mystery review

Mystery Review: Two-For-One

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Deanna Raybourn — A Grave Robbery

Once upon a time, several decades ago, when I was in the Girl Scouts, we took a trip to Victoria, B.C. One of the attractions (which is sadly now closed) was Madame Tussard’s Wax Museum. At first, I found the exhibits boring, as waxworks of Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, and celebrities held zero interest to my ten(ish) year-old self.

Then, I stumbled into the Chamber of Horrors. 

Whereupon my eyes met gruesome deaths, like the pit & the pendulum, a body suspended from a giant hook, and an iron maiden (amongst others). I found the exhibits simultaneously fascinating and repelling (which prompted me, upon returning home, to hit our set of encyclopedias for answers and explanations).

Next came the fairy tale section, where the slow rise and fall of Sleeping Beauty’s chest startled and delighted in equal measure….

It’s at this point that Rayborn’s A Grave Robbery begins. 

Only it’s Lord Rosemorran’s daughter who’s fascinated with Tussard’s clockwork beauty, or, more specifically, with the notion of making a bit of pocket money by creating her own Sleeping Beauty and charging an admission fee for her friends to see it. To this end, her father found her an Anatomical Venus and asked Stoker to place a clockwork mechanism within.

The only problem? The body isn’t made of wax.

Whereupon Veronica and Stoker set about trying to identify and find justice for the poor girl lying within the glass coffin.

One part Frankenstein, one part murder mystery, with a dash of macabre — this latest installment of the Veronica Speedwell mystery didn’t disappoint! And, so long as you know this book isn’t the first installment in the series, you can read this installment first — as Raybourn doesn’t spoil the end of any of her other mysteries within A Grave Robbery.

But what’s an Anatomical Venus or Adonis, you ask?

Well….

Do you recall those plastic torsos from your high school biology classes that someone would invariably jostle into, and all their organs would fall out with a clatter onto the floor? Turns out, Anatomical Venuses and Adonises (female and male bodies, respectively) are the precursors to these embarrassment inducing plastic specimens. 

Unlike the basic high school models I used, Anatomical Venuses are highly detailed, anatomically correct, life-sized waxworks that could be “dissected” by removing layers and/or organs to show the human body’s inner workings. 

(Click Here to see one owned by The Met.)

Created by highly skilled artisans, these inanimate women were meant to bridge the divide between medical schools’ need to dissect human cadavers to learn and the belief dissection jeopardized one’s immortal soul. (Hence why, after their execution, murderers’ bodies were often sent to medical schools for dissection — thereby condemning their souls to eternal damnation.) Anatomical Venuses were also meant to instruct the general public on how the body worked at a time when it wasn’t well understood. 

While Raybourn does a great job explaining their historical significance and the flaws they present to modern eyes….I wanted to learn more! So I found:

Joanna Ebenstein’s The Anatomical Venus.

Within the pages, Ebenstein explores the history of the Anatomical Venuses and the odd, uncanny feelings these lifelike women invoke by examining their religious origins, scientific needs, and the art that these hyper-realistic works inspired. With plenty of pictures to demonstrate what she’s speaking of, this book does a great job explaining the complicated and nuanced place these ladies hold in history and their eventual fall from favor.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about an unsettling side of history. 

Mystery Review: Murder is a Collector’s Item

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For the last few months, I’ve been in a reading drought. 

Nothing I’ve picked up since Tress Of The Emerald Sea really hit home in the same way as Tress, her quest, and her collection of teacups. This immediate attention grab, for which Brandon Sanderson is adept at creating, rendered other books pale and uninteresting by comparison…or I’m tired of having to wear reading glasses every time I pick up a book these days.

It could be two things, I suppose.

In any case, when writing about a Golden Age Gals, I always secure at least one book by said author in order to form my own opinion on their writing. 

And let me tell you, this book — finally — burst my funk!

Murder is a Collector’s Item is an outstanding read! Not only does it hold up well against today’s eye, the humorous (though not screwball) mystery is engaging and believable.

