a very high quality collection overall. with a good mix of poirot, marple, and others as well. this definitely has my favorite christie stories to date in here, and might be my favorite of her books thus far as well. a really good mix. it's weird to see how different mysteries are today versus back then. her police detectives freely discuss the evidence, for example, and that shapes the entire way of sleuthing and solving. anyway, this was really fun.

three blind mice - a recently married couple opens a b&b and the initial guests get snowed in. a cop skis in when it's determined that one of them may be in danger and the tension and the accusations start to build. this is the best christie i've read to date. this was pretty air tight and only a bit of classism and misunderstanding of mental health don't hold up here. excellent story and storytelling. and not miss marple or hercule poirot but one of her singular ones, which i think i might like better overall. 4 stars.

chocolate box - this was a poirot and the premise is he's telling hastings the story of one mystery he got wrong or didn't figure out. he sure was close, though. pretty fun, 2.5 stars.

a christmas tragedy - this was miss marple, who i haven't been impressed by in the past. but this was a pretty good one. not totally sure the solving of the crime makes 100% sense and is feasible, but it was still pretty good. 2.5 stars.

the coming of mr quinn - neither marple nor poirot, but also not particularly good. 1 star.

the clergyman's daughter - a really short and fun one. the only other tommy & tuppence i read i really didn't like, but this was great. 3.75 stars.

the plymouth express - this was a poirot and perhaps my favorite of his stories so far. clever but not over the top clever. (only one possible plot hole that could throw the entire thing off the rails, so to speak, but i'll forgive it.) 3.25 stars

problem at pollensa bay - this was like a little amusing excursion. it wasn't so much a mystery as a trick and it doesn't take into account how much of an asshole it makes the man look, but it was fun all the same. 2.75 stars.

sanctuary - this one was alright but nothing too special; 2 stars.

the mystery of hunter's lodge - i liked the solving of this one but am not sure why hastings puts up with poirot. 2.25 stars.

the world's end - i suspect that this is actually one of the more beautifully written ones, but it mostly didn't hold my attention; 1.5 stars.

the manhood of edward robinson - another fun little excursion that was really enjoyable. 3.25 stars.

christmas adventure - fun twist to this one. 2.75 stars.

this narrator can adeptly do many different dialects of the english accent, french/belgian accent, american accent, and i'm sure there was more. well done. ( )

This collection of twelve short stories feature some of Christie's well-known characters (Poirot, Marple and some lesser known ones. It was a pretty mixed bag, and none of the twelve were exceptional. A few were downright boring. All in all, a diverting enough read but nothing I would return to. ( )

A collection of a dozen short stories by Agatha Christie all with a common theme of Christmas/New Year/deep mid-winter. These stories come from across the whole of Christie's working life and from all her different writing. Some feature Poirot or Miss Marple, others have less well-recognised Christie characters.

All these stories have the same characteristic Christie shape - foul deeds in bucolic, generally upper middle class, settings. These stories are all of a decent quality and showcase Christie's firm grip on the psychology and motivation for crime.

A good read for Christie lovers and, perhaps, an easy route into her work for those new to her. ( )

3.5* ( )

Fenella Woolgar is a FABULOUS narrator. I’m familiar with most of these stories, but I hadn’t read The Mouse Trap before and it’s so good! I can see why the play has been so successful. It’s a logical, solvable story (although being familiar with Christie’s style and tone definitely helps). This is a satisfying collection. ( )