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14
Sep
2023

The Body In The Library – Chicken Ruby

Hello crime readers and food lovers. Today we are tucking into a delicious Chicken Ruby as we read The Body in The Library. The Body in the Library didn’t mention much food, so I improvised. Having said that, I am actually enjoying the improvisations as they are making me seek out recipes I may never have cooked otherwise! This time, in honour of poor Ruby Keene who is one of the murder victims, I decided to cook Dishoom’s Chicken Ruby.

Chicken Ruby?

The name Chicken Ruby is a nod to cockney rhyming slang (Ruby Murray = Curry). Ruby Murray was a very popular singer in the 1950’s. The Body in The Library was published in 1942, so Ruby Murray would not have described a curry then. However, curry has been known in Britain since the 17th century. Wikipedia also tells me there was a surge in the popularity of curry in the 1940s so it is quite possible that Miss Marple and the Bantry’s may well have sat down to a “ruby murray”. Not that they would have ever called it that, even if the term had existed because this book is not only about murder it is also very much about class differences.

The Chicken Ruby was delicious. It was a mild curry but packed with flavour! I make quite a few curries and this came closest to tasting like a restaurant curry that I have ever eaten! Chicken Ruby is also the first recipe I cooked from the Dishoom Cookbook. This always puts me in a dilemma – do I make it again because it was so good? Or do I try other recipes from the book hoping that they too will be delicious? It’s a nice dilemma to have. What is not a nice dilemma is finding a dead body in your library, so lets find out how the Bantry’s deal with it.

Class in The Body In The Library

Actually, before we get to the plot, I will preface my discussion of the novel by saying that there is a tone in this book that I did not enjoy. There is an almost universal lack of care for Ruby Keene. Dolly Bantry is almost giddy with excitement about having a murder in her house. There is a mass of victim-blaming and disparaging remarks being made about Ruby being “cheap” “tawdry”, and “not a lady”. Another example, this time from the POV of Superintendent Harper:

“Ruby Keene. so he admitted privately, might have asked for what was coming to her, but Pamela Reeves was quite another story. A nice kid if ever he saw one. He’d not rest until he’d hunted down the man or woman who’d killed her.”

The lack of compassion shown to Ruby really rankled with me and spoilt my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

The Body In The Library -The Plot

We start with a series of discussions that reminded me of the AA Milne poem The King’s Breakfast:

“The King asked the Queen and the Queen asked the dairy maid…”

Only this time it is the maid waking Dolly Bantry and then Dolly waking Colonel Bantry, not to ask for some butter for the royal slice of bread, but to exclaim that “There’s a body in the library”. And indeed the dead body of a young woman with dyed blonde hair, lots of makeup, and a spangled satin dress is lying in the library. Whilst Colonel Bantry summons the police. Dolly sends a car to fetch her old friend Miss Marple. Because she’s “very good at murders.”.

Ruby Keene, a young dancer from a nearby hotel is reported missing. The character of Ruby made me think of the Copacabana song

“Her name as Lola, she was a showgirl

With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there

She would merengue and do the cha-cha

Then another girl is reported missing. Pamela Reeves does not return home after a Girl Guides rally

Could the two disappearances be connected?

And just who is the body in the library?

We have:

Early on, Dolly Bantry says ” All these girls with their make up and their hair and their nails look so alike” which reminded me of Poirot’s quote in Evil Under The Sun about all dead bodies looking the same. Keep this in mind as you read!
A louche young man called Basil Blake who has been known to keep company with a platinum blonde woman and who is also known to run fast and loose
Some incongruously bitten fingernails
A wealthy invalid who had a little crush on Ruby. Might his family have done away with Ruby in order to ensure they inherit his money?
George Bartlett, Ruby’s last dance partner on the evening she went missing. Might he have wanted to take things a bit further and events went horribly wrong?
George’s car going missing
A burnt-out car found in a quarry with traces of a body in it

Luckily we have Miss Marple on hand to figure out what actually happened to our two young victims!