What I appreciate, above and beyond the well-placed zingers, dry humor, and a mystery that Plays Fair, is Elizabeth Dean’s conscious effort to put Emma Marsh front and center. The majority of the mystery is told from Emma’s perspective. Even better, Dean doesn’t gloss over the foibles of a twenty-something female living on her own. The science experiments growing in the back of the icebox, clothes strewn across the bedroom floor, a habitually unmade bed, and dusty dishes sitting in a cupboard — are all things I understand. (And grown out of. Mostly. Though, that fridge science is a tough one to beat.) However, with my twenty-sixth birthday well and truly in the review mirror, this glimpse back into the past made me laugh.

I delighted in watching three separate investigation threads, whose ultimate goals varied slightly from one another, all propelled the mystery forward. Emma’s pure logic and luck (both bad and good) balanced well against her boyfriend’s application of the psychology angle, which was tempered by the Boston cop’s practical and pragmatic approach to the crimes. 

Moreover, I enjoyed watching Emma balance the stresses of her job. The battle of wits when trying to pitch the possible perfect (for them) item to a dithering customer, dealing with the foibles of a temperamental boss who you love (platonically) to bits but occasionally want to strangle with your bare hands, and the competative thrill of unearthing a gem from a rubbish heap you can sell for an order of magnitude more than what you paid for it. These are just some of the things I miss about my time at the book and record shops I once worked in. Plus, it’s fun to imagine how I’d balance my job duties against trying to suss out a murderer — something I never found myself needing to do.

I would happily recommend reading Murder is a Collector’s Item to anyone looking for a mystery on the lighter side. It’s not a cozy, but the murder(s) do take place off-stage, and the dry wit is precisely measured, so it only adds to the story without distracting. 

Seriously, it is worth the few extra clicks to find a used copy hanging out in the corners of the interwebs — I don’t think you’ll be sorry!

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2024

Book Review: Adieu to Chicagoland

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Chloe Neill — Cold Curses

Endings are not necessarily a bad thing. Bibliographies, especially lengthy ones, allow bummed-out readers to take solace in the knowledge they can revisit their favorite characters anytime they wish. However, what can leave a sour taste in a reader’s brain is when the final book in the series fails to land the ending either by indulging in maudlin sentimentality, nonsensically cramming every crowd favorite character into the narrative, or just failing to wrap up the story arcs in a satisfying way.

Happily, Cold Curses, the last of the Heirs of Chicagoland series, doesn’t succumb to any of these pitfalls. Chloe Neill does a fantastic job of wrapping up all the stray storylines in a way that feels natural and, most importantly, makes sense. 

Even better? The book is a fun read! Full of mystery, ass-kicking, and clever traps, Cold Curses doesn’t let the reader down. Perhaps the epilogue could’ve been longer. However, this is a very minor gripe that really stems from not wanting to say goodbye to everyone you’ve grown to love and all the mouth-watering food Elisa, Lulu, Alexei, Conner, and everyone else eats in both the Chicagoland and Heirs series.

Seriously, I would recommend either series to anyone who enjoys reading urban fantasy, about vampires, and enjoys Chicago as a book setting. You won’t be disappointed.

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2024

Mystery Review: Murder and Mamon

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Mia P. Manansala – Murder and Mamon

“Everybody likes a bit of gossip to some point, as long as it’s gossip with some point to it….” This quote by Gore Vidal suits Lilia Macapagal’s godmothers (The Calander Crew, aka April, Mae & June) to a ‘T’. They gather scandals, scuttlebutt, and stories from around the community — then distribute what they learn to the appropriate parties.

However, unlike Oscar Wilde, who penned — “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Not everyone within Shady Palms appreciates being the butt of a whisper campaign, nor The Calander Crew’s brand of honesty.

So when someone starts spray painting “Mind Your Business” all over April, Mae & June’s new storefront (a laundromat) and sending them anonymous letters to the same effect…Well, some people within their sphere of influence relish the trio’s comeuppance. What’s worse, when April’s niece is found murdered in their laundromat not long after the vandalism begins, sympathy sadly runs short…Unless you’re part of Tita Rosie’s Kitchen crew! Despite her family and boyfriend’s requests to sit this mystery out, Lila sets out to find justice for her godmother’s niece.

