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Transcript

Read It & Watch It: Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party | Book vs. Poirot (2010) · Cozy Comfort Club Podcast

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Cozy Comfort Club,
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: the podcast where we talk about comfort movies,
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: cozy stories, and the little moments that make them memorable.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Leah,
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: a stay-at-home mom of three,
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: a lifelong lover of cozy stories,
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: and someone who could spend way too much time thinking about fictional characters
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: and why they make the choices they do.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoy cozy mysteries,
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: period dramas,
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: character-driven stories,
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: and comfort TV with a little emotional depth, you are definitely in the right place.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Here, I talk about how stories feel,
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I share what worked,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: what didn't,
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: and even the moments that made me side-eye a character,
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: all so you know it was worth adding to your watch list.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Happy Tuesday, friends.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: We are officially in Halloween week,
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: and what better way to celebrate than with a little Agatha Christie.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So today,
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: we're talking about Halloween party for our October Read It and Watch It,
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: where we read a book,
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: watch a TV or film adaptation, and then we decide which one we enjoyed more.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: And this month, we have Akil, Paro, Ariadne, Oliver, a Halloween party, and of course, a murder.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: But before we get started, I have two quick things I do want to share with you.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: First, I'd love to start featuring your British TV recommendations at the beginning
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: of future episodes.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have a favorite show on PBS Masterpiece,
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: BritBox,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: or Acorn TV,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: send me a short voice recording or a written message with the title,
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Please limit submissions to one recommendation per person per month
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: and keep audio recordings under a minute.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I won't be able to feature every recommendation,
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: but I can't wait to hear what you've been watching.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to give a special thank you to our paid Substack subscribers.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness, guys, your support means so much to me.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: It makes all of the watching and the research and the work that goes into CCC possible.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so grateful that you believe in this little club.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let's get into a Halloween mystery.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: So Halloween Party was written by the Queen of Crime herself,
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Agatha Christie, and originally published in 1969.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's part of her Euclid Paro mystery series
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: and also features crime novelist Ariadne Oliver,
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: who happens to be one of my favorite additions to these stories.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the mystery takes place in the fictional English village of Woodley Common,
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: where a 13-year-old girl named Joyce Reynolds announces during a Halloween party
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: that she once witnessed a murder.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And of course,
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: nobody believes her because Joyce is a liar and has a reputation
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: for telling stories.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: But later that evening, Joyce is found murdered.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: She's Drowned in the very tub that was being used for bobbing for apples.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's when Ariadne Oliver calls on her good friend Perrault to investigate.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I do want to mention that this book is great on audio.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed listening to Your Mysteries 2, I highly recommend giving the audiobook a try.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's an edition narrated by Hugh Frazier,
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: whom Perrault fans may recognize as Captain Hastings from the TV series.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I love being able to listen to a mystery while I'm crocheting
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: or getting things done around the house,
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: so that's another option if you're going to add this to your October
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: or your November reading list.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: For the TV adaptation,
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: we're watching Agatha Christie's Prime Row Season 12, Episode 2, Halloween Party.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: The episode originally aired in 2010,
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: and it's about 89 minutes long,
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: so it's almost like watching a little Halloween movie.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: So we have the wonderful David Sushi.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: And here's a fun little CCC connection.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: The screenplay was written by Mark Gatiss,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: who you may recognize from Bookish on PBS Masterpiece.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And this episode features Sophie Thompson.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now, for those of us watching in the U.S.,
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: you can find the episode through PBS Masterpiece,
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: through BritBox, and Acorn TV, so you have plenty of options.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a quick reminder that this is a spoiler-filled discussion.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about the book,
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: the TV adaptation,
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: and The characters, the murders, and who was responsible for everything.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: I also want to give a content warning because this particular mystery involves
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: the murder of children, attempted murder, and other disturbing subject matter.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And as a mother myself,
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: I did find certain parts difficult, but we'll talk more about that in a little bit.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: So please keep that in mind before reading or watching.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: All right,
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: friends,
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: let's start with the book and let's see whether Agatha Christie managed
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: to fool me again.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one thing I can always count on when reading an Agatha Christie mystery is
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: a billion characters.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Seriously, I feel like all of her books should come with a character list at the beginning.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: We have the murder,
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: we have all the suspects,
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: and then we have what feels like an endless number of connections between people
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: who have lived in this village.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Somehow, all of these little details will come together, okay?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that's one of the things I do appreciate about Christy.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I did enjoy Halloween Party,
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: but I will say there were parts of the book that moved a little slowly for me.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: There were moments where I wasn't really interested in what was happening,
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: found myself skimming a little bit.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: But overall,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I still enjoyed the mystery,
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: especially once we start learning more about the disappearances connected
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: to Woodley Common.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: I want to talk about Joyce Reynolds
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: because her murder is really what sets everything into motion.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: She's only 13 years old and as someone who has a 13-year-old daughter,
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: that was a little difficult for me.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: But what makes her death even more upsetting is that Joyce has a reputation for telling stories.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: So she likes attention and people don't always believe everything that she says.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: But she's still a child and I think...
