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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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Here‘s my review for this book I finished reading for #christiescapers.

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

On April 5 & 12, I finished the short stories I had to read for #noplacelikeholmes. On April 19, I read a college football romance ARC I signed up to read from Chasing Books PR. On April 26, I read the short story I had to read for #noplacelikeholmes. Today, April 30 I just finished reading the Agatha Christie book that I had to read for #christiescapers. I haven‘t written a review for it yet but I liked it.

#weeklyfavorites

Read4life

Read4life Good looking month! 💙📚💙 3d

18 likes1 comment

MaleficentBookDragon

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

I‘m very behind in my reading this month. So, in addition to my physical book, I did a little #audioknitting tonight. This is from a mystery gnome knit along #MKAL with Imagined Landscapes. Perfect for one of the Queen of Mystery‘s books.
My Professor is pretty cute.
I‘m enjoying this Christie so far.
#ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3
#knittersoflitsy #craftersoflitsy

Librarybelle Yay!! 4d

ravenlee What a great stack! 4d

Ruthiella @ravenlee You might need just one more knitting book! 😂 4d

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TheBookHippie Ooooooooo. 4d

TheBookHippie @ravenlee 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 4d

dabbe I am, too! Your knitting: 🤩😍🤩 4d

MaleficentBookDragon @ravenlee that‘s just the overflow stack. I‘ll have to take a photo of my knitting/crochet book shelf. It‘s out of control.😹 4d

CSeydel Oh my gosh I LOVE the gnome! 4d

ravenlee You have a bookshelf? I have a small bookCASE and am trying really hard to keep it all there! 😆 3d

iread2much Very cool mushroom thing 😊🍄 2d

64 likes10 comments

MariaW

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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This has not been the typical murder mystery a la Poirot or Marple like I expected. I liked having two narrators with two points of view - the one of Eustace Pedler definitely being the funnier one. And it was nice seeing Anne taking her life in her hands. And of course I didn‘t see the plot twist coming. 🤣

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

#christiescapers

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BarbaraJean

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

“Dancing was a hot affair. I danced twice with Anne Beddingfeld and she had to pretend she liked it. I danced once with Mrs. Blair, who didn't trouble to pretend, and I victimized various other damsels whose appearance struck me favourably.”

Ew.

#ChristiesCapers @Librarybelle

nanuska_153 Someone was both a shitty person and a bad dancer xD 4d

Librarybelle Exactly! 4d

33 likes2 comments

suvata

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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(re)Reading on #Litsy with Christie‘s Capers (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle
#AgathaChristieClubR3

4 Stars • Agatha Christie‘s The Man in the Brown Suit (1924) is a thrilling mystery-adventure that grabs you tight. Spunky Anne Beddingfeld, chasing a shady death and a brown-suited stranger in London, follows a cryptic note to a South Africa-bound ship. ⬇️

suvata Unearthing a diamond heist and a crook called “The Colonel,” she dodges danger and sparks with rugged Harry. Christie‘s twists and Anne‘s grit make this a page-turner, despite some flat side characters. A lively, classic caper! 6d

kspenmoll Love your review!!!! 6d

Librarybelle Great review! 6d

suvata @kspenmoll @Librarybelle Thanks 6d

33 likes4 comments

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Time for our #ChristiesCapers discussion! I have 5 questions posted as spoilers; you can find them by searching my feed, the book‘s feed, or by the group‘s hashtags. Jump in whenever into the discussion!

Our next Christie is the short story collection Poirot Investigates featuring, you guessed it, more Poirot! I‘ll post the official notice tomorrow!

janeycanuck, suvata, Aims42, MallenNC, Soscha, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, MariaW, elkeOriginal, AnneCecilie, Gissy, OutsmartYourShelf, mrp27, Larkken, Suet624, Cailey_Mac, Deblovestoread, ferskner, Marmie7, MaleficentBookDragon, majkia, Bookwormjillk, StayCurious, Teresereading, Laughterhp, Sace, RainyDayReading, Skygoddess1, Morr_Books, PathfinderNicole, dabbe, tdrosebud, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, PageShifter, willaful, AnishaInkspill

