday! Love it!
I have especially enjoyed the Miss Marple books with the bits of wisdom sprinkled in among the mystery. If you read one of Christie’s novels, let me know what you think.
One of the fun spots in my apartment complex is a patio area with grills and a large fire pit. It won’t be long before people will be gathering around it, just as you did, for drinks and conversation. We don’t have the right weather for it yet, but come October, it may finally be cool enough to enjoy it.
I never have read Agatha Christie, even though I do like the occasional mystery. The last one I read is The Mathematician’s Shiva — it was just great.
How wonderful to have that area in your apartment complex. October is just around the corner. Thanks for the book recommendation. I will be checking it out.
Maybe the cat was feeling chilly too and hoping for a little warming with friends.
Could be!
With so many AC novels made into films, I’ve never read one of her books, either. But I really loved the Miss Marple series on PBS. The actress that played her was perfect!
Same with me until a few weeks ago!
Hi, Laurie – Gratitude is an excellent way to begin a Monday. But autumn tapping us on the shoulders? Say it isn’t so! 😀
Yes, it is so! We love fall. 😉
I’ve always imagined Maine and many other parts of the USA as having beautiful autumn days ( as a result of books and movies) so I hope you have a lovely autumn coming soon!
I haven’t read Agatha Christie’s books but I’ve read a book about her, a very interesting life. ( I love biographies and autobiographies..😊💕)
Yes, autumn is beautiful in Maine. September is lovely, but October is a glory. Christie did have an interesting life. I have become very fond of Miss Marple.
Enjoy the moments on patio, perfect combination of cool air and fire warmth. It’s been a while since I last read Agatha Christie.
A special time to be on the patio.
What a wonderful firepit to gather around on cooler days and evenings Laurie and I’m so glad the sweet chipper got away! 🧡 xxx
Nothing like gathering around a fire on a cool day. We are very glad when the cat leaves without catching anything.
When we watch old films, we tend to find the acting rather wooden as both acting and filming techniques have altered so much over the years. Given that Agatha Christie’s books date from the 1920s and 1930s, it is inevitable the her writing style would be different to what we have become used to in most genres. I read a lot of her books when I was around 10 to 12 years old and loved them and thoroughly enjoyed a television series based on some of her stories. I hope you will enjoy them too, for it is marvellous that they have retained their popularity for so long. The play, The Mousetrap, based on one of her books, opened in London in 1952 and is known as London’s longest running play 🙂
So true about movies! And it is amazing how Christie’s books continue to sell and delight readers.
Since confessions are on the agenda I will admit that, despite being an avid reader and having spent my whole career working in public libraries, I too have never read Agatha Christie. I have enjoyed watching TV adaptations, particularly of her books featuring Hercule Poirot, but have never got around to reading the actual books. I do read a fair amount of crime/mystery fiction, but tend to favour books by Scandinavian authors (here we call the genre scandi-noir), which inevitably have a more contemporary vibe than anything written by dear old Agatha!
Funny, isn’t it, about how we have gaps in our reading? I, too, have enjoyed the TV adaptations of Christie’s books. I have also enjoyed the scandi-noir TV adaptations.
I could make the same confession – and I have no excuse because I have a few. Maybe I’ll dig one out.
It would certainly be a change of pace of what you are reading. 😉
I love that you’re just discovering the delights of Agatha Christie – and Miss Marple in particular as she’s my favourite of Christie’s ‘regulars’! Like many other readers, I was lucky enough to stumble across Christie in my youth, and her mysteries proved a great distraction from studying etc. Enjoy!
I am now reading Murder on the Orient Express, and even though I am enjoying the story, I’m with you about Miss Marple being a favorite.
Your fire is making me miss the fires of my early childhood. It seemed I stared into the flames in the fireplace, fascinated, for hours. Haven’t done that in ages.
Such a comforting simple pleasure.
I have read most of the Agatha Christie books and thoroughly enjoyed most of them. She was really good at setting a scene of a certain time and place, and her puzzles were well crafted.
A fire pit is a wonderful thing!
Absolutely! And she wrote so many books, over 70, I’ve heard. She was one hard working writer.
Obsessed, most likely!
Oh, I’m delighted that you “found” Dame Agatha! She’s long been one of my favorite mystery writers (and that’s long been one of my favorite genres!). It’s pretty typical in a mystery for character development to take a back seat to plot. If you’re used to character-driven tales, you might have some acclimating to do. It sounds as if your cooling is coming a bit faster than ours — of course, we’re expecting to get Francine remnants by week’s end. Sigh.
Yes, mysteries do tend to be plot driven. However, Christie does give Miss Marple an interior life, which I liked.
The weather has definitely gotten cooler. We even had to have a little heat on for the past few mornings. Hope Francine doesn’t bring you too much rain.
A fire on a cool September evening under a blue sky sounds very cozy.
I don’t remember if I have read Agatha Christie, but I have watched many film versions of her novels, both with Poirot and Miss Marple as protagonists. I don’t know if the screenwriters make the characters more complex than in the original stories, but we usually enjoy them.
Very cozy, indeed! I, too, had seen film versions of Christie’s books.
I haven’t read Agatha Christie for years but like others have seen screen adaptations. With it feeling very autumnal here too I can see me reading more so I shall add her to my list. Joining new groups and trying new things is so good for us!
It surely is! On Friday, I went to the first Agatha Christie book club meeting. It’s going to be so much fun.
That sounds great!
What a beautiful autumn day, Laurie! New England warm days and cool night – I remember those!
I have never read an Agatha Christie book. The book club sounds like fun!
The book club is going to be fun. Love the warm days and cool nights of autumn. Such a special time in New England.