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's something worth remembering as we talk about this.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one thing I did notice about the book is that Christy doesn't spend a lot
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: of time sitting with the grief surrounding Joyce's death.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: The investigation begins and then we're quickly moving from one person
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: to another trying to understand what Joyce might have known.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that approach works for the mystery,
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: but I did find myself thinking about the tragedy of it all,
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: mainly because of the age.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I think overall, that's what makes it a cozy mystery, but it's not heavy in themes of grief.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: As Sparrow investigates,
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: we learn that Joyce's murder might be connected to other deaths and disappearances
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: in the village.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where things get really complicated.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: So we have the story involving Mrs.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Llewellyn Smythe's inheritance and then questions surrounding her will
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: and accusations that Olga Semenoff may have forged documents.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have Rowena Drake and Michael Garfield.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I did suspect Rowena pretty early in the book.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: There was something about her that made me think she knew more than she was letting on.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And she just had that typical attitude of a murderer.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And Michael Garfield was suspicious to me, too.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: But what I didn't see coming was the romantic connection between them
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: and how much their relationship was, like, tied to everything else that happened.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have Miranda.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Miranda was...
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: And finding out
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: that Miranda was Michael Garfield's daughter was another twist I did not see coming.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: I should mention that I'm not someone who spends the entire book trying to solve
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: the murder before anybody else does.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Customers love collecting clues and figuring out who did it,
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: but for me,
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: I just kind of follow my intuition and just let the author take me on the journey.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: And Agatha Christie, what's she going to do?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: She's going to take you on the journey, okay?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now, something else that stood out to me was the way certain people
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: in these villages are dismissed.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: This is something I've noticed in so many cozy mysteries.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I almost feel like most cozy mysteries has the outsider or something.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's someone who's considered an outsider.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: It could be someone from another country,
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: someone who's older, someone people think is mentally unstable.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And people make these assumptions about whether they're trustworthy or
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: whether their stories deserve to be taken seriously.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I think Joyce is a perfect example of that because she has the reputation
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: for telling fibs,
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: but people don't believe her when she announces that she witnessed a murder.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: But whether Joyce was telling the truth or not,
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: the fact kind of remains that someone saw her as a threat.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that made me think about how often people will overlook information simply
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: because they don't respect the person that's sharing it.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now can we talk about Poirot and Ariadne Oliver because I really enjoy these two together.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Ariadne is a crime novelist and she's the one who brings Poirot into the investigation.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And of course we have her love and obsession with apples.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Which makes her involvement in the Halloween mystery even more fitting.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I also appreciate the way that Paro approaches these cases.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: He isn't just looking for physical evidence.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: He's interested in human behavior,
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: motivations,
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: relationships,
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: and the things that, or the little things that people reveal about themselves.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so with my background in psychology, that's something that I really enjoy.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Poirot has this wonderful way of putting people in their place and
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: then still managing to remain so sophisticated about it.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: We also get help from retired Superintendent Spence and his sister Elspeth McKay
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: as Poirot works through the mystery.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about the Halloween elements in the book because this is
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: where we get some of these wonderful seasonal details.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: So we have the apples and the pumpkins and the party games and all
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: the little traditions that make this feel like a Halloween mystery.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: One game that caught my attention was the Snapchat.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Which is actually traditionally associated with Christmas Eve.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's Mrs.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbody's Game where the young girls are supposed to see the faces
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: of their future husbands.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that was a little odd,
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: a little bit of an odd tradition,
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: but I love when these mysteries do incorporate folk So where did I land
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: with Halloween Party?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to give the book a 4.25 out of 5 stars.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoyed the mystery,
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: the characters,
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: and the way all of those seemingly unrelated events eventually came together.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I did find some sections a little slow.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And for my coziness, I'm going to give it a 3.5 out of 5.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: There are some wonderful autumn and Halloween details,
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: but I find the subject matter involving children too disturbing to give it
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: a higher cozy rating.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's just me.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, that's where I am.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's where I stand.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about the TV adaptation because this is where things
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: to me get really interesting.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one thing I noticed almost immediately was that the TV adaptation made me feel
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: the sadness surrounding Joyce's murder a lot more than the book did.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So to me, Joyce was just this innocent little girl who told stories and fibbed.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, I was thinking, what child hasn't done that at some point?
