Wrapped Up Like a Blog

I have lots of rituals. Probably too many to be healthy. One of those is a travel ritual. I prefer to read Agatha Christie books when traveling. I think it started when I was a bit of a younger man and I was first in my AC kick. The books were the right size to be  easily portable, they were interesting and engaging. I had a habit of bringing specific books (And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd specifically) with me, but I'd read those often enough. I recently started picking up some of the titles I hadn't read (used bookstores for the win!)

So on this trip I brought A Cat Among Pigeons. It was one of the last Poirot books, and for that reason I dug it. As much as I love the diminutive Belgian, his idiosyncrasies did get to be a bit much after a few dozen books. So in the later stories, when Poirot only came in at the end to wrap things up, a little of him went a long way. That was the case in this tale.

I loved the fact that it took place at a girls' boarding school, and that it traced its intrigue back to the tumultuous Middle East (a fake country, of course, but it was nice to see Christie's take on those lands and contemporary politics). All-in-all, some fun characters, a brisk and engaging plot, and enough small twists to keep us on our toes. Even in her last few books, she still had the touch.

I hope I can say the same someday. And I wonder if people will get their fill of Misty Johnson and her idiosyncrasies someday...