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

This post contains spoilers

5. Let‘s think about the ending. Were you satisfied with the conclusion, especially the “happily ever after”? Were you surprised by the identity of the “villain”? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

willaful I wasn't surprised, because I'd read it before. :-) It also shows Christie's talent for misleading... she'd use the same method again even more effectively later.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about the HEA because of the history of South Africa and the gender essentialism, but from a story standpoint, it's fine. 6d

suvata The ending was sweet, with Anne getting her happy ending, but it felt a bit too neat for me. I liked her romantic wrap-up, though it was predictable. The villain‘s reveal—the Colonel—surprised me, though I caught some hints. I wanted a bigger showdown. 5d

TheAromaofBooks The first time I read this, I was completely surprised by the villain. I love that Christie gives us other, more serious takes on the “unreliable narrator“ trope, but here it is done so well because he's just so friendly and likable (in his way). I love that it's not a cheat - he never says anything in his journals that aren't strictly true. Rereading, it's fun to see places where he bends his narration a little. I actually have a soft spot for ⬇ 4d

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TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Sir Eustace and totally would have read another book about him 😂

While I do think the ending is too tidy, I also don't mind because I'm a big HEA girl and like to see my fiction tidied up nicely in the end! 4d

MariaW I agree with @TheAromaofBooks. It was a nice to have to narrators, one being an unreliable one. He definitely brought in a lot of humour and I was quite disappointed when he ended up being the villain. But it was a nice move to not hold any grudges against Anne and accept a deserved defeat. I assumed there would be jappy ending for Anne the moment she admitted being interested in the man with the brown suit. Regarding the problemic points like (edited) 4d

MariaW gender and the historical background, I think there have been other novels in which they could be felt more. It felt irksome only a few times. But I had the check out where and what the situation of Rhodesia was because this something we never learnt in school. 4d

MallenNC I had a little trouble following/keeping all the characters straight so I was definitely surprised by the ending. 48m

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

This post contains spoilers

4. The Man in the Brown Suit received mixed reviews when it was first published in 1924, with some more negative reviews stating how they missed this being a Poirot novel. Others commented on the change in tone into a more thriller plot line as the novel progressed. Think about the progression of the story for you--would you identify this as a thriller story? An adventure story? A mystery? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

willaful I think it's maybe too lighthearted to classify as a thriller, though it does have its moments. I'd probably call it an adventurous mystery? 6d

suvata I would call more of a cozy mystery. It was definitely more lighthearted than her other books. 5d

MariaW It was definitely fast-paced like a thriller, but I agree with @willaful it is not shocking/thrilling enough to be a thriller. 4d

MallenNC @suvata This one felt like a cozy to me too. Especially the amateur sleuth putting herself in dangerous situations. I was surprised that it wasn‘t a typical detective story— I didn‘t read the description before starting. 49m

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

This post contains spoilers

3. We also meet Colonel Race in this novel. Race appears in later books--Cards on the Table, Death on the Nile, and Sparkling Cyanide--when he works alongside his friend Poirot. Interesting we meet him without Poirot! What did you think of Race? Why do you think Christie decided to make him a recurring character in her novels? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

willaful Can't waste a perfectly good Colonel. 😂 6d

suvata @willaful 🤣😂🤣😂 6d

suvata I think Christie brings Race back because he‘s so adaptable, slotting into any story, unlike Poirot with his brainy quirks or Miss Marple‘s village life. His adventurous vibe and cool-headed charm let him hop from story to story because he‘s a steady and likable character, but he never hogs the spotlight. (edited) 6d

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willaful @suvata makes sense! 6d

TheAromaofBooks @suvata - I totally agree!! Race is such a versatile character. He brings a pile of life experiences, government connections, and a canny brain to the table, all wrapped in a cloak of “strong and silent type“ that keeps him from being painted into a quirky corner. I like that it also gives us this feeling that all Christie's characters coexist 😂 4d

MariaW I was already wondering why my version of the ebook was marked as „Colonel Race #1“. I kept on wondering how he would get away as the villian and why Christie would write more novels about a master criminal. 🙈 Of course I was proved wrong. He is somewhat portrayed as a stereotype British nobleman being entangled in the secret service and because being so taciturn taken as the villian. But again I felt for it. 🙈 4d

MallenNC I thought he was a fun character and I‘m interested to see him with Poirot. I haven‘t read the ones he‘s in. 54m

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

This post contains spoilers

2. Anne Beddingfield tells her story, with the help of diaries from Sir Eustace Pedler. What did you think of this book? Compare Anne to the other detectives we have met, Poirot and Tommy & Tuppence. How does Anne's detection skills compare/contrast with the other detectives we have met? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

willaful She's somewhat similar to Tuppence, in having very strong trust in her own instincts and impulses, but she also thinks things through.