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: I used to lie about wearing glasses, about having a golden retriever.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, come on.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we that's what I did in the third grade.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what made her death really heartbreaking was that she wasn't murdered
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: because she had actually witnessed a crime that she claimed she had seen.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: She was murdered because someone was afraid of what she might know or expose.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that made the whole thing feel really unfair.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Seeing the grief on Mrs. Reynolds' face made the tragedy feel a little bit more real.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Seeing her dressed in black and everything.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: And she's trying to make sense of everything through her faith in the church
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: and her conversations with the vicar.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: She's already lost her husband and now she lost Joyce.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then later in the episode, she loses Leopold too.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: I found some of those scenes a little difficult to watch.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Not much, a little bit.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: But...
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I didn't feel that her faith was bringing her peace.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: To me, she was holding on to it because she was just desperately trying
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: to keep herself together.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you could see that she was nearly at her breaking point.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I kept thinking, somebody needs to gather around this woman.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: She needs people around her.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I know we're watching a murder mystery and,
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: we're focused on finding the killer,
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: but I couldn't help think about the people left behind and how they're supposed
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: to continue living after something so devastating.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know I'm getting too deep for a cozy mystery.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we do.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: I did
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: think Sophie Thompson did a wonderful job portraying a woman who was trying
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: so hard to remain composed when she was obviously falling apart.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Something else worth mentioning is that the TV adaptation makes a few changes to
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: the Reynolds family.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So in the book,
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Joyce has two siblings,
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Anne and Leopold,
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: but in the TV episode, Anne is removed and Leopold is her only sibling.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now the adaptation also makes Mrs. Reynolds the children's stepmother.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: I thought these were very interesting changes because
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: the TV version spends more time allowing us to see the emotional consequences
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: of these murders and I think that's one of the reasons that
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: the episode affected me more deeply than a novel.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now can we please talk about the atmosphere in this episode because
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: if you're looking for
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: the ultimate cozy spooky Halloween watch I think this might be We have the lighting
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: and the Halloween party decorations and the costumes and the autumn setting.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Everything, right?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Everything about the atmosphere was giving me exactly what I wanted from
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: a Halloween pro mystery.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the TV adaptation did it even better.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is absolutely an episode I would recommend watching in the days leading up
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: to Halloween or even on Halloween night.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to remind you to check the content warnings because as we've discussed,
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: the subject matter is pretty dark.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I'm giving this episode a four out of five for coziness.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Atmosphere wise, though, we're practically at a five.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: Still, if you're looking for a British mystery with all the Halloween atmosphere,
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: this is one you need to put on your watch list.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, David Suchet is wonderful as Paro.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing that will never stop being funny to me is Paro referring to himself in
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: the third person.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you've never watched him before,
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: you'll notice his need for order, the way that objects have to be arranged.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: He definitely has some OCD-like tendencies,
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: and I think those little personality quirks make him
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: a really entertaining character.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: And can we talk about that scene with his shoes?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: We get this close-up of his beautiful patent leather shoes.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: And Poirot is like complaining that his feet hurt.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: But when his friend Ariadne suggests that he wears different shoes, he gets offended.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, OK, you are such a diva.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Then there's this scene where Poirot gets frightened by a black cat.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: He will confidently confront a murderer, but a black cat scares him.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't get it.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: But I just love him so much.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: I also love Zoe Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: I don't remember Ariadne being ill in the novel, but she is in the TV adaptation.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that was an interesting little change.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Another difference I noticed was how Pirot gathers information about
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: the suspicious deaths in Woodley Common and the book he describes.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: He goes to retire Superintendent Spence and his sister.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: And they're in a really important part of the investigation.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: But in the TV adaptation,
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: he gets that information from Mrs.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbody, who is obviously the outsider in the village.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: I actually like that change because it brings us back to something I noticed in the book.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: How often people who are dismissed or considered outsiders end up knowing quite
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: a bit about what's happening in their communities.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one of my favorite visual elements was Michael Garfield's garden.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was gorgeous.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was beautiful.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: So well manicured.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it added so much to the cozy atmosphere of the episode.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course,
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: it does become a little disturbing when you remember
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: that Olga's body was buried there.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: But that's something that I love about these mysteries.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can have this gorgeous, peaceful setting hiding something just terrible.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: One detail from the novel that I missed in a TV adaptation was
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: the symbolism connecting Rowena Drake to Lady Macbeth and Michael Garfield
