GS Revel Burroughs
Agatha Christie Easter Eggs
I make no excuses for my love of the Golden Age of Crime writing nor my slightly obsessive love of everything Agatha Christie. It's a thing. Deal with it, or move along. Don't get it? I don't get Star Wars, so please line up and tell me how wrong I am. But there we are, we're all different. I also adore the works of PG Wodehouse and Alfred Hitchcock and am rather partial to the odd Bon Jovi tune.
But Agatha Christie is central to the reason I am here writing mystery fiction, so as a sort of doffed cap to the great lady, I have snuck in 18 Agatha Christie-related Easter Eggs into the pages of A Recipe for Murder. It's just for fun and there will be no prizes, but one or two are rather tricky, and any Agatha Christie enthusiasts who chance upon this small book of mine may find them intriguing.
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A word of caution: One or two of the clues may lead you to the solution to my little mystery, although they are rather in the nature of the Sunday Times Cryptic Crossword. Somewhat nebulous.
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See how you fared below.
About the Author
Crime and Thriller writer with a passion for plot-led, solvable mysteries. Fan of the Golden Age and all things Hitchcock. Click Here for a detailed bio.
19 Easter Eggs
1: Murder in Mesopotamia.
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Like Gareth Sebastian Black my first introduction to Agatha Christie was discovering Murder in Mesopotamia in my local library. I started with an easy one. Just to warm you up.
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2: Jack Finney
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Finney is the surname that Jack shares with Albert Finney, who portrayed Hercule Poirot in the 1974 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express.
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3: The Larches.
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Jack Finney resides in The Larches, Burnham on the Wold, the same house name that Hercule Poirot retired to in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in 1926.
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4: "The Man Who Grew Vegetable Marrows."
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Staying on the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, "The Man Who Grew Vegetable Marrows" was the title of the chapter that introduced Hercule Poirot to the reader.
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5: "For someone, it was going to be an endless night." (End of the first part.)
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Endless Night is the title of one of Agatha Christie's mysteries published in 1967.
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6: "We are to be partners in crime."
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When Sydney Fletch declares her intention of exploring Burnham Manor with Gareth Black she declares that they are to be "Partners in Crime." Partners in Crime is a collection of short stories published in 1929 featuring the detective couple Tommy and Tuppence.
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7: "A glass of Sparkling Cyanide, Margaret?"
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When Gemma Collis offered Margaret Hemshaw a glass of Sparkling Cyanide she was being nice. In this instance, Sparkling Cyanide is a perfectly harmless glass of champagne. The novel Sparkling Cyanide was published in 1945.
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8: "We are, each of us, looking to write our own Roger Ackroyd mystery that bends the conventions without breaking them but which sets us apart from the others."
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published in 1926 and is considered by many, including myself, to be the finest detective novel ever written. Some think Agatha Christie cheated but don't listen to them, they're wrong.
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9: The Pale Horse
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When Finney discusses the famous British Poisoner, Graham Young, also known as the Teacup poisoner, he mentions The Pale Horse, published in 1961. The real-life and fictional murderers both used a little-known poison, Thallium, to despatch their victims. It is another example of Agatha Christie's detailed knowledge of poisons. Many years later a nurse recognised the symptoms of Thallium from reading The Pale Horse and was able to save the life of a young child.
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10: The Winterbrook.
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​The Winterbrook River Cruiser in part 3, The Main Course, is named after Winterbrook House, where Agatha Christie and Max Mallowan lived from 1934 until Agatha's death in 1976.
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11: Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
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I took the liberty of sailing my suspects down the Thames from Wallingford. It is a beautiful part of the world. Winterbrook House is located in Wallingford.
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12: "Murder is easy once you’ve done it for the first time."
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When discussing the unusual text message summoning everyone to the river cruiser, Finney makes the above statement to Sydney. Murder is Easy was published in 1939.
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13: "The Seven Dials Hotel and Restaurant."
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The river cruiser is located at the Seven Dials Hotel and Restaurant. The Seven Dials Mystery was published in 1929.
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14: " I am Nemesis incarnate."
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This is how Finney described himself on the river cruise. Nemesis was published in 1971.
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15: "I can be the Watson to your Holmes or the Hastings to your Poirot."
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How Sydney describes herself to Finney while trying to persuade him to investigate the murder of Max Wilde. Captain Hastings was Poirot's friend and colleague from the very first adventure in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) until Poirot's death in Curtain (1975.)
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16: "I could be the Tommy to your Tuppence?"
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Gareth Black to Sydney Fletch. See Egg No.6, Partners in Crime.
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17: After the Funeral.
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The title of the last part is named after Agatha Christie's 1953 novel After the Funeral. (See what I did there?)
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18: "The title of an old book came to mind. Death Comes As The End."
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During the climax of A Recipe for Murder, Sydney is reminded of an old book. The book is Death Comes As The End, published in 1945.
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19: Delicious Death
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In the first part, Max Wilde is informed that he is unable to use a recipe for a chocolate cake due to Agatha Christie Ltd owning the trademark. It is the primary reason this book was not given that title! Delicious Death appears in A Murder is Announced (1950). The recipe, created by Jane Asher, can be found here. (Link opens in a new window.)
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