Autumn Chills: Short Story Collection

I recently picked up all four of these seasonally themed — at least in name — short story collections from Agatha Christie. Tackling this one first at random, I found the stories in Autumn Chills extremely enjoyable, and now I can’t wait to read the others.

You would think that the Poirot stories included — all of which I’d read previously — would be the highlights. While one might say they anchor this particular collection from Christie, and are perhaps the main draw for most fans, I have to say that a few of these other stories are at least as good, and a couple were very memorable.

The Poirot stories included in Autumn Chills:

Murder in the Mews
Triangle at Rhodes (a personal favorite)
The Lemesurier Inheritance
Four-and-Twenty show more Blackbirds

All four are of course enjoyable for Poirot fans, with each person probably finding one they love a bit more than the others. Murder in the Mews stands out, but Rhodes has always been a favorite of mine, and it was nice to have it included here.

Miss Marple:

Death by Drowning
Tape-Measure Murder

Though in long form, I actually prefer Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver to Christie’s Miss Marple, in the shorter form I found these two Miss Marple stories incredibly entertaining. I loved Death by Drowning, and really enjoyed Tape-Measure Murder a great deal. One of the two ended a bit too abruptly for me, but it wasn’t enough to keep me from making a mental note to return to this collection at some point down the road and reread it.

Tommy and Tuppence:

The House of Lurking Death

I’m not a huge fan of Tommy and Tuppence in long form, but in short story form they work so well — particularly in this story — that it prompted me to pick up a copy of Partners in Crime, a collection of Tommy and Tuppence short stories. Some of them are included in the other seasonal hardcover volumes, but not all. Based on how much fun I found The House of Lurking Death to be, I’m glad I now have Partners in Crime there to read when I’m in the mood.

Parker Pyne:

The Case of the Rich Woman

I’ve read a few Parker Pyne stories before, but not this one. While some might label it one of the weakest stories here, I suspect that’s due to it being much less a traditional mystery than it is a life lesson, courtesy of Christie, and her man, Parker Pyne. It’s actually quite enjoyable, and perhaps a glimpse into how Christie herself felt about the trappings of wealth.

Mr Satterthwaite and Mr Quin:

The Bird with the Broken Wing
The Voice in the Dark

While I thought the ending to Voice in the Dark a bit too tidy, I must say it was a terrific story. The Bird with the Broken Wing however, was atmospheric and enthralling. It is, to my mind, tied for the most memorable story in the collection with one I will get to shortly. I had yet to read a Satterthwaite and Quin story, but find myself eagerly looking forward to the other five which are scattered among the four seasonally themed collections I now own. I’m very much looking forward to reading Broken Wing again somewhere down the line.

The final two entries which round out the dozen are stand-alone stories bereft of a famous series detective creation. The Witness for the Prosecution is well known of course, due to the play, and the film this short story gave birth to, and it’s a good one. For me, however, While the Light Lasts ranks with The Bird with the Broken Wing as the most memorable in Autumn Chills. It is not a traditional mystery, there is no murder to solve, but rather a sad and quietly moving story of lost love, lifestyle choices, and the tragic consequences when comfort becomes more paramount than love.

Whether you’re a Poirot fan, a Miss Marple fan, or just an Agatha Christie fan, it’s hard to go wrong in any way with this fabulous gathering of stories. A fine cross-section from a vast canon that proves Christie was no one-note writer, despite the massive — and deserved — popularity of the little Belgian. Great stuff. show less

Down in the Wood

Bare brown branches against a blue sky
(And Silence within the wood),
Leaves that, listless, lie under your feet,
Bold brown boles that are biding their time
(And Silence within the wood).
Spring has been fair in the fashion of youth,
Summer with languorous largesse of love,
Autumn with passion that passes to pain,
Leaf, flower, and flame – they have fallen and failed

And Beauty – bare Beauty is left in the
wood!

Bare brown branches against a mad moon
(And Something that stirs in the wood),
Leaves that rustle and rise from the dead,
Branches that beckon and leer in the light
(And Something that walks in the wood).
Skirling and whirling, the leaves are alive!
Driven by Death in a devilish dance!
Shrieking and swaying of terrified show more trees!
A wind that goes sobbing and shivering by …

And Fear – naked Fear passes out of the wood!

If you think that the word "chills" refers to ghosts, haunting and various Halloween-y paraphernalia, this collection is not going to satisfy you. This autumnal volume in the seasonal Agatha Christie collections is dedicated to various crimes and shady actions set in the "-ber" months, the tranquil, sleepy and suspicious 91 days of Fall.

A strange love triangle, a customer that is not where he should be, a lady that doesn't know what to do with her money, a woman who hears voices in the dark, a suicide on November 5th, a woman that seems to have escaped from the fairy lands. Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Mr Quin, Tuppence and Tommy are here to accompany a cozy night.

‘There’s a lot of magic about tonight,’ she said. ‘Don’t you think so? show less