What I enjoy about Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries is the portrayal of family and with family comes food (especially when said family owns a diner, coffee shop, brewery, and winery between them). In this series, the food is woven flawlessly into the narrative, so it adds to rather than detracts from the mystery at hand . And the mysteries Lila inevitably finds herself investigating make sense, as do her investigation methods. So I am never thrown from the narrative by what I read on the page.

There’s a reason why Mia P. Manasala won an Agatha Award!

Murder and Mamon is a great book I enjoyed reading from beginning to end. Whilst at the cozy end of the mystery spectrum, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light, warm, funny, and engaging mystery to combat the stress of upcoming holiday events and/or the loss of sunlight during autumn days!

BTW: This is not the first book in the series. However, if you know this going in, starting with this book isn’t a problem, as Manasala doesn’t ruin the endings of her other books in this one!

Book Review: Tress of the Emerald Sea

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During the last couple of years, when the bookshop was open, many of you who visited Fran and me on Fridays know I brought baked goods for you all to try. Whereupon I learn simultaneously that: A) I love baking. B) The practice gave me the confidence to try new and unfamiliar recipes. C) I am actually pretty decent at it. Due to this love, which finds me handing off treats to the neighbors and my husband’s coworkers regularly, I also enjoy watching baking shows.

Unsurprisingly, The Great British Bake Off is one of my faves.

Not only can you pick up pointers from the bakers themselves, but if you pay attention, you are exposed to all kinds of savory & sweet treats you (or, in this case, I) have never seen. Fans of the show know Prue Leith, one of the competition’s judges, has a compliment she whips out every now and again — “This (insert pastry name here) is worth the calories.” 

Or, inversely, “It wasn’t worth the calories.”

Considering the number of pastries, pies, breads, ice cream, and baked bits of goodness she and Paul Hollywood enjoy on the show — this is serious kudos or criticism indeed. 

Now, what does this have to do with the price of shortbread in Scotland? 

Since SMB closed its doors, gradually over the years, I’ve needed reading glasses more and more often. In point of fact, unless the writing on my phone is the size of a chipmunk’s footprint, I can’t read it. This makes reading the fine print on food labels, forms, and footnotes all but impossible…Unless I’m standing four feet away, which presents a whole new set of challenges. 

As I can no longer read books without my readers, eye strain has become a very irritating part of my life. Often keeping me from enjoying books as much as I used to. (Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to the optometrist soon. However, that’s not the point right now.) 

So when I tell you a book is totally worth the eye strain — you best believe I’m telling the truth. 

And Tress of the Emerald Sea is one of these books.

In the postscript of Tress of the Emerald Sea, Sanderson likens his story to a modern fairytale meant for grownups. However, a more apt one comes a few paragraphs later when he talks about watching The Princess Bride during lockdown with his family. When his wife wondered: “What would that story have been like if Buttercup had gone searching for Westley, instead of immediately giving him up for dead?”

This question planted the idea of Tress of the Emerald Sea in Sanderson’s brain and is a rather apt description that, whilst giving one an idea of what Tress of the Emerald Sea is about, doesn’t spoil the pleasure of found within the pages.

Of course, Tress of the Emerald Sea is far more complex and compelling than its origin question. (We’d expect nothing less.) It’s witty, laugh-out-loud funny, full of edge-of-your-seat suspense, with thought-provoking throwaway lines and a mystery concealed at its heart. 

Unlike my lovely husband, I’ve not devoured everything Sanderson’s written. Sure, I’ve read the Reckoners series (Steelheart, Firefight & Calamity) and Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds. And while Tress and the Emerald Sea is unlike any of the above books, it is set within the same multiverse. Meaning you meet one or three characters who obviously have a far deeper backstory. But so long as you know this before the first page, you’re fine. (Plus, Sanderson does a great job of weaving in enough information that someone picking up this book cold won’t get lost.)