The Body In The Library – The Covers

Not too many surprises here – lots of bodies, lots of libraries. There seems to be a fondness for foreshortening the body or showing only the feet of the body. I am surprised that one of them chose to show a policeman and not Miss Marple!

Here is a close-up of some of the detail from the Tom Adams cover which is the one I own. There are two little flies crawling over the foot of the dead girl.

In Tom Adams Uncovered, John Curran says:

Once again the image of a fly is put to effective use to indicate death and decay. The suggestion of luxury in the rug, counteracted by the cheap beaded dress and the gaudily painted toenails, perfectly captures the juxtaposition of the ostentatious young body in the library of staid Colonel Bantry.

The Recipe – Dishoom’s Chicken Ruby

At the trisk of repeating myself, this was amazing! I marinated the chicken in yoghurt and spices then I grilled it. I then added the grilled chicken to a tomato-sauce laced with spices. At the end, I added a good dollop of cream. The recipe calls for cubes of chicken, however, I realised a little too late that what I had taken out of the freezer were chicken cutlets. I didn’t really mind as cooking meat on the bone usually only improves the flavour!

Here is my chicken just after I added the cream

I wish I’d made more of this!

“Downstairs in the lounge, by the third pillar from the left, there sits an old lady with a sweet, placid spinsterish face, and a mind that has plumbed the depths of human iniquity and taken it as all in the day’s work. Her name’s Miss Marple.”

Agatha Christie – The Body In The Library

Links to The Christieverse

Dolly Bantry tells Miss Marple that she is very good at murder, referring to her past cases.
In a little bit of name-dropping a young boy, Peter Carmody who is a fan of detective novels says “I read them all and I’ve got autographs from Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie and Dickson Carr and H.C. Bailey”.
An Ariadne Oliver novel, called The Body In The Library, is mentioned in Cards on The Table.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Body In The Library

Tea
Bacon for breakfast
Expensive Wines

Other Christie News

Agatha Chrstie’s birthday was this past week. She was born 15 September 1890.

My mum and I went to see A Haunting in Venice and we loved it!

October’s book is a big one! Five Little Pigs is a novel much loved by Christie enthusiasts. I can’t wait!

21
Aug
2023

N or M – Aperol Betty

categories: Aperol, Dining With The Dame, Drinks

Hello crime readers and food lovers. Or in this case, cocktail lovers because we are celebrating Agatha Christie’s wartime thriller N or M with an Aperol Betty. N or M has few references to food. I wonder if Agatha Christie did this intentionally as food was rationed during the war. Reading about lots of food may have led to readers becoming disgruntled with their Mock Crab and other wartime foods. I found my inspiration from one of the characters in the novel Betty Sprott, who despite only being a little girl is key to two pivotal parts of the novel!

N or M -The Plot

It is 1940 and Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are disheartened because no one wants them for war work. Tommy is then approached by Mr Grant, the head of the secret service to hunt out some fifth columnists. Tommy is sent on a top-secret mission to Leahampton, to search out two Nazi agents, a male and a female, known only by their code names, N and M. Imagine his surprise then on his arrival at the Sans Souci guesthouse to see Tuppence there!

We have quite the cast of shady characters including

A landlady who may or may not be Irish
A German refugee chemist
A female resident of the Sans Souci who is watching Tuppence very closely
A mysterious Polish woman hanging about the Sanc Souci
Little Betty kidnapped
The kidnapper killed by a crack shot from Mrs Sprott
Someone hitting Tommy over the head with a hammer
Someone holding Tommy captive in their basement

Luckily we have Tommy and Tuppence on hand to figure out who is N and M and save Britain from the evils of Nazism via enemies from within. .

This is a thrilling tale that I feel really captures what life might have been like in England during 1940. I really enjoyed the depiction of “ordinary” life at this time – the talk of the war, everyone having their own theories or having heard “on good authority” what was happening at the front. The setting for this tale of espionage is perfect and Tommy and Tuppence are as adorable as ever!

