the buzz log

Hankering to craft a murder? Now you can rent the perfect environs to plot your misdeeds.

The holiday home of Agatha Christie, the First Marm of British Mystery, just opened to the public. Restored by the National Trust, the newest tourist stop in Greenway, England, scored some Search traction for the creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. The 1,933% spike boosted "agatha christie" into the top 2,000 terms in the past 7 days. Mysteriously, while Christie's thought to have a huge female following, males 13-64 were guilty of conducting 83% of searches.

Like many outlets, the Independent took the occasion to re-evaluate her enduring appeal, despite "cardboard" characters and "implausible" settings. (One explanation for the "Abba syndrome:" She's the "ultimate narrative technician.") The AP listed 15 mysteries set in Devon, the area in which Greenway is located, while Daily Telegraph unfolds a detailed scene of this retreat more accessible by boat than by auto, plus hosts a video of the surroundings.

While the Georgian mansion gives insight into her archaeological collections, Christie actually never penned a murderous word here, although she did host private readings.

No reason to stop you from renting part of this home for nefarious literary purposes. The only limitation (besides the logistics in getting there): The holiday apartment is limited to 10 people ... the same number of the doomed party in the biggest mystery bestseller ever, "And Then There Were None," set in a remote Devon retreat. 

Filed under: Travel, Authors, Home and Garden, England, Mysteries

On Sunday, Bob Woolmer, the 58-year-old coach for the Pakistan cricket team, died in a hospital in Jamaica. He was in the Caribbean, with his team, for the fiercely anticipated games of the Cricket World Cup. So far, police have stopped short of saying "murder," but some local sources have asserted that the cricketer and trainer was strangled.

His shocking demise, which followed the team's devastating loss to Ireland, has roiled the South Asian country, thrown a pall over the tournament, and battered the Search box. Searches for "bob woolmer" immediately surged and "woolmer" doubled. Demand for "pakistan cricket" and "pakistan cricket news" also leapt.

The top "woolmer" queries rising in Yahoo! News reveal not only the strong interest in the case, but many searchers' suspicions over its cause...

Filed under: Sports, Cricket, Mysteries