Tag Archives: Agatha Christie

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4) by  Agatha Christie

Amy Caudill‘s review

While this was hardly the first novel by Agatha Christie I have read, I was pleasantly surprised by how much Dame Christie could surprise me with hidden depths in her characters and writing style.

This particular work, touted as number 4 in the Hercule Poirot series, opens with a Poirot who has retired and is living semi-anonymously in a small English village.  When a local wealthy man is murdered on the heels of the suicide of a local wealthy woman whom he was close to, someone close to the cases comes forward and pleads with the famed detective to assist.  

Poirot agrees, in part because he is already getting bored with his retirement, and enlists the local physician, Dr. James Albertson, to take over the duties of chronicler/assistant normally ascribed to his longtime friend Albert Hastings.  Together they will work with the local police as they interview the members of the household and examine several scenes for clues and rumors relating to the events of the murder.  Dr. Albertson, himself one of the last people to see Ackroyd alive, writes his observations knowing Poirot has guessed he is hiding information from the investigation.

While Dr. Albertson includes many of his thoughts in his narrations; he leaves out just enough that when Poirot reveals the truth, we are left realizing what an unreliable narrator the reader has had all along.  This is where I marveled at Christie’s design; the voice of the narrator seemed perfectly sober and honest up until the end; I had assumed that this new character was simply the Hastings for this story, when instead we got so much more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to aficionados of mysteries everywhere.  For those who haven’t tried the classic cases of Agatha Christie, her stories have timeless appeal for readers young and old.  I award this story five stars.

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Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

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The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

During the winter of 1926, famed author Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days.  Mrs. Christie was subsequently found, but claimed amnesia of the circumstances of her disappearance once she was recovered.  The mystery of these happenings was never solved.  Marie Benedict is not the first to write about the real-life mystery surrounding the life of the author, but she makes a very compelling case in an historical fiction version of events.

I’ll admit that when reading the prologue and first few chapters of this story I wasn’t entirely sure who was the narrator, only that we were seeing the intimate thoughts of one of the parties involved, as well as a letter and instructions from one of the other main parties.  After a few chapters, the narrator became clear, and this revelation added to the drama already ensued.

Part one, which takes up three quarters of the book, alternates between each chapter with the point of view of Dame Agatha herself, and that of her first husband, Archibald Christie.  In the Agatha chapters, which take place in the past of the main storyline, we catch a brief glimpse of the author’s childhood and youth, followed by Archibald’s courtship of her and their married life.  In the Archibald chapters, which take place in the “present,” we see the events of the disappearance itself, along with the reactions of family and the public to the author’s disappearance.

The second part of the story is told completely in Agatha’s point of view, and details the events of her recovery and the consequences of her, and others’ actions.  This part of the story delves heavily into speculation on the part of author Benedict, but oh what a story she weaves.

Benedict’s Agatha Christie is the epitome of a strong female character.  She has suffered emotional neglect and betrayal at her husband’s hands, but reacts by literally becoming the heroine in her own story.  She “takes control of the narrative of her life” in order not to become the villain to her daughter.  In a time period when divorce and single mothers were frowned upon, she ensures that she has the most favorable outcome for herself and her daughter.  She engineers events so that her husband will be forced to admit his guilt, and thus accept the blame for their divorce, so her reputation does not suffer. 

I loved this book.  The author clearly did a vast amount of research into the Christies’ history, and told a very convincing story of the true events.  While we may never know if some of her theories and conclusions are real, the reader cannot help but wonder and perhaps hope that this is the way it happened.  I give this story five stars, and recommend it to fans of mysteries, especially those of Agatha Christie, and those of historical fiction and romances.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews > The Murder on the Links

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The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot, #2) by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review

In this classic Agatha Christie novel, we see her most illustrious detective, Hercule Poirot, reunited with his loyal sidekick, Captain Arthur Hastings in a case that involves murder, blackmail, and multiple secret identities.

Poirot is summoned to the home of a millionaire expatriate in France, only to find his intended client has been murdered before he could arrive.  Thanks to his long term of service and contacts with the French police, he is invited to consult on the case, and soon finds obscure clues that elude the current “star” of the police force, Monsieur Girard. 

Girard scoffs at Poirot’s methods, and soon begins his own separate investigation, hunting for clues that fit his theories, and ignoring pieces of evidence that do not appear to tie in with these.  This leads to an arrest of an innocent man, and then the confession of an innocent woman to save the man, before a ruse perpetuated by Poirot in collusion with the widow of the original victim leads the real killer to reveal herself in the final chapter.  (Sorry, spoilers!)

But all is still not what it seems, as multiple personages have hidden pasts and dark secrets that will soon come to light, and there are multiple issues caused by cases of mistaken identity before the whole mess can be sorted.   In the end, Poirot will be triumphant, Hastings will be in love, and the real culprits either caught or on the run.