*Squinting my eyes in the direction of New Mexico, where Fran is, at present, residing.*

Seriously, if you need something to lose yourself in, if only for a little while, Tress of the Emerald Sea is the book you’ve been looking for.

Mystery Review: Another Great Classic!

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Last Seen Wearing — Hillary Waugh

Originally published in 1952, Last Seen Wearing is one of the first police procedurals that gave readers a realistic portrayal of both the police people and the methods they employ to clear cases. Which, in this instance, is the disappearance of college freshman Lowell Mitchell. 

Waugh, a pioneer of the police procedural subgenera, follows the case from start to finish — showing there are no shortcuts when solving a case. Unlike Holmes’s specialized knowledge or the leaps Poirot’s little grey cells make — Police Chief Frank Ford relies on his thirty-three years of experience as a cop and the leg work of his men to run down every lead, blind alley, and dead-end so they leave no stone unturned in their search for Lowell Mitchell, a girl who doesn’t seem to have an enemy in the world. 

Unique at the time, Waugh shows all the ephemeral leads Ford’s men run to ground, the tedious leg work done to verify every piece of information, and the politics that inevitably creep into the case thanks to the pressure exerted by the press, family, and district attorney who’ve all got a stake in getting the crime solved…by yesterday preferably.

All these small and large details helped create a slow burning plot, which turns into a raging inferno by the time you reach the last page. Seriously, I couldn’t put it down as Chief Frank Ford, right-hand man Burt Cameron, and his officers closed in on their suspect.

Another interesting tidbit about this particular mystery is that it’s loosely based on the actual real-life disappearance of Paula Jean Welden. Who, on December 1, 1946, decided to hike the Long Trail (as it’s called) a few miles away from her college in Vermont. Unable to persuade anyone to go with her, she set out alone. Several people met her on and during her journey, however, none saw her leaving. When she didn’t turn up by the next morning, as her roommate thought she was studying elsewhere on campus that night, the search was on. 

Paula, or more gruesomely her body, was never found.

In an odd twist of events, Paula wasn’t the first to go missing in this area. One year earlier, Middie Rivers, a local man familiar with the area and an experienced outdoorsman, disappeared without a trace whilst hunting with four other people. Exactly three years later, on December 1, 1949, a military veteran went missing whilst traveling by bus through the area. Ten months later, an eight-year-old boy Paul Jepson, vanished into thin air while waiting for his mother to finish feeding some pigs. It’s rumored that bloodhounds tracked him to nearly the exact spot where Paula Welden was last seen four years earlier. Sixteen days after Paul went missing, Frieda Langer disappeared while hiking with friends. Of the five people who vanished from the area over five years, Frieda’s body was the only one ever found.

And not one of the quintet of mysteries was ever solved. 

This string of people going missing from the same general location earned the area the moniker — The Bennington Triangle. 

To be clear, Last Seen Wearing only details Paula’s missing person case. Using elements of the search for her and her family life in the book, the conclusion (obviously) is Waugh’s alone. Nevertheless, it’s a mystery I’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a police procedural, which is a classic and surprisingly bloodless!

Mystery Review: It’s a Classic for a Reason

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Once upon a time, when I worked as a bookseller, the founder of our shop wrote a list of the five best mysteries (in his estimation) of all time. Rex Stout’s Fer de Lance, of course, topped the list. (Bill was a huge Nero & Archie fan — as those of you who knew him well remember.) However, at that point, I hadn’t started My 52 weeks With Christie blog nor begun reading my way through the classics section. So, on an academic level, I found Bill’s list interesting but not one I felt compelled to read my way through.

Fast forward one decade.

Whilst perusing the shelves of my local bookstore, I chance upon a copy of The Poison Chocolates Case, and it sparked a memory. I don’t recall its exact position on it, but for whatever reason (probably the word chocolates), I recollected its inclusion in Bill’s esteemed list. 

So I picked it up.

And my oh my, do I agree with our late great founder of SMB.

