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The Thirteen Problems is my second buddy read this month, celebrating Agatha Christie's birthday with my pal, Medhat. We live halfway across the world but chat about books all the time via messenger. This time, we chose one of her short story collections... and originally, we planned to read one per day leading up to her birthday. But... I have no self-control and said I couldn't do it. Instead, I read half one day and half the next day. They're just too easily devourable, to coin a new word for today.

The premise: Miss Marple and 5 friends are together one evening when they decide to tell real-life tales about potential killers or mysteries... some want to stump the others. A few are looking for answers. No one thinks the 'old lady from the St. Mary Mead small village' would have any value in her input. Boy, were they wrong! I think she solved at least 10 of the 13 unsolved mysteries herself. Obviously these people didn't know her well, or perhaps Christie was just going for a bit of punny humor. Either way, they made for a delightful read, and I enjoyed all of them.

Some had similarities, but for the most part, the characters and settings were different, or the way in which the story was told was different. Basically, 1 of the 6 reveals what (s)he knew of the crime. The others ask a few questions until they come up with the logical solution. Most guests give up. Miss Marple usually says "I wonder... doesn't anyone else find it weird that..." and then the analysis begins. In the end, the rest are astonished at her worldly knowledge. Ah, I'm beginning to see why I love the woman so much, and there's a 90% chance I'm morphing into her with each day the passes.