N or M – The Covers

There are some fabulous covers here, lots of French ones, a Danish one and one that I think might be from Hungary.

The Recipe – Aperol Betty

The Aperol Betty is a very simple but very tasty cocktail with a strong citrussy taste. It was even easier for me because I didn’t even have to bother to combine the grapefruit and orange juices in the recipe. We have a tangelo tree (tangelo = tangerine x grapefruit) in our garden which is currently laden! (Also look how pretty that bright orange looks on a grey Melbourne winter day!!!!

But anyway, when life gives you this many tangelos, you don’t go buying grapefruit or orange juice! I walked to the garden and chose some lovely fresh fruit for my drink!

Here’s the recipe with the OG ingredients!

Betty had changed her mind and demanded instead:

“Wead me story.”

Tuppence pulled out a rather tattered book from one end of the cupboard – to be interrupted by a squeal from Betty.

“No, no. Narsty…Bad…”

Agatha Christie – N or M

As an alternative, for anyone who does not drink, the close runner up for this was a Pasta all N or Ma. I didn’t make this because I am somewhat allergic to aubergines / eggplants but if you were having an N or M themed dinner, for me, the pasta would be a good choice!

What does Agatha Christie have in with Leonard Dawe?

First, I hear you ask, who is Leonard Dawe?

Well. he was a crossword compiler for the Daily Telegraph who was investigated by MI5 in 1944 because he published the names of several of the D-Day Landing sites in his crosswords.

A few years earlier, Agatha Christie got into trouble over the name of one of the characters in N or M. One of the residents at Sans Souci is Major Bletchley. In the 1940s, Bletchley Park was the place where code breakers ultimately cracked the German enigma machine. Of course, neither Dame Agatha nor Leonard Dawe were acting in an untoward manner but they were both investigated by MI5 for their unfortunate choices! (I really hope that after they questioned her, Dame Agatha then grilled MI5 on their techniques for her next novel)

Links to The Christieverse

There are a few references to the earlier Tommy and Tuppence novel, The Secret Adversary.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in N or M

Whiskey
Tea
Bread and Cheese

As mentioned, last week, I am currently on holiday in beautiful Port Douglas. Part of my reading material for the trip is The Body In The Library which will be our September Dining with The Dame read. Marple fans, this one’s for you!

Have a great week!

09
Jul
2023

Chinese Lemon Chicken: Evil Under The Sun

categories: Chicken, China, Dining With The Dame, Poirot

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Welcome to Dining with the Dame for July and a collab with Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers. We have been reading/watching Evil Under The Sun. I loved this book. It reminded me of both Triangle in Rhodes and Death on the Nile, books I also loved. Maybe I just love an ill-fated love triangle. I was very disappointed that there was no food mentioned in this one – it is set in the delightfully named Jolly Roger Hotel (based on the Burgh Island Hotel). I would have thought that we might get the details of at least one meal in such a grand establishment but sadly that was not to be. Enter Jenny to save the day with a recipe for not just any old Chinese Lemon Chicken but David Suchet’s Chinese Lemon Chicken!!! I almost feel like we have two special guests this time round, Jenny and David Suchet! What an amazing dinner party that would be!

Evil Under The Sun -The Plot

Hercule Poirot is on holiday at the Jolly Roger Hotel in Devon. The hotel, which as mentioned has a very real-life counterpart, is located on a causeway that is underwater during high tide, accessible only via boat (book) or sea tractor (real life). One wonders why Hercule Poirot who, as we know suffers badly from “la mal de mer” would choose to holiday on an island remains unexplained in the book. The Poirot episode of Evil Under The Sun, explains this by saying that the hotel is a wellness spa that Poirot must attend for his health.

