Mysterious Connections

[optic_i]

Hi Everyone,

I thought it would be fun to add your own mysterious connections in mystery books.

I was reading two books at the same time and one referenced the author of the other book.

While reading Agatha Christie's The Moving Finger, I found it was written in 1942, during the second world war.

The other book I was reading was Blackout by Connie Willis, a time travel story set during World War II. Blackout's characters remarked about Agatha Christie working in a hospital and being in London during the Blitz.

 What are your mysterious connections?  

Optic

The Moving Finger (Miss Marple Series)

Blackout

[becke_davis]

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optic_i wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I thought it would be fun to add your own mysterious connections in mystery books.

I was reading two books at the same time and one referenced the author of the other book.

While reading Agatha Christie's The Moving Finger, I found it was written in 1942, during the second world war.

The other book I was reading was Blackout by Connie Willis, a time travel story set during World War II. Blackout's characters remarked about Agatha Christie working in a hospital and being in London during the Blitz.

 What are your mysterious connections?  

Optic

The Moving Finger (Miss Marple Series)

Blackout

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Oh, this is a FABULOUS idea! I'll have to think about this a bit...

[optic_i]

Hi Becke,

Another mysterious connection  !  in the book Blackout, was a reference to the actor Michael Caine who was evacuated from South London during World War II as a child to North Runcton, near King's Lynn in Norfork.

In 2006 Michael Caine appeared in Children of Men the movie, based on a book by PD James. He also starred in Without a Clue, portraying Sherlock Holmes.

Also, Michael Caine was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth the 2nd in 2000.  

Optic

Blackout  

The Children of Men

[dulcinea3]

All of the Death on Demand series, by Carolyn Hart, mention many other mysteries and authors.  The protagonist, Annie Darling, runs a mystery bookstore, so there are a lot of references to books she's just gotten in or sold.  She also has a coffee bar in the store, with mugs that all have names of different mysteries on them, so whenever someone has a cup, it is mentioned what mystery they have.  And at the beginning of every book, she commissions four (or is it five) paintings that depict scenes from different mysteries.  She has a contest for who can guess all the books, so they are not revealed until the end, so the reader can play along.  In the novel that drew me into the series, The Christie Caper, there is a tough Agatha Christie trivia quiz that the reader can play along with, also.

[becke_davis]

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optic_i wrote:

Hi Becke,

Another mysterious connection  !  in the book Blackout, was a reference to the actor Michael Caine who was evacuated from South London during World War II as a child to North Runcton, near King's Lynn in Norfork.

In 2006 Michael Caine appeared in Children of Men the movie, based on a book by PD James. He also starred in Without a Clue, portraying Sherlock Holmes.

Also, Michael Caine was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth the 2nd in 2000.  

Optic

Blackout  

The Children of Men

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These are great - keep them coming!

[optic_i]

Hi Dulcinea & Becke,

Here are couple more mysterious connections between PD James and Agatha Christie.

Dulcinea, I'll be reading the series, Death on Demand. Thank you ! for pointing it out. It sounds fascinating with all the background information about the authors and their stories.

I also found this book, Time to be Earnest, by PD James, one of my favorite mystery authors, who recalls in this biography, the worst of the Doodlebug bombardment in London during World War II.  

Optic

The Christie Caper (Death on Demand Series #7)

Time to Be in Earnest

[becke_davis]

Optic - You are definitely on a roll. I love these connections!

[optic_i]

Another mysterious connection !

An interesting thing about some of Stephen King's books is that his characters can meet each other in different series of his books.

In the final two books of the Dark Tower series, King actually appears as a character himself in the story. Although he doesn't appear as a character until Song of Susannah, he is alluded to as early as The Drawing of the Three, when Eddie recalls having seen The Shining in movie theaters.

Also, in the fifth book, Wolves of the Calla, the other characters learn of his existence when Roland comes across a copy of King's Salem's Lot.

Many elements of Stephen King's real life are presented through his character, such as his near-fatal 1999 accident.  

