Agatha Christie

This week sees our Killer Reader Kate Stephenson (pictured right) asking for your views on modern Twisted Thrillers Vs. the classic Murder Mystery... Earlier this year at the Oxford Lit Fest, Sophie Hannah and Simon Brett discussed the respective merits of the dark and twisted new school and the cosy old school of murder mysteries in a panel entitled Murder Mystery: Blood Bath or Brain Teaser? Has crime fiction become too gory? It’s a question hotly debated amongst readers and writers alike. Some hark back to the masters of the cosies like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, and despair that contemporary crime fiction has gone too far, indulging in graphic violence – particularly the torture of women and children – for sensationalist purposes. Others don’t have a problem with it, being that it is fiction, after all. The authors are not committing the violent crimes they describe, nor inciting readers to do so. And surely we’re all consenting adults, making our own reading choices – if what you’re reading offends you, all you need to do is put the book down. Read More

In 1922 Agatha Christie set sail on a 10-month voyage around the British Empire with her husband as part of a trade mission to promote the forthcoming British Empire Exhibition. Now, for the first time in 90 years we are able to see her extensive and previously unpublished letters, which are accompanied by hundreds of photos taken on her portable camera as well as memorabilia Agatha collected along her journey. This eye-opening trip, which took place just after only her second novel had been published (the first leg of the tour to South Africa is very clearly the inspiration for the book she wrote immediately afterwards, The Man in the Brown Suit). The letters are full of tales of seasickness and sunburn, motor trips, surf boarding and dinners with dignitaries all the way from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada.   Agatha’s first letters to her mother can be seen below, these are from the first leg of her journey from Madeira to Cape Town.   R.M.S ‘Kildonan Castle’ First day: 20 January 1922 Darling mummy Everything very comfortable – nice cabin with lots of room. I do love my violets. Take care of yourself, darling – I do love you so much. Will write again from Madeira. Your loving Agatha Read More

In December we ran our Killer Christmas Advent Calendar competition! With a fantastic prize behind each door, we had hundreds of entries and we are now pleased to announce the winners! Your prizes are on the way to you now! 1. A collection of no less than SIX Stuart MacBride… Read More

John Curran and Hercule Poirot take a look at "the original evidence" - including one of Agatha Christie's own writing notebooks - at Paignton Library during Agatha Christie Festival. Congratulations to our very own Agatha Christie expert! John Curran triumphed in the awards at Bouchercon a few nights ago by winning not one but two presitigious crime-writing awards for his writing debut, Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks. To celebrate we've decided not only to give you an exclusive look at David Suchet's foreword for the paperback of John's new book, Agatha Christie's Murder in the Making, but also to give you an extract from the book which looks at some of the ideas that Agatha Christie never used in her novels.    KILLER READS EXCLUSIVE: David Suchet's Foreword When John Curran's book Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks was published in 2009, the reading public was given something very rare: perhaps the most complete document for any author of the notes and sketches of their novels. Reading the book was like studying the preliminary sketches of any great artist, and in doing so we automatically found ourselves searching for clues. It gave us an insight into the workings of Agatha Christie's mind - plus the gift of two new unpublished Poirot stories! Read More

To celebrate Agatha's big day, HarperCollins went all out, with a speech, champagne, a murder mystery and most importantly, cake! Because what's a birthday without it? Inspired by Christie's A Murder Is Announced, the cake has been christened 'Delicious Death', and was definitely one of the better cakes we've had, especially once it had had a good sprinkling of edible gold leaf. We just wish she'd been here to see it! To try it for yourselves then simply follow the Jane Asher recipe below, and anyone that posts a photo of their own attempt to make it will automatically enter a draw to win an Agatha Christie poster! So get cooking! Read More

Wednesday 15th September was Agatha Christie's 120th birthday. There was a plethora of activity to mark the occasion, with extensive press coverage celebrating the Queen of Crime and her work. If you didn't get the chance to see it, the 'Google Doodle' was Christie-themed in over 40 countries worldwide on the today. FIVE OF THE BEST Murder on the Orient Express Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer - in case he or she decides to strike again... Read an extract from Murder on the Orient Express Read More

Inspired by Soul Murder, guest blogger Adele from Un:Bound takes a look at the most Memorable Deaths in Fiction. Playing Cluedo as a child I always felt certain people should use certain weapons, I felt the game lacked verisimilitude otherwise. Professor Plum clearly would have to use the candlestick. Miss Scarlett should use the revolver like any self respecting femme fatale, Mrs Peacock, portrayed on her card as older and wealthy seemed a shoo in for the dagger since poison wasn’t an option, Colonel Mustard as an army sort ought to have the strength to use the rope and so on. I was possibly putting too much thought into the game, but a steady diet of Morse, Poirot, and Miss Marple will do that to a child. So the trend was set, it matters to me how you kill people. That's only reasonable though; there should be method to the madness and meaning to be found behind the method. In Soul Murder (Daniel Blake) the victims are burned alive. This is not only grotesque enough to be memorable, but also raises questions for both the detectives and the reader, the most fundamental of which is: why didn’t the killer take Scott Evil’s advice? “Just shoot him now … I’ll go get a gun and we’ll shoot him together ...” Read More

Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. She has sold over two billion books worldwide and has been translated into over 45 languages. Read More

Crime writers are peculiar creatures. At the recent and totally wonderful Harrogate Crime Writing Festival (I’ve already booked for next year), author Mark Billingham said that if you wanted to see blood on the carpet, go to a Romance Writers Convention. Crime writers seem to be the sweety-pies of the… Read More

A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's 73 recently discovered notebooks, including illustrations, deleted extracts, and two unpublished Poirot stories. Read More