The book didn't age that well for me. The South African parts are uncomfortable to read, and the primary relationship is 😬. That aside, it's never been a favorite of mine but the humor and cheerfulness make it rather fun to revisit.

6d

suvata Anne is gutsy chasing clues on a whim, nothing like Poirot, who‘s all brainy and precise—he‘d totally roll his eyes at her. She‘s more like Tuppence, super bold and jumping in headfirst, but Anne‘s flying solo and kinda winging it. Her detective game is more luck than skill, nowhere near Poirot‘s genius or Tommy and Tuppence‘s teamwork. Still, she‘s got heart and makes it work! I love the way this story flowed. 6d

suvata As far as it “aging well“ is considered, it‘s really important to take into consideration the time period in which it was written. In 1924 this would‘ve been one of the few novels that had a female lead character, and I think it represents how many people thought at the time. When I go back and read older books, I have to also consider them a history lesson. I think Christy was truly a feminist at heart. (edited) 6d

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TheAromaofBooks Like @willaful and @suvata said, I think Anne's detecting is way more based on luck than skill. But I think she was a very forward-looking heroine for her time - her independence, willingness to just head off an international journey on a whim, the way she manipulated the newspaper guy into paying her for an article, etc. She definitely makes some dumb moves, but that makes her feel more like a “regular“ person vs Poirot's genius. 4d

TheAromaofBooks While aspects of this story haven't aged well, I also think some of the “me Tarzan you Jane“ aspects of romance are a bit tongue-in-cheek. I also loved Suzanne, who is married but still capering off to wherever she pleases (and sending obnoxiously long telegrams just to drive her husband crazy). 4d

MariaW I can only agree with what has been weitten here before. Compared to Tuppence Anne does definitely do more beginner‘s mistakes. I enjoyed her sharp exchange of words with Eustace and him drawing to the only conclusion of marrying her. 😂😂😂 (edited) 4d

MallenNC Anne was an interesting character for me. I loved that she was looking for adventure but like a cozy mystery MC, she put herself in dangerous situations without much thought. 57m

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

This post contains spoilers

Librarybelle https://www.britbox.com/us/season/Travels_With_Agatha_Christie_and_Sir_David_Suc... 6d

1. This 4th novel by Christie was inspired by her adventures with her first husband Archie while traveling the British Empire to promote the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. If you have not seen Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet, I highly recommend it! You can see how Christie gained inspiration for this book from her travels. Link in comments.

Was this your first time reading this book? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

suvata According to Goodreads, I read this book a long time ago. I was surprised to see that because I didn‘t remember any of it. I‘m almost done (only about 2 hours left). So far, I am enjoying it more than the first three. 😀 6d

Librarybelle Glad you‘re enjoying it so far, @suvata ! 6d

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willaful I've read it at least once before, though it was never a big favorite.

I saw an article about Christie surfing recently, so it was interesting to see Anne do it in this. 6d

suvata @willaful yeah the surfing part kinda took me by surprise, but in a fun way 6d

willaful @suvata https://www.agathachristie.com/news/2021/on-surfing-agatha-christies-love-of-the...
6d

suvata @willaful interesting article. Thanks for sharing. 6d

TheAromaofBooks This is actually one of my favorite Christie novels, and one I've read time and again. I love Anne and I honestly love Sir Eustace. Parts of this book are completely ridiculous, but I just roll with it haha I love the humor and just the overall “we're having fun“ vibe of this book - it's a romp and doesn't take itself too seriously. 4d

MariaW @willaful Thanks for the article. And the thanks for the link to Britbox, @Librarybelle. Unfortunately, I cannot use it because it‘s not available in Switzerland. It was the first tine that I‘ve read this Christie book and I enjoyed it very much because it was completely different compared to the Poirot & Marple ones. 4d

MallenNC I was slow finishing this one so I‘m chiming in late. It was my first time reading this one. I enjoyed it but it was so different from other Christies I‘ve read. 59m

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Here‘s my progress on this book for the #christiescapers buddy read. I won‘t be finished in time for the discussion on Sunday but I‘m sure that I will get finished with this book before the end of the month.