Based loosely on the Detection Club, which Anthony Berkeley helped found, the story’s Crime Circle gets together regularly to discuss all things, “….connected with murder, poisons and sudden death.” (pg. 11). (Similar to the Real Murders Club from Charlaine Harris’s Aurora Teagarden mysteries and the Hallmark Movies.) In any case, believing a group of amateur sleuths/criminologists unequal to the task of finding a solution to a rapidly cooling case, which stumped Scotland Yard’s best, Chief Inspector Moresby presents the evidence and theories to the Club’s six members. 

These six members have one week to form and prove their theories before presenting them to the group — and no solution is off limits.

Berkeley does a masterful job of presenting the same case seven times, with seven VERY different solutions — each ratcheting up the tension just a little further until landing on an ending that somehow I didn’t see coming!

Another aspect of this book I enjoyed is the fact the members of the Crime Circle draw parallels with real true crime cases and their own theories. Their commentary on said cases is fascinating and contains enough detail, you can research them on your own. 

Should you be so inclined.

Now, I’ve read variations on this style of mystery before — Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie, written seven-ish years after The Poisoned Chocolates Case, pits four detectives against four murderers in order to solve a single crime. Asimov’s Black Widowers short stories (based on Asimov’s own experience with the Trap Door Spiders — an arguing/dinner society of noted sci-fi figures) reminds me of Berkeley’s Crime Circle as well. Unfortunately, while reminiscent of Berkeley’s work and brilliant in their own right, neither Christie nor Asimov captures the same slow burn or surprise Berkeley manages to cram into this masterpiece.

Seriously, if you’re looking for an outstanding mystery, I highly suggest, just as Bill did before me, you pick yourself a copy of The Poisoned Chocolates Case — you won’t be sorry.

Round-Up Mystery Reviews

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Things I’ve loved watching/reading recently but are so popular they practically sell themselves!

First Up: The Glass Onion

The second installment in the Knives Out universe is absolutely awesome. Though I must admit, I was worried when I first started watching it. Very, very worried. All the cameos of well-known actors felt a bit gratuitous…but I’d looked forward to the movie for months — so I stuck with it, and boy, was my patients rewarded. The cameos enhance the feel of the billionaire jet set cast of suspects we are watching and make complete sense by the end of the movie. An end that I gotta say is one of the very best I’ve seen in a whodunnit….since the original Knives Out movie.

Second: Desperation In Death by J.D. Robb

A page-turning, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller didn’t disappoint. Action packed from the first page to the last, if you’re looking for a good vacation read, you won’t go wrong with this installment. Though there is a trigger warning I must warn other readers about — the plot revolves around human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and young girls. While Robb does a good job of balancing the horror of the subject matter with the mystery (without getting overly graphic), if this is something that you struggle with, I’d skip this installment and wait for Encore In Death which is due out on February 7, 2023.

Third: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

Jane Austen meets pirates meets magical flying houses — this is the best summary I can give. An amusing read full of action, swashbuckling, betrayal, and books, The Wisteria Society was a fun read. Though, if you’re well versed in steam-punk and fantasy, it’s not quite the groundbreaking book the New York Times made it out to be.

Lastly: Wednesday

A Netflix original that expands the Addams Family universe — is an exceptional show. Of course, all the traditional elements of an Addams Family story are present. Still, the writers have done a singular job of sprinkling them through the series and keeping them fresh (rather than simply regurgitating them in a cringe worthy fashion). Full of secrets, multiple mysteries, and interesting characters, this show is well worth your viewing time. And I am so very excited that Netflix renewed Wednesday for a second season!

Mystery Review!

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A Christie Bookshop Mystery: Dead and Gondola — Ann Claire

Okay, so the pull of this mystery title is obvious. Whilst not about Dame Agatha directly, the tangential tie intrigued me, so I settled down for a read….and found myself enjoying the book rather a lot.

Ann Claire, our author, does a great job of keeping the mystery focused on the mystery. Knitting tidbits about the famous authoress in seamlessly and as needed — by using a Mary Westmacott book as a critical clue, naming the bookshop cat Agatha, and occasionally invoking our sleuth’s inner Miss Marple to help push the story forward.