We have:

Stephen Redfern and Arlena Marshall, both married, (not to each other) having a very public attraction to each other
Two upset spouses
Arlena strangled to death on the beach
One of the other guests almost beaned by a bottle thrown out of a window
An oddly timed bath
A troubled teen buying candles
Arlena’s husband and his childhood sweetheart both being lying liars who lie
Drug smuggling in Pixy Cove
A reverend obsessed with evil in general and evil women in particular

Good thing we have Poirot on hand to solve the mystery of whodunnit!

Evil Under The Sun – The Covers

Again, the Christie covers do not fail to disappoint. Except maybe that Hawaiian Dancing Girl in Les Vacances D’Hercule Poirot…which…nice try French people but not really relevant! The impressionist-style Russian title (top left) is gorgeous! I also really like the second row far right which to me has a bleached-out California 1960s vibe. It may be more Helter Skelter than Hercule Poirot but is very attractive all the same. I also really like bottom row, second from the right, which gives a nod to Arlena’s red hair, green Chinese hat and Linda’s foray into witchery.

The Recipe – Chinese Lemon Chicken

Chinese kimonos are optional but heartily recommended!

I was feeling lazy the first night we ate this and served it with some bought fried rice and spring rolls. The second night, I stir-fried up some kale and cashew nuts to eat with the Chinese Lemon chicken. Both worked really well.

Emily Brewster said..”this isn’t the sort of place you’d get a body!”

Hercule Poirot stirred a little in his chair. He protested. He said:

“But why not Mademoiselle? Why should there not be what you call a “body” here on Smuggler’s Island?”

Emily Brewster said: “I don’t know. I suppose some places are more unlikley than others. This isn’t the kind of spot –” She broke off, finding it difficult to explain her meaning.

“It is romantic, yes, ” agreed Hercule Poirot. “It is peaceful. The sun shines. The sea is blue. But you forget Miss Brewster, there is evil everywhere under the sun:

Agatha Christie – Evil Under The Sun

A Slight Tangent on Poirot’s Attire

“There was one very important person (in his own estimation at least) staying at the Jolly Roger. Hercule Poirot, resplendent in a white duck suit , with a panama hat tilted over his eyes, his moustaches magnificently befurled, lay back in an improved type of deck char and surveyed the bathing beach”

Now, if like me, you are not 100% familiar with male couture of the late 1930’s and have only a limited idea of what a duck suit is…let me give you some advice. Unless you specify 1930’s duck suit in your search, you are more likely to get a whole heap of this:

And not a lot of this!

Also, speaking of costumes, I have not seen the Peter Ustinov version of Evil Under The Sun but I will pay good money for it, just to see this scene!

Magnifique, as Poirot himself might say! (Peter Ustinov also looks like je might be about to tuck into a place of Chinese Lemon Chicken in that kimono!)

And on Casting…

I know that the Poirot version of Evil Under The Sun is not held in high regard by many people. However, I think Michael Higgs is perfectly cast as Patrick Redmond. He is undeniably handsome but also has a slightly dissolute air about him – a combination the French would call louche and good girls everywhere who love a bad boy call hot! (Also louche is one of my favourite words and finally after 11 years I get to use it on the blog!)

Equally Tamzin Malleson is perfect as Christine Redmond:

Links to The Christieverse

Mrs Gardner mentions “That business in Egypt when Linet Ridgeway was killed” referring to Death on The Nile (and also possibly setting the scene for another love triangle?)

When Colonel Weston talks of “that affair at St Loo” he is referring to Three Act Tragedy

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Evil Inder The Sun

Strawberry Jam
Dry Martini
Bacon and Eggs (of course)
Cup of Tea x 2
Poisoned Chocolates
Devonshire cream
Sandwiches

Thanks to Jenny for providing the David Suchet recipe, I hope you enjoyed your foray into the world of Agatha Christie! For everyone else, please pop over to Silver Screen Suppers to see Jenny’s take on the recipe. (I will link to it when it is up).