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

So sorry for the late reminder, but tomorrow (Sunday) is our next #ChristiesCapers discussion! I will post questions mid- to late morning. I‘ve seen some great reviews, so I am looking forward to the discussion. #AgathaChristieClubR3

BarbaraJean I'm behind on my reading (just starting today!) but am looking forward to joining the discussion in a few days! 7d

Librarybelle Sounds good, @BarbaraJean ! Join when you can! 7d

MaleficentBookDragon I am also very behind on my reading this month so I‘ll be joining the conversation late (again). But I am loving reading AG from book one! 6d

Librarybelle No worries, @MaleficentBookDragon ! 6d

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MariaW

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Am I missing something? Or is there something missing in my ebook edition? It says there is a facsimile, but there is none… 🤔🤔🤔 #christiescapers #agathachristieclubr3

Librarybelle It is missing the image! When I am near my copy, I‘ll post a pic of it for you. 1w

willaful The free first edition I found had the same problem, but I found another that included the image. (It's out of copyright so there's lots of editions.) 7d

MariaW @willaful Thanks for the tip. But after reading on it became quite clear what was on the snippet of paper. 4d

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The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Here‘s my progress on this book. I like it so far.

#christiescapers

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majkia

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Fun spy romp through South Africa. Irritating commentary on women and domestic abuse by heroine though.

#ReadYourKindle @CBee

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dabbe

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

From THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT by Agatha Christie:
“Nadina, the Russian dancer who had taken Paris by storm, swayed to the sound of the applause, bowed and bowed again.“

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dabbe

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

#bookspin2025 #bookspin #doublespin
@TheAromaOfBooks

Let's go, April!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Enjoy!! 1mo

dabbe @TheAromaofBooks 🤩😍🤩 1mo

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Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Great discussion so far for The Murder on the Links! Our next #ChristiesCapers introduces Colonel Race, who appears in a few other books later in Christie‘s canon. Discussion on April 27th.

All are welcome to attend. Please let me know if you wish to be added to or removed from the tag list. #AgathaChristieClubR3

janeycanuck, suvata, Aims42, MallenNC, Soscha, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, MariaW, elkeOriginal, AnneCecilie, Gissy, OutsmartYourShelf, mrp27, Larkken, Suet624, Cailey_Mac, Deblovestoread, ferskner, Marmie7, MaleficentBookDragon, majkia, Bookwormjillk, StayCurious, Laughterhp, Sace, RainyDayReading, Skygoddess1, Morr_Books, PathfinderNicole, dabbe, tdrosebud, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, PageShifter, willaful, AnishaInkspill

Aims42 I‘m planning on reading this one! I started March‘s but I got distracted and never finished it 😂 1mo

mrp27 This will be another first for me. 1mo

TheAromaofBooks This is one of my very favorite Christie novels!! It's so over-the-top and funny; I love it! 1mo

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Librarybelle That‘s so cool, @TheAromaofBooks ! 1mo

Librarybelle Hope you enjoy, @Aims42 @mrp27 ! 1mo

Teresereading Please add me 1mo

Librarybelle Will do, @Teresereading ! Welcome! 1mo

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PurpleyPumpkin

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Day 19 #Pub100YrsAgo #AboutABook

Eggs Beautiful editions! 8mo

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️💛❤️ 8mo

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JuliaTheBookNerd

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Published August 22, 1924 🤎

#Pub100YrsAgo 💯

#AboutABook… 📚📖📒📘📕📗📙📓

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Well done 👍🏼 📚👏🏻 8mo

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vlwelser

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

so-so

This is just a basic Agatha Christie mystery. My mum has the entire collection of these from the 80s. They look impressive together. Individually? Not so much.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 10mo

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OriginalCyn620

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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I find that I really enjoy Christie! This is one of her earlier books with no Marple or Poirot, but it was fun and entertaining, and very dated of course. I enjoyed all the characters!

