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ProfessorProf posted:So if I followed this segment, right, the purpose of the number switching is so that the French officials would think they had inspected every lorry for illicit materials, when they were actually only inspecting the same safe few with different numbers on them? Most importantly, they didn't want to draw attention that it was always the same one that was supplying the distillery of wood.
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Nov 5, 2013 07:48
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ProfessorProf posted:Well that's that. Did we actually solve anything, or was this round a total wash? Looks like a total wash to me, the only thing some of us guessed was that it was indeed brandy and not false notes. I've explained above why I think it wasn't very realistic to solve much, though. I'm not sure the book set out to have the mystery solvable by the reader.
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Nov 5, 2013 08:04
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ProfessorProf posted:Well that's that. Did we actually solve anything, or was this round a total wash? I'm up for running something, but I'm not in a hurry or anything so if you want to do it first you can go ahead--your call. If I end up running it, I was thinking of going with something Ellery Queen because there have been a few kindle versions of his books recently and his "Challenge to the Reader" bits are perfect for this thread. Either that or a Carr book, because I'm a hopeless Carr fanboy.
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Nov 5, 2013 08:12
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Sherringford posted:I'm up for running something, but I'm not in a hurry or anything so if you want to do it first you can go ahead--your call. From what I've read of the two, I'd vote for Carr over Queen, but if you're on the fence, I'll go ahead and run The Moving Finger.
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Nov 5, 2013 14:39
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ProfessorProf posted:From what I've read of the two, I'd vote for Carr over Queen, but if you're on the fence, I'll go ahead and run The Moving Finger. If you don't mind running The Moving Finger first then I'd be all for running a Carr book after that's done if the thread is still up for another novel, I think something like The Problem of the Green Capsule would work nicely. I also prefer Carr over Queen, though I gotta say, Queen's books improve a lot. They start very Van Dine-ish but then later he develops his own style and the puzzles become really fun, although the prose is always a bit of a chore to get through. I still prefer Carr more because his tricks tend to feel more "daring" if that makes sense and his writing just feels more fun.
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Nov 5, 2013 15:15
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All right, let's go ahead and lock in The Moving Finger as our next book. Available as usual in ebook form for $7, and likely also available at your local library. For the first section, read up to Chapter 5. This one is a bit slow to get started, but very good once it gets there.
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Nov 5, 2013 15:29
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Excellent! I am not certain whether I have read this or not - if it starts looking familiar I will still read along with the thread but will not speculate.
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Nov 6, 2013 05:43
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You clarified in the first post that it's up to the *end* of Chapter 5 so I'll put that here too. So the question is: who is the letter writer? It must be someone who hold a grudge to the community as a whole, as the letters appear to be random, often faulty attempts (the story-teller does appear to be the brother of Joanna given that he tells about their youths) to stir up emotions. There's some implication on page 58 that the writer may be digging at having something come out. Page 13 basically says that the writer should be quite literate, although I'm not sure what to think of the way Owen Griffith tells it. I guess he's talking from past experiences? Maegan fits the bill (e.g. page 53), and on page 68 she calls herself a coward in a bit of a weird manner, though it may be referring to her inability to assist her "dad" at that point. Seems a bit too obvious for it to be her, too. Maybe the letter writer already knows the secret (s)he wants to bring out, but is writing the faulty letters to make it less obvious who (s)he is?
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Nov 6, 2013 13:27
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Edit: my book version doesn't match up with the kindle version 
Mecca-Benghazi fucked around with this message at 00:18 on Nov 9, 2013 |
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Nov 8, 2013 22:57
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End of chapter five is, according to my Kindle, 31% of the way through. I hope that there aren't multiple versions with different chapter numbering.
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Nov 8, 2013 23:01
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Oh I have a paper version from the library.  The last line of chapter five in mine is "He fairly skipped off down the street."If I'm ahead, I can edit my previous post out and wait to catch up.