August’s read will be N or M. I finished reading it today and it is a super Tommy and Tuppence World War 2 Thriller! I am reading ahead because I am on holiday for part of August so need to be super organised to make sure I can get that post out before I leave.

Have a great week!

10
Jun
2023

Summer Berry One Two Buckle My Shoe

categories: Berries, Cake, Dining With The Dame, Poirot

Hello food lovers and crime readers! Today on Dining with The Dame, we are taking a look into the Hercule Poirot novel One Two Buckle My Shoe. And to snack on while we read, we have a lovely fruit filled cake called a Summer Berry Buckle. Yes, not much food in this one so again, I had to use some creative thinking for the food component. And the Summer Berry Buckle is a delight! I loved that you got a different berry in each bite!

One Two Buckle My Shoe -The Plot

Leaving his dentist’s office, Hercule Poirot bumps into the delightfully named, Mabelle Sainsbury Seale, a former actress. He picks up a buckle that has fallen off her shiny new shoe and gives it to her.

Before you can even start to get any creepy dentist vibes aka Norman Gale in Death In The Clouds, we find out via Inspector Japp that sometime after Poirot’s visit, the dentist Hector Morley apparently killed himself. Morley’s clients between Poirot and his death included Ms Sainsbury Seale, a banker called Alistair Blunt and a rather shady Greek gentleman called Mr Amberiotis. Another man, an American activist called Raikes leaves the office without a visit to Morley’s Partner (who is a bit of a drunk).

We have

Mr Amberiotis dying not too shortly after Dr Morley from an overdose of adrenaline and novocaine – both commonly used by dentists. Are the death’s connected?
A secretary called away from work on false pretenses. Was it so she did not recognise the killer?
A fiance annoyed with Morley’s interference in his love life – did he kill Morley?
Mabelle going missing
A body in a trunk with her face bashed in.
Two murder attempts on Alistair Blunt, one supposedly by the aggrieved fiancé. Has he moved from killing dentists to bankers?
And what of the left-wing activist? The one who left before seeing the drunk dentist?He has no love of bankers or members of the bourgeoisie. Might he be the murderer?
And what of that drunk dentist? Did he bear a grudge against his more successful partner?
We also have Poirot revealing himself to be a leg man! How else would he know that a ten-inch stocking equates to a size six shoe?

Good thing we have Poirot around to sort out who did the deed! We also have Inspector Japp in his last appearance in a novel. 😔

There is a lot going on in this book and the plot seems quite convoluted at times. The nursery rhyme felt far more wedged in than in “And Then There Were None” too. While this was not my favourite novel it did give an insightful look into power and privilege and the importance of one life versus another.

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe – The Covers

I was able to find a lot of covers for this one, primarily I think because it has three names. It was originally called The Patriotic Murders in the US but they changed this to An Overdose of Death in 1953.

So many great covers here. I think my favourite is the shoes second row second from the right which also is our very first Finnish cover!

The Recipe – Summer Berry Buckle

I used the recipe from the New York Tmes as my recipe and I can highly recommend it.

I served my Buckle with some labne that I had made for something else and wanted to use up and some fresh raspberries.

Whipped cream or yoghurt could easily sub in for the labne.

Poirot shrugged his shoulders. He said:

I t would seem that death selected, most inartistically, the wrong man. The Mysterious Greek, the Rich Banker, the Famous Detective – how natural that one of them should be shot! For mysterious foreigners may be mixed up with espionage and rich bankers have connections who will benefit by their deaths and famous detectives may be dangerous to criminals”.

Whereas poor old Morley wasn’t dangerous to anybody, ” observed Japp gloomily.

“I wonder.”