Optic

The Gunslinger Born (Dark Tower Graphic Novel Series #1)

The Dark Tower II

The Waste Lands

The Dark Tower IV

The Dark Tower V

The Dark Tower VI

The Dark Tower VII

Salem's Lot

[GS2991]

Interesting hee hee hee. Keep going!

[becke_davis]

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optic_i wrote:

Another mysterious connection !

An interesting thing about some of Stephen King's books is that his characters can meet each other in different series of his books.

In the final two books of the Dark Tower series, King actually appears as a character himself in the story. Although he doesn't appear as a character until Song of Susannah, he is alluded to as early as The Drawing of the Three, when Eddie recalls having seen The Shining in movie theaters.

Also, in the fifth book, Wolves of the Calla, the other characters learn of his existence when Roland comes across a copy of King's Salem's Lot.

Many elements of Stephen King's real life are presented through his character, such as his near-fatal 1999 accident.  

Optic

The Gunslinger Born (Dark Tower Graphic Novel Series #1)

The Dark Tower II

The Waste Lands

The Dark Tower IV

The Dark Tower V

The Dark Tower VI

The Dark Tower VII

Salem's Lot

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[optic_i]

Another mysterious connection !

Stephen Hawking's distinctive appearance, voice, and popularity have caused him to be represented in the popular culture. He's made appearances on many popular television shows and cartoons, and been featured in a number of books.  

Optic

Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt. In this science fiction novel,Hawking is one of several luminaries who are heroes of the climax of the novel.

The Hyperion Series by Dan Simmons. Hawking's name appears under terms such as the Hawking drive, the name of the Hegemony frigate HSS Stephen Hawking, and Hawking Missiles, Missiles equipped with their own Hawking Drive.

The Coming of the Quantum Cats by Frederik Pohl. Several Hawkings from different alternate universes (in varying states of health) make a cameo appearance in this science fiction novel.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer. The main character, nine-year-old Oskar Schell, writes letters to Stephen Hawking frequently and once even receives a letter by Hawking that is addressed directly to him.

Ancient Shores

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Movie Tie-in Edition)

The Coming of the Quantum Cats

[GS2991]

Interesting! I like that one.

[Fricka]

Here's another mysterious connection.

In the book I'm reading right now, File M for Murder, by Miranda James,  Charlie Harris thinks about himself and his son Sean as follows:

"If I fancied myself as Holmes, Sean certainly made a more than competent Watson. More like Nero and Archie, I thought ruefully, as I patted my stomach. I wasn't anywhere near a seventh of a ton like Nero, but that was only because of concerted effort on my part" (p. 199).

[dulcinea3]

That reminds me of Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime, in which Tommy and Tuppence solve mysteries in the style of various fictional detectives they have read about, including Hercule Poirot!  I have to admit that I have not heard of many of them.

From wikipedia:

The stories and their detective parodies

• A Fairy in the Flat / A Pot of Tea - Introduces the setup of Tommy & Tuppence at The International Detective Agency. Reminiscent of Malcolm Sage, detective (1921) by Herbert George Jenkins.
• The Affair of the Pink Pearl - This first case is in the vein of the detective Dr Thorndyke by R. Austin Freeman.
• The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger - An espionage story, following in the footsteps of Valentine Williams and the detective brothers Francis and Desmond Okewood. One of the Williams' books in particular - The Man with the Clubfoot (1918) is named by Tuppence in the story.
• Finessing the King / The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper - This two part story is a spoof of the nowadays almost forgotten Isabel Ostrander, with parallels to the story The Clue in the Air (1917) and the detectives Tommy McCarty (an ex-policeman) and Denis Riordan (a fireman).
• The Case of the Missing Lady - This story references Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (1911).
• Blindman's Buff - Matches Clinton H. Stagg's stories around the blind detective Thornley Colton.
• The Man in the Mist - In the style of G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories.
• The Crackler - A spoof on Edgar Wallace's style of plotting.
• The Sunningdale Mystery - The tale is in the style of Baroness Orczy's The Old Man in the Corner (1909) with Tuppence playing the role of journalist Polly Burton and Tommy tying knots in a piece of string in the same way as Orczy's character, Bill Owen.
• The House of Lurking Death - Recreates the style of A. E. W. Mason and his French detective Inspector Hanaud.
• The Unbreakable Alibi - Modelled after Freeman Wills Crofts, known for his detective stories centred around alibis and the Scotland Yard detective Inspector Joseph French.
• The Clergyman's Daughter / The Red House - A two part story, this is a parody on detective Roger Sherringham by Anthony Berkeley, with plot elements reminding of The Violet Farm by H. C. Bailey (although the latter was not published until 1928).
• The Ambassador's Boots - Following the style of H. C. Bailey with Dr. Reginald Fortune and Superintendent Bell as the parodied detectives.
• The Man Who Was No. 16 - This story parodies Christie's own The Big Four, featuring Hercule Poirot.