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Nov 8, 2013 23:14
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Autumncomet posted:Oh I have a paper version from the library. This... is a problem. That's halfway through chapter nine on my book. Maybe we can go by page number. The last line of the assigned reading is "Partridge came in, looking sour, and said she had made two cup custards for lunch and what should she do about it?" For me, that's page 70, location 1098. Does that line up for everyone?
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Nov 9, 2013 00:10
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That's over two thirds of the way through chapter two for me and on page 50.  Well, I'll just sit through the next few assignments; I have other books to read anyway. 
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Nov 9, 2013 00:23
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It may be worth mentioning at this point that, like Three Act Tragedy, this book changes some important details between the American and British editions for reasons I have never been able to discover.
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Nov 9, 2013 23:19
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Rand Brittain posted:It may be worth mentioning at this point that, like Three Act Tragedy, this book changes some important details between the American and British editions for reasons I have never been able to discover. Did I pick the worst possible book for this thread?
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Nov 9, 2013 23:24
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Rand Brittain posted:It may be worth mentioning at this point that, like Three Act Tragedy, this book changes some important details between the American and British editions for reasons I have never been able to discover. Time to pull out my mystery hipster card  ! The Moving Finger's changes are less changes and almost an abridgement, the American version cuts out a lot of the character development to focus on the mystery. Christie never had any qualms about editing her novels(a heavy amount of them was edited due to, uh, antisemitism) so my best guess is that the editors just wanted a shorter book and she was like "Yeah sure!" Man I had completely forgotten The Moving Finger was changed until you mentioned it though.And as far as Three Act Tragedy goes, my best guess is that it was a bit of localization. The original ending relies heavily on British divorce law of the time and most American readers were probably to be like "...Whaaaat" so again Christie was probably asked to change it slightly. Alternatively, she may have changed on purpose to make the novel "fair" to the average American reader.
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Nov 9, 2013 23:40
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So is anyone else besides me and ProfessorProf on the same version? Looking back I only see Meander left and he wasn't sure if he'd already read the book. Autumncomet, do you mean you'll continue when the others have caught up until your chapter 5 point? If there's no replies here in 1 week I will catch up with you. Hiowf fucked around with this message at 11:01 on Nov 10, 2013 |
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Nov 10, 2013 10:59
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Hey I'm just about to get started reading this book with you guys, which version should I be purchasing?
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Nov 10, 2013 16:03
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Ebooks, at any rate, seem to always use the British version (in my experience) because nobody could be bothered to make different ones for different countries. So there's that.
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Nov 10, 2013 16:36
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The linked Kindle version from the OP. I think the poster above is right that there's only one Kindle version anyway. If you prefer paper then most likely the British version indeed.
Hiowf fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Nov 10, 2013 |
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Nov 10, 2013 17:40
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Skuto: Yeah I'll just wait, it should only take an assignment or two for you guys to get to where I stopped.
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Nov 10, 2013 18:17
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Well this has been a hectic first assignment. How are people doing? Should we advance a section or are people still reading?
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Nov 10, 2013 18:22
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Looks like Krypsis is joining in, let's give him a few more days so he has a chance to catch up.
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Nov 10, 2013 18:50
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I just bought the book, and it matches up with ProfessorProf's edition, so I'll read the required chapters lickety split and post here again when I'm caught up.
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Nov 10, 2013 20:21
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Okay I'm all caught up, finished the first assignment.
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Nov 11, 2013 15:33
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Okay, let's go ahead and add two more chapters to the pile: Read to the end of Chapter 7. Everything above this post not posted by Autumncomet can safely be unspoiled. For people with unusual versions of the book, the ending line for this chapter is: I said grimly: "I shouldn't be surprised."
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Nov 11, 2013 15:39
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Skuto posted:So is anyone else besides me and ProfessorProf on the same version? That's "she" but yes, pretty sure I have read this so will read along with the thread but will keep quiet on speculation. Incidentally and slightly off-topic for the mystery lovers in this thread that are also goony enough to like Let's Plays, there's a good LP with an interactive mystery solving component going on at the moment in this thread that I have been getting into.
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Nov 12, 2013 05:10
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I'll have to sit this one out - while it's a long time since I read the book, I'm pretty sure I remember the main twist if not any of the other details, so it wouldn't be fair of me.