The characters are well-rounded and interesting, as is the town of Last Word itself. The mystery, a variant of a Patricia Moyes plot I once read, works well.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries set in a bookshop, around a ski town, or with a strong family vibe. Seriously, I cannot wait until the next book in the series, Last Word To The Wise, comes out in October!

A Lingering Question, Plumbing Problems, & Prussian Blue

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My 52 Weeks With Christie: A 2022 Revisit to The Pale Horse Part 1

The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

Word of Warning: If you haven’t read Christie’s The Pale Horse, proceed at your own risk, as this write-up contains spoilers. I’ll try and mitigate them if I can….but in covering what I want to cover in this piece, there isn’t a good way of avoiding plot points. So if you’ve already cracked this book’s cover or don’t mind having critical elements of the mystery revealed before you pick up the story — read on!

The 2022 Follow-Up: Ever since I first read The Pale Horse, all the way back in 2014, I’ve wondered how on earth someone came up with the idea of administering Prussian Blue to people suffering from Thallium poisoning. It seems improbable that a scientist would stare at Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy and think — ‘Hey! I bet that deep blue pigment would make a great antidote for heavy metal poisoning.’ However, other than the occasional idle thought, I never did much of anything to answer my own question.

(BTW — This photo of a photo does not do the painting justice.)

Until our house insisted we needed to replace all its pipes, water heater, and sewer line.

Turns out writing fiction, for me, doesn’t work so well when you’ve got a pair of plumbers wandering all over and under your house banging, clanging, and sawing holes in your walls.

Who knew?

And, for whatever reason, this long-neglected Prussian Blue colored question popped into my head again — and needing a distraction from the crew digging up my flower beds (for the second time in as many weeks), I began my search in earnest.

In fairness, I didn’t actually nail down how scientists landed on Prussian Blue as an antidote. So it’s possible that the inspiration stick struck them whilst watching the blue ink flow from their fountain pens. (Assuming they owned such writing implements, favored blue ink above black, purple, or green, and knew Prussian Blue is a component of the ink’s recipe.) However, it’s not probable.

And yet….

The very first bucket of Prussian Blue was an accidental creation. Thallium was discovered by two scientists, independently of one another, at nearly the same time. So there is precedent for unlikely coincidences occurring.

Unfortunately, the same serendipity did not strike when I Googled ‘Who discovered Prussian Blue was an antidote for Thallium poisoning’. (That would’ve been entirely too easy.) 

So down the rabbit hole I leapt, looking for answers — beginning my quest with Prussian Blue.

As told by Georg Ernst Stahl, Prussian Blue’s origin story places the pigment’s synthesis at the door of color maker Johann Jacob Diesbach. Working in a shared Berlin lab in 1704, Diesbach initially set out to create a red hue. The only problem was he’d run out of a key ingredient, potash. Borrowing some of his lab-mate, Johann Konrad Dippel, Diesbach continued mixing the formula — unaware that Dippel’s potash was contaminated with animal material. When Diesbach finished his mixture, rather than creating the anticipated red, he’d accidentally concocted Prussian Blue for the first time.

Here’s where things get a bit murky. 

Apparently, Stahl wrote his account twenty-five years after Diesbach’s discovery. Since then, a series of letters from Johann Leonhard Frisch and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz have come to light (two eminent scientists of the day). Whilst these primary source materials seem to confirm Diesbach as Prussian Blue’s inventor — Frisch later declares Prussian Blue as his own invention. An assertion undoubtedly rooted in Frisch’s claims to have improved upon the original color and lowered its manufacturing costs. There’s also a good chance Frisch was trying to save face with this boast — as Diesbach’s father-in-law informed Leibniz of Prussian Blue’s actual creator.

(Fun Fact: Even back in the day Leibniz was a BFD. Amongst his other achievements: he’s considered one of the most important people in the history of both math and philosophy — and — whilst overseeing a German library created a method for cataloging books that influenced other libraries all over Europe. Hence why someone might tell a lie in order to impress this very impressive man.)

