Building a Mystery

So, I can't sleep, and I've been just moping around all day. And it's freaking freezing! Good thing a warm book is an adequate substitute for a warm body. (Ok, no, it's not, but I'm trying to stay positive here.) I'm proud to announce I just completed my very first Agatha Christie novel, titled The Body in the Library. (I know, I know, I have twenty books that I need to start covering, but this was a Christmas gift I received from B's parents.) It was a surprisingly smooth read that took less than an hour. I suppose I expected more of a challenge from the heralded Ms. Christie, but I'm not displeased with the overall simplicity of diction. I prefer books I can breeze through in one setting. In my experience, most of the literary sagas where I peg away for so long are never fully satisfying enough to be worth the effort (ahem, The Brothers Karamazov). But anyway, considering this was my first Christie book, it was nowhere near daunting. Oh, and one thing that threw me off was that I think this is the first time I've ever seen a reference of the author, by the author, in a work of fiction. It was pretty amusing. A little boy in the novel runs up to a police officer and gushes, "Do you like detective stories? I do. I read them all, and I've got autographs from Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie and Dickson Carr and H.C. Bailey." As for the story itself, nothing spectacular: the usual murder, the typical grab bag of suspicious characters, and a tidy resolution. I can't say much about its predictability because I'm not one of those who try to determine what will happen; I like to let the story do its thang. (Except in that movie Oldboy. I totally called the big twist...but that's because I'm a complete pervert.)

Would I recommend this? Sure, why not. It's an easy, entertaining read. It definitely doesn't spur me to go out and buy more of her work or anything. But I'd read 'em if you gave me some. :)