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Nov 12, 2013 06:33
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Finished chapter 7. I think it's getting to the point where a list of all suspects and a description is needed, so we can try to eliminate.
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Nov 12, 2013 13:03
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EMILY BARTON: Lady who lets her house to protagonist. Dislikes men/sex. In financial trouble. Did not receive a letter (or so she claims). Wants to keep things like the way her mother had her. Mother was monster, treated like slave, no opportunity to meet men. PARTRIDGE: Gaunt, dour maid of Emily Barton. FAITHFUL FLORENCE: Parlourmaid of Emily Barton who has married. Tall rawboned fiercely looking. Feels sorry for Barton and would do anything for her. AIMEE GRIFFITH: Doctor' sister. Claims she enjoys life and wants everyone to be busy. Nevertheless pithied by Mrs. Calthrop. Seems to know Mr Symmington from before and says he can be very jealous. Feminist, doesn't want women to stay at home. Dislikes Joanna. May have said something to Megan that made her leave. MRS DANE CALTHROP: Vicars' wife. Olympian knowledge. Village is "afraid" of her due to that. Thinks her husband has no interest in sex. Miss Farroway Of Bellpath, very good though peculiar family. JOANNA: pretty gay, likes men and fast cars. Sister of protagonist, from London. Looks like her mother. MISS GINCH: Lady clerk of Mr. Symmington. Frizzy hair and pinze-nez. Enjoys the letters. BEATRICE: Daily helper in house of protagonist. Accused of indecency with protagonist & others. Angry boyfriend. MEGAN HUNTER: 20y, tall, awkward, daughter of Mrs Symmington and Mr Hunter. Bored with the town and the people. Sort of an excluded figure in the village, accused of being lazy and stupid. Her father doesn't care about her. Likes Goneril and Regan. Admits to hating the rest of the village. ELISE HOLLAND: Children's governess. Pretty but prattles, no S.A. MRS BAKER: Mother of Beatrice. MRS CLEAT: Village witch. Queer with sardonic sense of humour. LETTER WRITER:
So, Megan's a bit too obvious. Barton potentially fits the profile of the letter writer, and could have had help, and hasn't gotten a letter. What's going on with Aimee Griffith vs. Symmington, the second boy, and why does the woman that knows everything pithy her? She's also very happy which makes her the extremely unlikely person.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:40
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I definitely agree that Megan is a red herring. Currently my money is on either Partridge, Emily, or Aimee. First two because if memory recalls Joanna and the protagonist got their first letter immediately after arriving at the house, before anybody would really have had time to be introduced to them. Aimee is my other contender for the Letter Writer because I don't believe her facade of being such a happy person. She gives off a very fake energy which is exactly what I would think the Letter Writer would do; act sincere and happy on the surface, only to find out how to hurt people most with her letters. Aimee might be another red herring though, it is tough to tell. Additional reason why I believe it to be partridge: She was very upset at the maid Agnes for calling, as she felt it to be unproper, shortly after this, Agnes went missing. Krypsis fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Nov 20, 2013 |
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Nov 16, 2013 01:40
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Don't want to break up the discussion, but I love the idea for this thread, and I'm going to be jumping in for the next book.
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Nov 18, 2013 19:07
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Let's go ahead and soldier on to Chapter 9, which I totally already thought I had said. Everything above this post can be despoilered. If you are following by a version with irregular chapter numbering, the final line is this: "I'm going to see about it right away." And she went out of the window again.
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Nov 19, 2013 23:00
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So I can gauge, roughly what percentage is that of the book?
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Nov 20, 2013 06:57
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It is exactly 70% of the book, in the British version.