#bookspinbingo - my #doublespin for this month!
#jumpstart2024
#pop24 - book that came out in a year that ends in 24
#joyousjanuary

Lizpixie, Andrew65, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks This is honestly one of my favorites despite (because?) it being a bit ridiculous. Her sense of humor is so strong and Anne is just so likable! 1y

Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 I enjoyed this one. 1y

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Mitch

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

so-so

Celebrating its centenary this year - this book is perhaps better described as a youthful adventure with high jinks than a mystery. Anne was sweet and foolhardy and alongside her band of fellow adventurers this felt like a grown up Famous Five adventure! There are aristocrats, politicians, jewel thieves, ocean voyages, distant lands, all with an Empire feel. Harmless - but I‘m glad Christie experimented and then moved on!

Ruthiella Agreed! I love Christie but don‘t like the espionage thrillers as much as I like the proper whodunnits. 1y

batsy I agree; not too fond of this one either. The darker psychological mysteries are her forte! 1y

rwmg This one sticks in my mind because of the description of surfing, which led me to the unexpected discovery that Agatha Christie herself was a keen surfer herself. 1y

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AmyK1

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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This was a fun adventure-the first with Colonel Race. As always, I was completely wrong about who the “bad guy” was 😂

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Eggs

Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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A fun Christie mystery with the plucky and recently orphaned Anne Beddingfeld !! She has spirited, often amusing, adventures; starting with watching a man tumble to his death in the path of a train at the tube station. She‘s convinced it was not an accident and is now in pursuit of a man with a brown suit…

#Pantone2023 @Clwojick
#RushAThon Day 24 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 2y

Eggs @DieAReader 🤗🤗 2y

TheAromaofBooks This is actually one of my favorite Christie novels. It's a bit ridiculous but doesn't take itself too seriously so it works 😂 2y

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Eggs @TheAromaofBooks That is so true! You nailed it 2y

Andrew65 Well done. 👏👏👏 I enjoyed this one. 2y

Eggs @Andrew65 🤗👍🏼 2y

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MelliMel1980

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Ok so is anyone else having issues with Litsy I think I always logged in using FB but now I have to start over because it somehow deleted my account years of reading logged and now I‘m back at the beginning

TheAromaofBooks I have heard some issues and @Books_et_al had to make a new account from a situation like yours. I also know the Litsy app is currently not available in the Google Play store. So if you're using the app, you may want to try logging in on a computer if you can? 2y

Books_et_al Yes I totally sympathise ! I can‘t access my previous account so have started over. It is frustrating that‘s for sure, years of logging lost to me. 2y

MelliMel1980 I‘m always logged in on my iPhone using Facebook but when I do that there‘s an error so I think it‘s something between Facebook and Litsy so until it gets resolved I‘ll start over and see what happens 2y

5 likes3 comments

Ruthiella

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

#TBRTarot. picture on the spine. So pleased one of my current reads fits this month‘s prompt since I am STILL working on finishing March‘s prompt! 😂

CBee

CBee Perfect! Yay 😀 2y

batsy Nice! 2y

erzascarletbookgasm That‘s great! 2y

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Bluebird

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

so-so

Not a fan of this one—almost bailed. It was quite dated and at times seemed ridiculous. I guess I‘m really just a fan of Agatha Christie‘s whodunits: Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. The podcast was fun and made it worth finishing the book. For now I will continue reading her books in order, but I may adjust this if there are more like this. 😬

AvidReader25 I wasn‘t a fan of this one either. 2y

Bluebird @AvidReader25 glad to know it‘s not just me! 2y

21 likes2 comments

Dragon

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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Just finished listening to this early Agatha Christie it‘s a one off mystery- no Poirot or Marple. Colonel Race is the only recurring Christie character to appear. I enjoyed the reader‘s voice work. A good mystery despite some cringey colonial ideas. Set in 1922 💚🐉

CarolynM I remember loving this one a long time ago🙂 2y

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catsuit_mango

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Notes from that book so far (and I did not highlight some mansplaining...)

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MelindaOtt

Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

so-so

This starts out as a fun adventure, but turns into pure silliness in the back half.

