Tom Gillispie: Agatha Christie

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

MY NEW READING LIST

Reading book for you : 'Goldfinger' 1959 by Ian Fleming

Normally, I watch videos or movies, but, lately, I've been enjoying novels.

Now, I'm reading Goldfinger, the spy novel by Ian Fleming. Interestingly, Auric Golfinger is British; Gert Frobe, Goldfinger in the movie, was German.

It's my second James Bond book, after Dr. No.

By the way, Bond asked for a vodka martini with a slice of lemon peel. No mention of shaken, not stirred.

I just listened to a presentation of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. I'd seen the David Suchet movie, but I'd forgotten how the book ended. It was sad.

I listened to the BBC presentation of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. It was frightening in spots.

I just finished listening to The Dutch Shoe Mystery by Ellery Queen. I guessed part of the mystery, but there was more to it.

I'm reading Right Ho, Jeeves, a novel by P.G. Wodehouse. It's strange (funny), and I like it. Jeeves, the butler, is the brains of the operation, but his boss, Wooster, thinks HE is.

I just listened the short version of the mystery novel 4:50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie. I had no idea who the culprit was.

I read another Craig Johnson/Walt Longmire mystery, An Obvious Fact. Walt, Henry Standing Bear and Vic Moretti are all involved, as are the local cops in South Dakota.

I finished Christmas Cookie Murder, a Leslie Meier/Lucy Stone mystery. It was only a domestic story until the murder; then, it was better. I liked it.

I just finished reading a Craig Johnson/Walt Longmire book called Return to Sender. Sheriff Longmire is helping his late wife's cousin find a postal carrier who disappeared on her 307-mile route. He found her, but it was a mess.

I just finished The Metropolitan Opera Murders by Helen Traubel. She knew what she was talking about; Helen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. She was a dramatic soprano, best known for her Wagnerian roles,

And, yes, the book is about a murder during a Wagnerian (pronounced VAG-ner) opera. It was well done. I really liked the lead lieutenant and the lead singer.

☆☆☆

Dutch Shoe Mystery Audiobook by Ellery Queen

☆☆☆

4:50 from Paddington - Agatha Christie | A killing without a single trace | Mystery AudioBook

☆☆☆

Return to Sender: A Longmire Mystery Book 21 by Craig Johnson One Minute Book Review

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

Friday, February 27, 2026

MY READING LIST

Dumb Witness - Agatha Christie | Hercule Poirot Mystery | Full Audiobook | Relaxing Late Night Story

Normally, I watch videos or movies, but, lately, I've been enjoying novels.

I just finished Agatha Christie's novel Dumb Witness. It's probably my favorite Hercule Poirot book. By the way, the "dumb witness" is a terrier named Bob.

I read three Cat Who books by Lilian Jackson Braun, and I've finished Dr. No by Ian Fleming. It was made into the first Sean Connery/James Bond film.

Since then, I've started another Cat Who book, The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare.

I re-read the novel Foundation by Isaac Asimov and came by the word asperity. It's a noun that means harshness of tone or manner or harsh qualities or conditions.

I finished the Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. It's strange how Doyle wrote it. The first section was in London; the second opened in Utah and ended in London. It was disconcerting.

I finished Not Quite Dead Enough, a Nero Wolfe book by Rex Stout, and I read the Arthur C. Clarke sci-fi novel The Hammer of God.

I re-read 10 lb. Penalty, a horse-racing/politics novel written by Dick Francis. It's been maybe 20 years since I read it the first time. It was published in 1998.

I listened to the audiobook of The Quick Red Fox, a Travis McGee novel written by John D. MacDonald. Darren McGavin is the narrator.

My most recent read was The Cat Who Blew the Whistle, a mystery novel by Lilian Jackson Braun. I'd read all of Braun's Cat Who novels before, but I didn't remember the exact details of this one.

I also re-read The Cat Who Said Cheese.

I recently read The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett as an ebook, and then I listened to The Murder on the Links, an Agatha Christie-style book written by Kate McAll. Hercule Poirot was the star.

I finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Agatha Christie's first published novel), and I've listened to a Nero Wolfe audiobook of The Black Mountain by Rex Stout. I read the latter many years ago; now I'm listening to it.

I've finished Murder at the Snowbound Inn, a Poirot novella on audiobook. The narrator did a great job.

Now I'm reading an ebook of Isaac Asimov's Caves of Steel, the first of the three-part robot series. I read that in 1985.

In the re-read of Caves of Steel, I found it amusing that Asimov thought the earth's population 1,000 years in the future would be an unbelievable eight billion. We passed that about 33 years after his death in 1992.

My next audiobook was Murder in Mesopotamia, another Poirot book. I'd never read it before, but I'd seen the David Suchet TV episode.

I read The Naked Sun, the sequel to Caves of Steel. Lije Bailey's going offworld to Solaria. I'm waiting to read the third robot book, Robots of Dawn.

I started the ebook Bright Orange for the Shroud, a Travis McGee mystery by John D. MacDonald. My next MacDonald book was The Turquoise Lament.

I found another Travis McGee book lying near my bed, A Tan and Sandy Silence. I'll get tired of McGee, but I'll read some more before I do.

The Robots of Dawn just came over from Libby, so I read it next. It's the third in Isaac Asimov's three-part robot series featuring Lije Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw.

I love mysteries. And science fiction.