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Nov 20, 2013 14:35
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Those sure are two dense chapters. It'll take a bit to digest and revise any theories
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Nov 21, 2013 17:44
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It looks like the first death was suicide/murder-by-proxy, and the second was actual murder to protect the identity of the letter writer. My main question right now is: Why does the letter writer post the letters manually? Why not use actual mail? The letter the protagonist got was first addressed to Barton, and altered to go to Burton (and it's pointed out this is important). The only thing we know about the contents is it starts with "You painted trollop" and the rest is "same old muck". Just before this is mentioned the first time, Barton disclaims (dishonestly) that she hasn't had any. What if the protagonist's impression of her is quite mistaken and it was indeed addressed to her? Given the repeated "no smoke without fire"...what if almost all the letters are true? I more or less excluded the protagonist from being dishonest wrt Joanna, but what if the letters were indeed never addressed to them and Barton just wanted to get rid of hers? "not being brother and sister" can't have been addressed to Barton, though. Various other bits: - Protagonist falls asleep and dreams of taking Mrs Callthrop as being a greyhound and taking her for a walk. WTF? - Is there something that can be inferred from the timing of various events? They're assigned great importance of the discussions. - Who often laughs for no apparent reason? - Is Joanna in danger? She's certainly going to the doctor at a dangerous time. - Elsie Holland, pretty but witout SA, has had no letter. - Need to reconsider Mr. Pye. - Remaining: Miss Ginch, Miss Griffith, Miss Barton, Mr Pye, ?, ?
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Nov 22, 2013 14:08
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I went through the book again and now someone stands out quite firm to me: Aimee Griffith. When Mrs. Callthrop first talks about her, she says "Poor thing" without elaborating. Callthrop uses this phrase another time: when she's talking about the killer. She's not willing to speculate openly about the killer, but mentions something about "men marrying the wrong woman". We know Griffith knew Symmington up north, and it's implied she knew him quite well enough to know he was jealous. When he moved, he married a woman that already had a kid and married "the only eligible bachelor in town". There was a similar case up north when they lived there. It could have been Aimee, or it could simply have given her the idea. It also explains why the Doctor is so uneasy, he might have a feeling. (Though the fact that the book points this out makes me less, not more sure of Griffith) Griffith complains about not being given a chance to be a doctor because she is a woman. The body was hidden to make framing the time of death harder. Who questions protagonist about being to the scene so "early"? Griffith. The letter to Barton who was sent to Burton? Well, the writer must type the envelopes on that typewriter in the institute whenever there ain't no onlookers around. Conceivably, the killer must have written an envelope for Barton, only to change her mind and send one to Burton instead. What happens just before Joanna gets an envelope calling her a "painted trollop"? We discover Aimee Griffith deeply dislikes her. Who clearly hears which maid calls exceptionally to Partridge? Aimee Griffith. Who insists the allegation vs Mrs Symmington was true? Griffith. She may have known her mental condition and that it would push her over the edge. If she was unfaithful, it would also just have made Griffith angrier on missing out on Symmington. Who sends Meagan home so there won't be gossip about Elise Holland & Symmington? Aimee Griffith. Why doesn't Holland get a letter? Griffith may realize she has zero SA and the letters have already scared away quite some servants. She may want Holland to stay there so Symmington has time for her. Maybe that's also why she wants Maegon to be more busy?
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Nov 25, 2013 14:51
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Wooh, that is exactly where I read up to. I think my version that I'm reading is one that had bits cut out though. I really like Aimee as a character, I hope it wasn't her. It is looking increasingly likely though, but even that might be a red herring. If Aimee is jealous with regard to Symmington, wouldn't Elsie Holland be a target on her list? Instead, the lady hasn't had any letters at all. Tangentially related, the characters go on about "no smoke without fire" and the state of the woman's mind who wrote the letters so much that I suspect the writer will end up being a man that no one suspects of wrongdoing. 
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Nov 29, 2013 09:05
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There's some hints that Mr. Pye could be a suspect, but in general the character development on the males is so lacking that there's just not much to go on. Symmington could have reasons to want to get rid of his wife as well (maybe he likes Aimee more, she had 1 or 2 kids that aren't his). But given the total lack of text-time they get, that just seems unlikely to me. Aimee perhaps feels not threatened by Elise, which fits the description we're given of Elise, but also Aimees concern he shouldn't be alone too much with her.
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Nov 29, 2013 10:25
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