8 likes

Michael_Gee

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

“Girls derive a lot of comfort from ice-cream sodas.”

mabell I love this book so much! ❤️ 3y

batsy Verified fact, yes 😆 3y

Michael_Gee @batsy haha! Love it! 3y

Michael_Gee @mabell Did I see that you frequently reread this? I finished it and think I‘d like to reread. At a certain point I stopped trying to figure out the mystery element because I was just enjoying the characters so much. 3y

mabell Oh yes, I reread this all the time 😆 I enjoy the adventure, and the characters are so perfect - Anne, Suzanne, Sir Eustace. I just love to escape and be a part of their exploits. 😊 It‘s also why Secret at Chimneys is one of my favorites too. 3y

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Michael_Gee

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Ok, some tipsy bath-time in-progress thoughts on this book I didn‘t know existed until I got it for my b-day: 1) The prologue is totally unnecessary and embarrassingly full of exposition-via-unnatural-dialogue, 2) I love Mrs. Blair—Christie does fabulous so well. I like Sir Eustace too but his diary portions are redundant 3) there was a revelation about the MC being in love that really confuses me b/c it wasn‘t set up in any way. ????

Reggie Lol 3y

31 likes1 comment

erzascarletbookgasm

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

#GratefulHarvest #Brown
Not one of Christie‘s better books, I think she did locked-room mysteries or murder mysteries in quiet villages better than thrillers. The 1989 film adaptation is only slightly more engaging.

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

batsy I agree! Those (spy/secret agent) thrillers were not her best 😅 4y

erzascarletbookgasm @batsy Her Poirot and Ms Marple are still the best! Happy Deepavali, my friend! 🪔 4y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thank you, Jessie! Hope you have a lovely few days off. 3y

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Eggs Great choice 🤎📚🤎 3y

rwmg The only reason I remember this one at all is the description of surfing and finding out that she was a keen surfer herself
3y

erzascarletbookgasm @rwmg Ah, I didn‘t know that. The book and the film are rather forgettable. 3y

61 likes6 comments

bookaholic1

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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#74
Not bad to listen to while walking

26 likes

Skeeterisme

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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Delightful mystery (if occasionally outdated)

rwmg My main memory of this book is the description of surfing. Apparently Agatha Christie was a keen surfer in the 1920s. 4y

64 likes1 comment

ImperfectCJ

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

so-so

I thought for a while that this was going to be my favorite Christie so far, with the lady detective and the interesting setting, but then there were some weird bits about what women find attractive in a man along with this being illustrated in mildly icky and alarming ways, and now I'm not sure what to think. I'd almost like to rewrite the second half of this book.

50 likes

Aaronlisa

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

pick

I read this Aug 24-27 and gave it 4 ⭐️. I found that it was a little harder to get into this one but overall it was a fun read. Once again, I had a hard time figuring out the whodunnit part. I did like the character of Anne but I didn‘t like how Christie ended things with her. The story did drag a bit at the middle.

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hes7

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

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Caught up for #AgathaChristieClubR2 during #24b4Monday.

-The Man in the Brown Suit: a highly entertaining romp; hadn‘t heard of it before, but I‘m glad I had a reason to pick it up ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
-Poirot Investigates: Poirot‘s fun, but these stories are almost too short to feel satisfying. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

TheAromaofBooks I have a genuine love for The Man in the Brown Suit - I actually love a lot of Christie's rather ridiculous spy novels. She just doesn't even pretend like she's taking them too seriously! 5y

ferskner Good work! 5y

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Juliwyant

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Enjoying this Agatha Christie novel :) 46-year old paperback has about had it. Pages brittle...cover damaged & stained....but it has character :) The cover art is awesome! So 1970s

TheAromaofBooks I'm always amazed at how many different covers there are for Christie's books. I've never seen this one! 5y

batsy Intriguing cover! 5y

Michael_Gee Wow that cover!! 3y

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azulaco

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

pick

I finished this but never posted my review! This was a fun read. It‘s a stand-alone novel that doesn‘t feature one of her famous detectives, but does have Colonel Race, who shows up in some other books. Diamond theft, family honor, and a secret master criminal, set in 1920s South África, which is a surprisingly primitive place...I guess it was pretty undeveloped outside the main cities, I just don‘t think of it that way. I‘m glad I read this.

rwmg What surprised me was her description of surfing. Apparently Agatha Christie was a keen surfer herself. 5y

azulaco @rwmg That‘s so hard to picture! 😆 But obviously she was a somewhat adventurous person - she ended up married to an archaeologist and traveling all over. 5y

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umbrellagirl

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

Free on Kindle FTW
#myyearwithagatha

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ferskner

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

I'm sorry for the late posting of discussion questions! I got back from two weeks in Scandinavia late last night, and I'm jet-lagged. International travel is the greatest, but I could do without the recovery period, you know?

