If you missed tonight's edition of The Mark Steyn Show on GB News, you can watch it in full here.
~Thank you for all your kind comments on our latest Tale for Our Time. John Lewis, a Mark Steyn Club member from not too far from where this book takes place, writes:
Here in the UK and for all I know overseas we have been spoiled by the definitive screen Poirot as performed by David Suchet who completed the entire "set" including numerous short stories (many which are somewhat slight but still make for an enjoyable 50 minutes viewing).
However it is a treat to hear this reading of the entire unabridged story. The extra length above and beyond the TV adaptations allows for a much fuller appreciation of the work than could ever be achieved in two hours no matter how good the acting and locations.
Well, that's the difference between adaptation and serialization, John. All I do is read every word Mrs Christie wrote. That's a much easier task than my late Bafta chum Clive Exton, who wrote most of the best of those telly Poirots, ever had.
In tonight's penultimate episode of our tale, Poirot disposes of one of the case's remaining difficulties - how the poison was administered:
Now we are faced with a new problem. We know the cocoa contained no strychnine. The coffee was never drunk. Yet the strychnine must have been administered between seven and nine o'clock that evening. What third medium was there—a medium so suitable for disguising the taste of strychnine that it is extraordinary no one has thought of it?" Poirot looked round the room, and then answered himself impressively...
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear me read Part Twenty of The Mysterious Affair at Styles simply by clicking here and logging-in.
As we mentioned yesterday, it's SteynOnline's nineteenth birthday and we're celebrating it with nineteen per cent off all my books, CDs and everything else at the Steyn Store. Just shop till you drop as you normally would, and the discount will be applied to your basket as you check out. But only through Monday!
If you're new to our Club, or if the day's developments simply make you despair, there's nothing healthier than taking a short break from the hell of the hamster-wheel news-cycle and exploring the delights of our Tales for Our Time home page. It's configured in Netflix tile style, with the stories organized by category - thrillers, fantasy, romance, etc - which we hope will make it easy for you to find a favorite diversion of an evening.You can access fifty of our cracking yarns here - and all previous episodes of our current adventure here.
If you've yet to hear any of our Tales for Our Time, you can do so by joining The Mark Steyn Club and enjoy our nightly audio adventures every evening twenty minutes before lowering your lamp - or hoard the episodes and binge-listen at the weekend or on a long car journey, if your government still permits you to take one. For more details on that and other benefits to Steyn Club membership, see here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership.
Please join me right here tomorrow evening for the conclusion of The Mysterious Affair at Styles.