Appointment With Agatha discussion

Publication information per Wikipedia:

Death in the Clouds is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company on 10 March 1935 under the title of Death in the Air and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in July of the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6). The book features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and Chief Inspector Japp.

I just finished both February reads. Today I've gone down a rabbit hole trying to learn more about passenger flights in the 1930s.

Here is a very brief article about the Paris to Croydon flights.
http://croydonairportcalling.blogspot...

Keep in mind that flying from Paris to Croydon was an exotic adventure. Most people train, crossing the channel by ferry.

Historic Croydon Airport also has an interesting website.

"Passenger numbers grew significantly from when the airport was first operational in March 1920. The first year of operations saw 6383 passengers flying to the continent from Croydon (including the first 3 months from Hounslow Heath), rising to 10,730 in 1921, and to 26,000 a year when the new terminal building was opened in 1928. The early 1930’s saw a sharp jump in passenger numbers as can be seen below:" The chart below shows that in 1935, Croydon handled 120,390 passengers. (compare that to Stanstead Airport today where stats are given in tens of millions). Still considering that passengers planes of the 1930s may have carried closer to 30 passengers, that is 77 flights a week.

The first scheduled flights (1919) from Paris to London took about 4 hours. Today it 1:20r.

But mostly, I was trying to find pictures of what the airplane in the novel might have looked like. Here are some links.

https://cdn.britannica.com/21/99721-0...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/u...

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/...

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/0...

I've just started a reread and remember how the murder was committed, but not who or why.
This has always been a favourite of mine.

I'm saving this for when I am flying later this month!

Oh dear, this plods. I'm 18% of the way through. I thought the questions after landing were slow but having to sit through inquest was absolute tedium.

This is about as much fun as watching someone else do a jigsaw puzzle.

I'm intrigued by the originality of making an aeroplane into a locked room mystery. I'm milsl< interested in how the flights then and now compare. But there's nothing else. The characters are numerous but not interesting and Poirot is being his usual reticent-until-he's-sure-he-can-safely-show-off self. He adds little except smugness.

I'll give this another hour and then decide if it's worth finishing.

Rosemarie wrote: "I've just started a reread and remember how the murder was committed, but not who or why.
This has always been a favourite of mine."

Same here Rosemarie. In fact I realised when the murderer was revealed that I'd followed the same red herrings that I did on first reading, but the method had stuck in my mind.

I'm 30% through and the only thing keeping my attention is the puzzle. The exposition doesn't seem to me to be as well done as usual.

Anyway, given the books that we've read so far, I'm treating this novel as a magic trick that Christie is performing and I'm trying to see where the wires are.

My idea is that whenever Christie has one of the characters say 'we don't have to think about XYZ' I should look carefully at XYZ.

So far, I've never been right about what trick Christie is performing or how she makes it work but it's still fun to guess. So here goes:

I think the maid did it. I think she pushed the thorn into the woman's neck. I'd like to think that she's the dead woman's daughter. She may or may not be working in collusion with her mistress.

I'm probably wrong but there isn't enough going on in this book to keep my attention if I don't speculate wildly.

“What made you notice her particularly?”
“Because she was so frightfully ugly”
LOL!

It seems to me that Christie makes it a point to have a very unattractive character in every book and I find it hilarious.

Peregrina651 wrote: "I just finished both February reads. Today I've gone down a rabbit hole trying to learn more about passenger flights in the 1930s.

Here is a very brief article about the Paris to Croydon flights.
..."

Thank you for the information. I was wondering all the same things. In fact, I initially thought that It could be a zeppelin.

I feel I need to reread this book. I gave this 5 stars and a rave review, but don't remember what I so loved about it (although I recall the murderer and motive). So much of enjoyment or lack therefore in literature is based on mood and timing. I do adore that Christie will use the same tricks from book to book but flips them on their head so that even when the reader thinks they have figured it out, she fools you yet again.

I actually got it started today and I'm enjoying it so far. I do know the story so think I know who the murderer is.

I'm abandoning this one at 40%.

I've just read a session with Poirot messing about on a plane to Paris, apparently testing angles for firing a blowpipe. I'm fairly sure the blowpipe is a red herring and It seems to me that Poirot should have worked that out already.

I'm abandoning the book because I don't care who did it or how, because the writing plods along lifelessly and Poirot's grandstanding is irritating.

Mike wrote: "I'm abandoning this one at 40%.

I've just read a session with Poirot messing about on a plane to Paris, apparently testing angles for firing a blowpipe. I'm fairly sure the blowpipe is a red herri..."

This has also never been a favorite of mine - but the next one is a good 'un. Hopefully it will work better for you!

Are you going to try A Rage in Harlem? I just finished it and it's a wild ride through 1950's Harlem.

Christine PNW wrote: "Mike wrote: "I'm abandoning this one at 40%.

I've just read a session with Poirot messing about on a plane to Paris, apparently testing angles for firing a blowpipe. I'm fairly sure the blowpipe i..."

Christine PNW wrote: "Mike wrote: "I'm abandoning this one at 40%.

I've just read a session with Poirot messing about on a plane to Paris, apparently testing angles for firing a blowpipe. I'm fairly sure the blowpipe i..."

I read The A B C Murders back in 2018 and enjoyed it. Having Hastings tell the story was a big part of its appeal. I remember it as filled with quick gentle humour.

I read a sample of 'A Rage In Harlem' and decided it wasn't for me. I'll be reading 'The Little Sister' next month. It's been decades since I read Chandler and I want to see if his style still works for me.

Peregrina651 wrote: "I just finished both February reads. Today I've gone down a rabbit hole trying to learn more about passenger flights in the 1930s.

Here is a very brief article about the Paris to Croydon flights.
..."

Thanks for sharing this information - the photos are fascinating.

I know a few of you are not liking this one and it is a bit drawn out and ponderous at times but I'm enjoying it. Listened to quite a good few chapters today. I do like Hugh Fraser's readings. He does the female voices very well.
Poiret is a bit pretentious at times.