Anyway, questions below! #agathachristieclubR2

ferskner 1.) Did you enjoy this standalone thriller? What did you like/not like about it? 5y

ferskner 2.) Anne Beddingfield is one of Christie's pluckiest heroines. Did you like her character? How did she stack up against other plucky Christie women, like Tuppence? 5y

ferskner 3.) What did you think of the narrative structure, which mixes Anne's perspective with Sir Eustace's diary entries? Did you think Christie was successful in this choice? 5y

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ferskner 4.) Anne meets serveral attractive men during her travels. What did you think of her relationship with Henry, particularly once they are alone on the island? 5y

ferskner 5.) Christie's plot in this book is extremely full, with several lines of intrigue happening so once. Do you think she handles all of them well? Were you confused by anything? 5y

ferskner 6.) Christie's book often contain problematic racial depictions common at the time. Did you think this book better or worse that others in that regard? How would this have been written differently today? 5y

Librarybelle 1. This was a re-read for me...I gave it 4 stars both times, but I‘m wondering if it was for the silliness of the mystery or just simply because it‘s Christie. The plot is so over the top, especially at the end! There‘s the twist, but for me it‘s couched in some odd happenings that I could almost overlook the Christie twist. 5y

Librarybelle 2. I prefer Anne to Tuppence - she‘s definitely plucky and resourceful. She has a dry sense of humor, too, which helps, but she‘s not as silly as Tuppence. Tuppence reminds me of a big party, whereas Anne is a small group of friends - both can be a lot of fun, but I have a feeling I could only take Tuppence in small doses, much like a big party. 5y

Librarybelle 3. I think it was fun to see different viewpoints! It worked for me, and the clear mark at the beginning of the chapter showing a new voice helped a lot. 5y

Librarybelle 4. They seemed destined for each other - the plucky, attractive female protagonist and the mysterious handsome guy. I‘m sure the island scene raised some eyebrows - an young woman staying on an island alone with a man without a chaperone! Oh my! Nowadays, no worries...haha! It almost seemed like a dream for them, enacting what could be‘s, for instance. It was a good way for Christie to build attraction between them. 5y

Librarybelle 5. Out of everything we‘ve read thus far, this seems the silliest for development of the various plot lines. You‘re right - so many at one time, and some of the characters play different characters, you almost need a scorecard to keep up! This almost seemed to complicate everything - too many things going on at one time. 5y

Librarybelle 6. Oh, there were definite passages that made me cringe for the insensitivity in describing those living in Africa. I would hope she would approach descriptions in a more PC way in today‘s time. She was also writing at a time where this was the normal way to depict non-white people. It‘s shuddering to read these now. I love Christie and her brilliant mind, but her casual (and sometimes blatant) racism disturbs me. 5y

TheAromaofBooks 1. This is honestly one of my favorites. I love the ridiculousness of the whole thing, the humor, the drama - in a lot of ways, I think Christie was gently teasing the serious spy novels of her time, almost creating a caricature of them. 5y

TheAromaofBooks I love Anne but also love Tuppence. I really liked @Librarybelle 's description of the two of them. Both are fun but in different ways. 5y

TheAromaofBooks 3. This is one of my favorite parts of the book. It lulls the reader into false assumptions about Sir Eustace, and helps us to understand why Anne retains a soft spot for him despite everything he has done. I have a bit of a soft spot for Sir Eustace myself. 😁 5y

TheAromaofBooks 4. I think the love story between Anne & Harry (isn't it Harry, not Henry??) is one of the weak points of the story, especially the coincidence that allows Harry to rescue Anne at the exact right moment & the way they aren't discovered by the bad guys until, again, the exact right moment. But I do think it comes back to Christie not being entirely serious about this story & I love the way she contrasts Anne's “ideal“ (Col. Race) with Harry. 5y

TheAromaofBooks 5. It's hard for me to say - I didn't have any trouble keeping things straight, but I've read this book so many times that it may be due to that! 5y

TheAromaofBooks 6. Obviously many of Christie's depictions of non-whites are racist, but I don't think they are more so than other writers of her time. She was from a generation & an era that was strongly segregated by social class & race. However, she was an intelligent & empathetic woman - I definitely think that if she were writing today, she would portray other people groups more even-handedly. 5y

