Country Christie Country Tales from the Queen of Mystery by Agatha Christie

The book opens with an introduction of a snippet written by Christie, talking about her life as a young child in Torquay. In this book are gathered many stories that are set in that same contryside. The stories are wide-ranging pulling from some of Christie's most well-known characters like Hercule Poirot (the Plymouth Express, The Unbreakable Alibi, The Cornish Mystery, The Case of the Missing Will, Double Sin, The Flock of Geryon, The Adventure of the Dartmoor Bungalow) and Miss Marple (Ingots of Gold, The Bloodstained Pavement). Tommy and Tuppence are becoming more well-known with the new television series and one of the stories from Partners in Crime (The Unbreakable Alibi) is included. Parker Pyne gets a story as wella(The Regatta Mystery) as an inclusion from one of her weird horror/psychological short stories (The Hound of Death, The Edge.) 

Yes, all of these stories have some connection to the country, but for some of the stories the mention is incredibly brief and somewhat tenuous. For the most part, I wasn't sure there was enough of a connection to make a coherent whole even though the stories themselves were all excellent choices. I also couldn't decide if I enjoyed the different narrators or that only highlighted how disparate these stories were. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Freedom by Angela Merkel, narrator Juliet Stevenson

I was a little intimidated by the 27 hour listening time but was intrigued by a woman who I only knew a little about. And I'm glad that I picked up this book. Not only is it well-written, Merkel has lead a fascinating life. The narrator was a perfect fit, reading the book as I imagine Merkel would, albeit in German. 

As the foreward notes, the book is almost equal between her time out of the chancelloarship and in it. She starts at the beginning, growing up in the GDP, eastern Germany. She was born before the Berlin Wall went up, and was old enough to understand what happened when the wall came down. 

During her time as the Chancellor of Germany, Merkel dealt with any number of political pitfalls. There is a large section given to refugees in Germany. She also crossed swords with Putin and spent time with both Bush and Obama (she speaks of the latter two highly.) She speaks very... professionally about President Trump.

Four stars
This book came out January 1, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own