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: to Narcissus.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: I thought those comparisons were really interesting because they gave us another way
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: to think about the characters and their motivation.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the TV adaptation also leaves out the Wishing Well storyline from the book.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And another change involves Rowena's family.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: So in the novel,
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Rowena is childless, but the adaptation gives her Frances and Edmund as children.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I found it interesting how these changes helped reshape the mystery for TV
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: and also cast suspicion on to Frances and Edmund.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Another thing I appreciated about the adaptation was how much more connected I felt
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: to the grief surrounding the murders.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: We see this with Mrs.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Reynolds, of course, but also through characters like Mrs. Whitaker and Beatrice.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: The TV version gives us more opportunities to see kind of the emotional aftermath
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: or consequences of everything that happened in the village.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's part of what makes it a strong adaptation for me.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't just about discovering who committed the murders,
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: but it was also about seeing how these secrets and these tragedies affected
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: the people that were left behind.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one of my absolute favorite moments in the entire episode is
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: when Paro gathers everyone together for the reveal and he says,
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: let me tell you a little Halloween story.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love that.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Every time, I just love it.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: What a perfect way to bring everything together And of course,
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: one of my favorite lines from him was, Old sins cast long shadows.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we've heard that one before.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's good.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: OK, I love it.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that really captures the entire mystery, doesn't it?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: because so much of what happens in the story is connected to things people have done
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: in the past and secrets they've kept and how far they'll go
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: to keep those secrets buried.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes those secrets are buried, literally.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: So which one did I enjoy more?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, friends,
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: this month I'm going to say read it and watch it,
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: but unlike some of our previous read-it-and-watch-it selections,
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't necessarily think you need to read the book first.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I think you could absolutely start with the TV adaptation.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a wonderful standalone episode,
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: and if you're looking for something cozy,
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: spooky to watch around Halloween,
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: I really don't think you can go wrong with this one.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: The book is still worth reading, especially if you're Agatha Christie fan.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: You may not like it as much as you like the beginning of the Pro Row mystery series,
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: but You'll like getting into all the little details and characters and
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: the connections that make her mysteries entertaining.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, like I said, the TV adaptation was the winner this month.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoyed the book,
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: but the adaptation took everything I liked about it and just made it more enjoyable.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: And despite the dark subject matter, it was still very cozy spooky.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: All right, final ratings.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: So the book Halloween Party overall, 4.25 out of 5.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Cozy rating, 3.5 out of 5.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: TV adaptation, Perot, Halloween Party overall, 5 out of 5.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: Cozy rating, 4 out of 5.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you're comfortable with the subject matter and want a good Halloween mystery,
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is a fantastic choice.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, friends, that brings us to the end of our October Read It and Watch It.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed spending a little time with Perot, Ariadne, and me this Halloween season.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: And now I want to hear from you.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Have you read Halloween Party or watched the adaptation?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: Which one did you enjoy most?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Or is this your first time hearing about either one?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know I always love hearing your thoughts and your recommendations.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: And also, there is another adaptation called A Haunting in Venice that came out in 2023.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's rated PG-13 and it's on Disney Plus or Hulu, I believe.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so this isn't the only adaptation, but this is the only one that I've watched.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before I let you go,
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: I want to share our next Read It and Watch It selection for November
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: with We're going to be reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and watching
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: the 2017 BBC TV adaptation.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is going to be such a lovely selection for the Thanksgiving season.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Our November reading and watching episode will be released on Tuesday,
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: November 24th during Thanksgiving week.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you have plenty of time to read the book,
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: watch the adaptation, or do both before we get together again.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: And speaking of November, I'll be announcing our November theme in this Sunday's newsletter.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't subscribed to Cozy Comfort Club on Substack yet,
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: you can do so completely free and have the newsletter delivered directly
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: to your inbox.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: You'll also receive our November Cozy Comfort Club guide coming November 4th filled
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: with British TV recommendations to keep you company throughout the month.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And for those of you who would like a little extra cozy,
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: paid subscribers also receive What to Watch Next,
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: an exclusive monthly bonus featuring three additional British TV recommendations,
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: where to watch them, and my cozy ratings.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's just another way to help you find something wonderful to watch
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: without spending forever scrolling through your streaming apps.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that's everything for today, friends.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this episode,
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: please consider following the podcast,
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: leaving a rating or review,
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: or sharing it with a fellow British TV or Agatha Christie lover.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: It really does help other Cozy Mystery fans discover our little club.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for spending part of your day with me.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you have a wonderful Halloween filled with all the cozy things you love.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: And until next time, friends, come for murder and stay fatigued.
• 20:40
  [music]