Either way, Diesbach and Frisch only managed to keep Prussian Blue’s formula a secret (allowing both men to cash in) until 1724, when John Woodward published a Prussian Blue how-to recipe. Thereby allowing manufacturers to flood the market with variants of this iconic color.  

Crucially to my Pale Horse inspired inquiry, Woodward’s verified formula enabled other scientists to research Prussian Blue’s chemical properties. In the hopes of nailing down its composition, stoichiometry, and structure. 

Unfortunately, this is where the trail went cold, and the plumbers discovered our sewer pipe needed lining because it was older than Methuselah. (*sigh*)

Other than uncovering Carl Wilhelm Scheele’s talent for concocting toxic substances. None of the distinguished chemists or alchemists of the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries figured out Prussian Blue’s exact structure or that it was an antidote for thallium. 

Unwilling to give up, especially since the plumbers added another week of plumbing fun to the agenda, I started tugging a different line of inquiry.

A.Miner©2022

2014 Review Part 2:The Princess Bride, Iocane Powder, & Thallium

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My 52 Weeks With Christie: My 2014 The Pale Horse Review

Interesting Facts: **Spoiler Kind Of** While I reveal the murder weapon this will not give you the delivery method or the culprit!**

“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You have killed my father; prepare to die!””

Alas I cannot relate Christie to this quote. (I am hoping for that day.) However, The Pale Horse does contain a slightly more sinister similarity to this 1987 film classic. In The Princess Bride (I am speaking of the movie here not the book, as I have not read it yet, blasphemer I know) Vizzini (played by Wallace Shawn) claims, “What you do not smell is called iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly into liquid and is among the more deadlier poisons known to man.” The perfect poison for a battle of wits or for the occasional mysterious murder. Happily enough this iocane powder is completely fictional, a poison like that would be disastrous if obtained by the wrong person…

While The Princess Bride relies on a fictional poison to move the story along, Christie decided to use a real one in The Pale Horse. And just like in The Princess Bride this poison is orderless, colorless, tasteless, difficult to trace, hard to diagnose and dissolves easily in liquids.

Making Thallium a perfect poison — so to speak.

Though, unlike iocane powder, you cannot build up a tolerance to thallium. Thus making it less desirable for a duel of wits, as generally it’ll kill you stone dead.

But I digress.

Thallium is a highly toxic metal and like arsenic was once used as a rat poison and some medicines (Seriously there has to be some sort of symbolism to the number of people poisoned by something meant to kill rats…) If administered in large enough doses thallium can kill with in 24 to 48 hours after it is administered. However, poisoners generally dole it out in smaller doses, invoking a whole other set of symptoms. Which in turn mimic a whole plethora of other ailments. So when death occurs it appears to be natural causes.

The one tell thallium possesses? Rapid and clumpy hair loss.

Christie’s description of said symptoms in The Pale Horse is so good, it is credited with saving a number of lives. In 1975 a woman sent a letter to Christie stating she figured out her husband was poisoning her with thallium after reading the book. Second, a hospital nurse in 1977 diagnosed a baby’s illness (due to thallium) while reading the book. Most astonishing The Pale Horse is credited with stopping a serial killer dubbed The Teacup Poisoner. Graham Fredrick Young was convicted in 1972 for murdering two of his fellow co-workers while poisoning seventy others in the factory where he worked. As the story goes, a doctor consulting for Scotland Yard correctly identified the poison being used by Young thanks to Christie’s mystery.

On a complete side note the absolutely best treatment for thallium poisoning is a pigment called Prussian Blue (taken in pill form). It is even better than activated charcoal in removing the heavy metal from the victims system – due to the complex chemical nature.

Not sure what Prussian Blue is?

It is the pigment used to make blueprints, well, blue! It is also one of the colors which makes Vincent van Gogh’s painting Starry Night so vivid. It was one of the very first synthetic pigments to be created, around 1706. (FYI — do not eat blue prints if you think someone is poisoning you. Seriously there is lab grade Prussian Blue without the other chemical associated with paper & paint!)

