Warning: SPOILERS! If you haven’t read “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” do yourself a favor and stop here and read it. You’ll thank us later.

“Checkmate” (2022) is the first official adaptation of Agatha Christie’s stories. Situ Yan is an idealistic lawyer and when behind-the-scenes machinations sets an assassin free (think “Murder on the Orient Express”), he’s left holding the bag. His train trip to Harbin in Manchuria is eventful and after befriending the soldier Luo Shaochuan (think Hastings), they find themselves investigating murders, kidnappings, stolen dogs, and other crimes.

“Checkmate” is a 24-episode telenovella that covers “Orient Express,” “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (the subject of today’s livestream), “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,” “Three Act Tragedy,” “The Nemean Lion,” “Curtain,” and more!

Teresa Peschel, author of "Agatha Christie, She Watched" and the "International Agatha Christie, She Watched," hosts our livestream. Joining Teresa is her husband, technical adviser, and straight man, Bill Peschel. Together, they are Peschel Press, publisher of intriguing, intelligent, and idiosyncratic books (www.peschelpress.com).

HOW TO SEE THIS MOVIE:

Links: iQIYI website (login needed) https://www.iq.com/album/checkmate-2022-1vwjz1u3j1p?lang=en_us

DVD versions for sale on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=checkmate+dvd+chinese+series

Peschel Press: www.peschelpress.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peschel_press/

NEXT WEEK:

We’re jumping ahead to “The Seven Dials Mystery.” We’re watching first the James Warwick version from 1981 and discussing it on 1/22/26. Then, on Jan. 29, we’ll tackle the new Netflix adaptation.

Theme music: "Deadly Roulette" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/