TheAromaofBooks Thank you for posting these questions @ferskner !! A random thought for next month - do you think it would be possible to have multiple posts with only one or two questions per post? It may help with being able to discuss things more easily. Just an idea from what I've noticed of some other book discussions here on Litsy. 😊 5y

AnneCecilie 1. I enjoyed this thriller, but not knowing anything about it, I was expecting Poirot to show up at some point. It took me a while to realize that Anne was our heroine. 5y

AnneCecilie 2. I liked Anne and how she on a whim practically decides to go to South Africa. I haven‘t read any books with Tuppence, so I can‘t compare. (edited) 5y

AnneCecilie 3. I liked the mix between Anne‘s telling and Sir Eustace‘s dairy entries. For me, the conclusion came as an even more surprise because of it, I think. 5y

AnneCecilie 4. I was surprised that Christie would something like the island scenes, they seemed a little daring for their time. Other than that, he did catch her eye early on. (edited) 5y

AnneCecilie 5. This was my first time reading this book, and I had no problem following the story lines, I might have been taken by surprise a couple of times, but that‘s the meaning of thrillers. 5y

AnneCecilie 6. I haven‘t read that many books from this time period, but I would guess that she was no better or worse than anyone else. What really bothered me was the talk about Africa as it the hole continent was a country. If it had been written today, it would probably have talked about both race and women in a different way. Sorry, I had to bring it up, but some the sexism at the start of the novel towards Anne was bad. (edited) 5y

ferskner @TheAromaofBooks yes, I can definitely do that! I want sure if people preferred the more concise single posting or several, but I agree that I think it would facilitate better discussion rather than answering my questions like it's a test. 👍 5y

TheAromaofBooks I always really like your questions because they are quite thoughtful and interesting. I'm just trying to think of how we could discuss them more. 😊 Also, is January's book Poirot Investigates? 5y

ferskner @TheAromaofBooks yes! I'm sorry, I had the world's worst deadline at work and I was sick, so I had to not look at social media until I was done. 5y

TheAromaofBooks Literally no worries! Thanks for letting me know, and hopefully you made it through crazy work/sick times okay!! 5y

Linsy 1. @TheAromaofBooks Mine too!! I'm looking forward to more stand-alone Christie's. I'm definitely going to reread! (edited) 5y

Linsy 2. Anne or Tuppence??? I don't know if I can decide! 5y

Linsy 3. I think she was very successful. I loved the format -- I tend to like epistolaries -- and could not guess the ending. I was hooked the whole way through. 5y

Linsy 4. Honestly, that part was a bit weird for me. 5y

Linsy 5. I was a bit confused on some points, but not overly or about anything really important. I think it was handled well. 5y

Linsy 6. I definitely found many passages cringe-worthy. Normal for the day, but not fun parts to read.

Sorry I posted these responses so late. I don't have much detail, as it was a month ago, but I really loved this one! Thanks for hosting this. ❤ 5y

ferskner Thanks for joining in, @Linsy! Never too late to add comments. 5y

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azulaco

The Man in the Brown Suit | Agatha Christie

I don‘t actually have time to keep up with #agathachristieclubr2, but someone mentioned that the group read this last month, and I realized that I didn‘t remember anything about this book. I read it once, a long time ago, but my Christie fandom has focused mostly on frequent re-reads of Poirot and Marple novels. So I found it on Scribd, and I‘m re-reading it now. It‘s nice to be reading a Christie book that‘s essentially new to me!

TheAromaofBooks A lot of people don't care for Christie's “spy“ novels, but this has always been one of my favorites. She just totally embraced the campy, and the dialogue is a delight. 5y

azulaco @TheAromaofBooks I‘m enjoying it too. I had to go look up where Rhodesia used to be...not for the first time when reading a Christie novel. I can‘t seem to keep that particular fact in my head for long. I can‘t wait to read her descriptions of South Africa in 1922. Holy gee, I just realized, this book is now set almost 100 years ago! 😯 5y

TheAromaofBooks Right?! It's crazy how her stories are still so readable so many years later. A while back, I was doing a lot of reading about the early 1900's, and I loved the way that little things in her books began to make more sense - for instance, all the crazy political groups in The Secret Adversary actually came together for me! 5y

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