I am very, very deep in writing mode. First draft. That means I don’t read much. I don’t want to get too entangled in the lives and emotions of characters who aren’t showing up in my book. I’ve tried before. And I’ve found I can get derailed.

Which leads to the problem I had last month. I had a long weekend getaway planned to a place with lots of downtime. And if you’re a person like me, it’s hard to separate even a mini-vacation from books. What a conundrum! What could I read that wouldn’t derail me? What could I read that might let me regain my focus on hitting the St. Louis runway again?

The answer brought me back to when I was 12, a time before Judy Blume and the YA invasion. I was into mysteries, but with no new Encyclopedia Brown in sight and having left Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys far behind, what could I read? But wait! What was on my mother’s nightstand? The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie? Interesting. And wait again! My mom owned more!

The summer between sixth and seventh grades, I consumed Agatha Christie mysteries, both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. I didn’t always understand everything. Some of the phrasing and terms were a little confusing, but still, I loved them.

Soon, though, came school and friends and required reading and reading the books my friends read, and Agatha Christie faded into the sunset of my amusement.

Fast forward decades. Last month. I happened to find a Miss Marple paperback hidden away in my basement not long before that weekend. And because my voice is nowhere near Agatha Christie’s, I thought it might work. And it did.

I’d never read They Do It with Mirrors (originally titled Murder with Mirrors), or at least I don’t remember reading it. Even if I had, it would be a different experience as an adult.

I don’t think I need to write a review. We all know that Agatha Christie set many standards in mystery writing. And though the enjoyment factor will vary from book to book, any one will still be a solid read.

What I do want to say is this. We are, at least I am, very struck with all the new titles, wanting to read them, wanting to keep up with the conversations. But that weekend, there was something very wonderful about taking a breath, about stepping back and revisiting what was golden and still, pretty much, holds up. Agatha, you haven’t seen the last of me.

P.S. Read some other great reviews as part of Barrie Summy's wonderfully coordinated club, now in it's 3rd year!