Sad to say, Agatha Christie’s Dumb Witness is the worst Christie I’ve read. On the plus side, even a bad Christie is still nice and escapist. But Dumb Witness is boring and too long for the premise—it would have been much better as a short story. Emily Arundell is an older, wealthy lady who is as feisty as she is frugal. One night she falls down the stairs, and not long after dies of liver failure. She leaves all her money to her hapless companion, […]

My mother traveled to Europe when she was young and brought back a pile of Agatha Christies from England. I remember reading those fragile books, their pages browned, their spines crackling apart. I fell in love with Christie and re-read the books many times. As an adult, I find Christie mysteries incredibly comforting. I’ve had a full two weeks off for the holidays and it’s been glorious. I had some challenging books to read, but decided to read a slew of Agatha Christies instead. I […]