Tag: The Hound of Death

Agatha Christie – The Hound of Death | Review

Title: The Hound of Death

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 247

Rating: 8/10

 

Agatha Christie - The Hound of DeathAgatha Christie - The Hound of Death

Agatha Christie – The Hound of Death

 

If you’re only a fan of Christie because of Poirot and Miss Marple then this book is not the book for you – indeed, if you only read her because of her crime writing then it’s not the book for you either. The Hound of Death is a collection of some of Christie’s finest short stories, and they’re mainly supernatural thrillers although there are a few other genres and a few hybrids included.

I actually enjoyed reading this more than some of her detective stories, because it gives you an interesting insight in to the way that the woman’s mind worked. If anything, the similarities between Christie and that other great crime writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are more obvious here than anywhere else – Doyle was well-known for his spiritualism and superstition at the end of his life, and he would have loved to have read this work if he’d lived for long enough.

As it is, we’re the lucky readers who get a chance to read Christie’s spine-tingling work, and I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of The Hound of Death if you can get your hands on it, particularly if you can get one of the gorgeous facsimile editions which I was lucky enough to find. You’re in for some of the finest short fiction available by any writer in any language.

 

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

 

Click here to read The Hound of Death.


Agatha Christie – The Golden Ball and Other Stories | Review

Title: The Golden Ball and Other Stories

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 231

Rating: 6/10

 

Agatha Christie - The Golden Ball and Other Stories

Agatha Christie – The Golden Ball and Other Stories

 

The Golden Ball and Other Stories is one of Christie’s later collections, published in 1971 (five years before her death) – as such, it isn’t necessarily her best, but it still makes for a good read with a variety of tales on offer. Fifteen of them to be exact, and they’re reasonably diverse in terms of subject matter and pulled from her extensive back catalogue, back from when her writing was fresh and engaging.

Take The Listerdale Mystery, for example – that first appeared as the leading story in a short story collection published back in June 1934. At almost seventy years old, the story has aged well and like most of Christie’s work is highly enjoyable, if not as memorable as some of the longer novels. Likewise, The Hound of Death is the title of a 1933 collection, and many of the other stories were written at a time when Christie was at her most prolific.

Other short stories were, as far as I can tell, published in The Golden Ball for the first time, although I also couldn’t dredge up too much information on when they were actually written. I wouldn’t say that this is classic Christie, but it’s still worth a read if you’re an aficionado.

 

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

 

Click here to buy The Golden Ball and Other Stories.