Christie is often called the Queen of Poisons and The Pale Horse I think is the flawless jewel set in this crown.

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Convert Binary with http://www.ConvertBinary.com (Online Binary Translator)

AmberMiner©2014 

2014 Part One: Shakespeare, Three Witches, & Evil

Finder of Lost ThingsLeave a comment

My 52 Weeks With Christie: My 2014 Review of The Pale Horse

First Published: The Pale Horse. Collins Crime Club, UK, 1961.

I Read: The Pale Horse. Pocket Books, New York, 1967.

Series: Ariadne Oliver

Summary: It starts with a priest, who hears the last confession of a dying woman unlike any he’s heard before. The woman gives him a list of names of connected somehow to wickedness, before the Father can do anything about the list he is brutally murdered. The investigating officer police find said list and discovers the names on the list belong to people who have recently passed away, seemingly of natural causes.

The police surgeon is not so sure.

At the same time through a series of crazy random happenstances Mark Easterbrook becomes involved in the investigation. Discovering the deaths all seem to revolve around  something called The Pale Horse, “Revelation, Chapter Six, Verse Eight. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed him…” (pg. 209). Mark, not one to believe in the supernatural, decides to look for a more concrete solution to how the people on the list really died…

Review: This book, like many before it, is a fantastic read. One which contemplates the nature of evil; not in a preachy way, more Shakespearian in feel. Through this contemplation on the nature of evil Christie creates a clinging sinister atmosphere on each page of the book. Making you all most believe she will write her first supernatural solution to a mystery novel, thus breaking the Rules of Fair Play. Once again Christie does a wonderful job playing with her audience’s comfort levels and preconceived notions about things we cannot always explain satisfactorily. 

I really loved this book, again not overly surprising. However just like the Miss Marple in The Moving Finger, Ariadne Oliver plays a very small role in the narrative (however larger than Marple in Moving Finger). A deus ex machina role for Oliver which provides Mark Easterbrook with the inspiration for the solution to the mystery. Which I found slightly disappointing as this is the only independent encounter with Oliver outside of the Poirot series.  This is really such a small thing it did not perceptibly diminish my enjoyment of the read, just something to know going into the book.

Speaking of a menacing Shakespearian feel to a novel…..How many of you out there have seen a performance of The Scottish Play? You know the one I mean, the name that thespians do their absolute level best not to say on stage (or anywhere else for that matter)…. Have you ever given any thought to how the three witches in the beginning of the play are represented? Often the actress dressed up to look like old crones with hooked warty noses, long black robes, conical hats and black cats. Seemingly almost unhinged in nature uttering their prophesies for Banquo and his fellow general, more akin to monsters than women.

Did you ever think this is a safe way of portraying evil?

David (minor character from The Pale Horse) a thespian during his college years had a different idea of how to portray the three, “I’d make them very ordinary. Just sly quiet old women. Like the witches in a country village.” (pg. 33). I say I have to agree with David on this point, and subsequently Christie since she is the one who penned the book (and Fran who also things this would be brilliant staging). Done right this could lend an extra layer of malevolence to the three witches scenes. Why? In general we want to be able to identify evil at a glance, we want the stereo typical indicators, we want to Know who to watch out for.

Portraying evil as ordinary means it can creep or seduce its way into out lives without our noticing, making it difficult to ward ourselves against. 

This is one reason serial killers or rapists haunt our imagination, since more often than not they look ordinary. Sometimes they are even charismatic or charming in their way. The ones who have been caught and shown on the news don’t seem to have any one trait to identify them as serial killers. No twitch, sign or limp identifies them to the police and the public as a dangerous individual. Profilers, psychologists and police officers who have extensive training can — through psychology and experience not a birthmark. This is one underlying reason why they seem to be so difficult to catch. But I digress.

This idea of ordinary evil is what makes The Pale Horse such a singular sinister book!

(BTW — if you want to see a really great version of The Scottish Play, click here. Patrick Stuart plays the lead and the three witches are seriously eerie/creepy!)

AmberMiner©2014