Agatha Christie – One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Links to The Christieverse

Poirot speaks of Countess Vera Rosakoff who we last saw in The Big Four and is the closest thing we come to Poirot having a love interest

The Case of The Augean Stables is mentioned. We haven’t got there yet but it is one of the stories in The Labours of Hercules

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Bacon
Coffee (multiple mentions)
Breakfast cereals
Sandwich
Tea x2
Pot of Chocolate
Sugar Biscuits
Brandy
Whiskey Soda

Also, apologies for this post being nearly a week late! I dropped my laptop, and thankfully whilst nothing major was damaged, the pin on the charger bent making it impossible to charge so I had to wait for the replacement charger to arrive. I’m going to try really hard to get the post that is due tomorrow out on time or just a little late to get back on posting track!

July’s read is Evil Under The Sun which is a great read and I have something very special planned for it.

Have a great week!

10
May
2023

Salmon Rillettes: Sad Cypress

categories: Dining With The Dame, France, Poirot, Salmon, Smoked Salmon, Starters, Uncategorized

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Welcome to Dining with the Dame for May and my take on Sad Cypress. I loved this one! And I also loved the Salmon Rillettes so this was a win-win for me! Now it may be a bit risky to base my recipe on the supposed murder weapon (poisoned salmon paste sandwiches) but the rillettes were absolutely delicious!

Sad Cypress -The Plot

First up, the name comes from a quote from Shake’speare’s Twelfth Night:

Come away, come away, death,

And in sad cypress let me be laid.

Fly away, fly away, breath;

I am slain by a fair cruel maid.

The beautiful Mary Gerrard is dead. Prior to her death, Mary had been the gardener’s daughter in an estate owned by the Welman family. Elinor Carlisle, niece to the recently deceased Laura Welman stands accused of her murder.

Her motive? Elinor had recently been jilted by her fiance (and kind of cousin) Roddy for Mary.

Her means? Salmon paste sandwiches laced with morphine.

Her opportunity? Tea time whilst clearing out the Welman estate.

All fingers are pointing to Elinor being the murderer. But did she do it? Luckily the local doctor who has a bit of a crush on Elinor brings in Hercule Poirot to determine who is guilty.

We have:

A poison pen letter
Some missing morphine
An elderly aunt possibly bumped off before her time
A very large fortune left to Elinor.
A mysterious figure lurking in the bushes
A possibly perfidious cousin
A strange mark on a nurse’s wrist
Secrets from the past impacting the present
Poirot hilariously calling himself a “pukkah sahib”

Such a good story!!

Sad Cypress – The Covers

There are some great covers here – many of which contain aspects of things we have mentioned, the roses, the morphine, the poison pen letter. We also have our first Japanese cover, some French covers, a Spanish cover and a German which may actually be my favorite. Here it is in full:

I also want to call out this one because…what?

I understand the rose and the tea set. The weird green guy? Not a clue! It reminded me of Dumb Witness when Emily Arundell, who had been poisoned with phosphorus was said to have a luminous haze around her head.

The Recipe – Salmon Rillettes

I based my recipe for Salmon Rillettes on the recipe for Rainbow Trout Rillettes, Rye, Cucumber and Watercress Sandwiches from Food for Friends by Hardie Grant Publishing. That recipe is by Philippa Sibley and her book New Classics. I swapped out the trout for Salmon and used white bread for my sandwiches.

Elinor went across the hall and brought back from the pantry a big plate of sandwiches. She handed it to Mary saying:

“Have one?”

Mary took one. Elinor stood watching her for a moment as the girl’s white, even teeth bit into the sandwich”

Agatha Christie – Sad Cypress

Links to The Christieverse

Peter Lord, the doctor who is crushing on Elinor tells Poirot that he was recommended by Dr Stillingfleet. He is a character in a short story called The Dream which appears in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Sad Cypress

Raspberries
Fish Paste Sandwiches (multiple references)
Cocktails
Tea (multiple references)
Doughnuts
Pink Sugar Cakes
Milk
Salmon and Shrimp Paste
Salmon and Anchovy Paste
Beer
Fresh Fish for lunch

June’s read will be One Two Buckle My Shoe

Have a great week!