[becke_davis]

I love all these connections! I remember I was rereading an Agatha Christie on 9/11/2001, trying to get my mind off the tragedy. I randomly picked up one of her books (don't remember which one), and it gave me chills when her character mentioned the date: September 11.

[optic_i]

Hi everyone ! 

Iam loving these mysterious connections ! 

Becke your 9 11  story about the Agatha Christie book that had the date set in the book as 9 11. While you were reading it on the day of the terrorists attack on 9 11 01.  WOW . what are the odds of that happening ?     

  Optic 

[becke_davis]

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optic_i wrote:

Hi everyone ! 

Iam loving these mysterious connections ! 

Becke your 9 11  story about the Agatha Christie book that had the date set in the book as 9 11. While you were reading it on the day of the terrorists attack on 9 11 01.  WOW . what are the odds of that happening ?     

  Optic 

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I've had that happen a lot - I'll be reading a book that features an important date or mentions a specific date, and it will turn out to be the date I'm reading it.

*cue Twilight Zone music*

[Fricka]

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becke_davis wrote:

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optic_i wrote:

Hi everyone ! 

Iam loving these mysterious connections ! 

Becke your 9 11  story about the Agatha Christie book that had the date set in the book as 9 11. While you were reading it on the day of the terrorists attack on 9 11 01.  WOW . what are the odds of that happening ?     

  Optic 

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I've had that happen a lot - I'll be reading a book that features an important date or mentions a specific date, and it will turn out to be the date I'm reading it.

*cue Twilight Zone music*

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Hmmmmm. Highly suspicious, that. As Leonard Hofsteader says to Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory", " Are you sure you're not a robot?" Heh,heh.

[optic_i]

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Fricka wrote:

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becke_davis wrote:

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optic_i wrote:

Hi everyone ! 

Iam loving these mysterious connections ! 

Becke your 9 11  story about the Agatha Christie book that had the date set in the book as 9 11. While you were reading it on the day of the terrorists attack on 9 11 01.  WOW . what are the odds of that happening ?     

  Optic 

---

I've had that happen a lot - I'll be reading a book that features an important date or mentions a specific date, and it will turn out to be the date I'm reading it.

*cue Twilight Zone music*

---

Hmmmmm. Highly suspicious, that. As Leonard Hofsteader says to Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory", " Are you sure you're not a robot?" Heh,heh.

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Or 

She has her own time machine !    Optic  

Can I borrow it  some time ?

[becke_davis]

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optic_i wrote:

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Fricka wrote:

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becke_davis wrote:

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optic_i wrote:

Hi everyone ! 

Iam loving these mysterious connections ! 

Becke your 9 11  story about the Agatha Christie book that had the date set in the book as 9 11. While you were reading it on the day of the terrorists attack on 9 11 01.  WOW . what are the odds of that happening ?     

  Optic 

---

I've had that happen a lot - I'll be reading a book that features an important date or mentions a specific date, and it will turn out to be the date I'm reading it.

*cue Twilight Zone music*

---

Hmmmmm. Highly suspicious, that. As Leonard Hofsteader says to Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory", " Are you sure you're not a robot?" Heh,heh.

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Or 

She has her own time machine !    Optic  

Can I borrow it  some time ?

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Shhhhh! It's a secret!