All in all, this is a very satisfying mystery, with enough twists and turns to satisfy the most diehard fan.  The Murder on the Links shows why Dame Christie is still the queen of mystery a century later.  While the reader must understand that the action takes place in the 1920s and so make allowances for different manners, clothing styles and vocabulary; the crimes are really timeless and could easily have occurred in a more modern setting.   I give this book five stars and recommend it to readers of mystery everywhere.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Murder at the Vicarage

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The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple, #1) by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review

The Murder at the Vicarage is the first of the Miss Marple books, a series featuring one of author Agatha Christie’s “detectives.”   However, in this novel most of the actual investigative work is not done by the detective in question.  The case involves a murder that takes place at a Vicarage in the small English town of St. Mary Mead, but most of the actual legwork is done by the Vicar himself, Leonard Clement, with assistance of the local doctor, and only marginally the local constable and his superiors. 

The “detective,” Miss Marple, is only mentioned briefly here and there, and appears in the book at only a few points to point out theories and possible suspects until half-way through the story, and then only takes a more prominent role in the final chapters. 

While she takes the role of “armchair detective” to a whole new level, Miss Marple does have some amazing insights gathered from her “hobby” of observing people.  She presents her views in a way that is far less invasive or potentially offensive than some of her fictional male counterparts; she actually keeps up the appearance of a demur, gentle, polite elderly lady while she is lecturing the police on their assumptions and mistakes.

I have long been a fan of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, and have read a number of her stories without a “detective” central character, so this book was quite a surprise for me.  Having read a number of Christie’s works featuring Hercule Poirot and The Beresfords, I was at first dismayed to realize how little the series heroine was featured in this story. 

I am uncertain about how much I like this particular detective.  Since this was the first book I have read of the Miss Marple series, I don’t know what to expect from further stories.  I decided to just enjoy the story, which has the usual plethora of twists and turns, false blinds and potential murderers; even if the foot work is done mostly by a bored Vicar who is actually an engaging character in his own right.

 However, the more I think about it perhaps that was the author’s plan all along?  Christie certainly does not present Miss Marple in the same manner she does her other protagonists, but perhaps that is by design?  She does appear to be setting Marple up for a more prominent role that is not apparent here but may be built upon later.  I’m sure that I will give in to curiosity and check out another story in the collection at some point. 

Meanwhile, this book is an engaging mystery, with plenty of action to charm the fans of English mystery stories, and even a strong, independent female detective in the background to appeal to readers.  I give this book four stars.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Secret of Chimneys

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The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review  

This novel begins by setting the scene for a misadventure between two comrades who may or may not be of suspicious character and nature, one whose true identity is not revealed until the very end of the story.

This book, referred to as the first in the Superintendent Battle series, does not contain a plot revolving around one of the author’s famed illustrious detectives.   Rather, Superintendent Battle, while a character in the story, takes more of a minor or secondary role, while the main protagonist is at once a suspect and the chief, if unofficial, investigator of events.

The famous estate of Chimneys, a landmark and tourist destination of England, is a seat of nobility and the location of historic meetings between government officials of various countries, as well as the site of a murder and the rumored repository of a stolen treasure.  When Anthony Cade, posing as his friend Jimmy McGrath, is invited there in an attempt to intercept a manuscript he has been charged with delivering to a publisher, he declines due to prior obligation.

However, Anthony soon finds himself on the way to the country estate anyway as coincidence or circumstance brings him to the aid of an English beauty, whose honor is questioned by some inflammatory documents Jimmy also imparted to him.  The following day brings forth an attempted burglary and multiple homicides, one of which Anthony helps conceal until the proper time comes for confession.

Who actually is the murderer/murderers? And how are the pending publication of a noble’s memoirs, the murder of the heir of a deposed monarch, and a missing diamond tied together?  Also, how many princes are actually present at Chimneys, and what is the real identity of the mysterious Anthony Cade, whose history is buried between Canada and the Congo?

Dame Christie keeps the reader guessing until the very last in this classic whodunit story.  Be very sure, dear reader, who you trust, because almost no character is actually whom they seem at first appearance.

I award this story five stars.  While it is not my favorite of all Christie’s books I have read, it is still an absorbing story with enough twists and turns to satisfy any mystery fan.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Hallowe’en Party

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Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

Hallowe’en Party (Hercule Poirot #39)
by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review

I realize it is a little past the season for stories that revolve around Halloween parties, but I didn’t have time to get to this book before Halloween this year and I didn’t feel obligated to wait another year before I read it.  This Agatha Christie classic, the 39th book in her repertoire, features the famous Hercule Poirot who is called in after a disturbing murder at said party, which takes place in the opening chapters.

Poirot’s old friend, Ariadne Oliver, who appears earlier in Dead Man’s Folly, appeals to Poirot for help when a young girl is murdered at the party she is attending.  Mrs. Oliver is a famous mystery author, and I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the character was a bit of an author self-insert for Dame Christie as she talked theories of the case with the detective, and even did a bit of interrogation on her own.

Joyce Reynolds, a thirteen year old girl who is universally regarded as a compulsive liar, claims to have witnessed a murder in the past.  She is brushed off by her audience, a group of party-preppers as well as her peer group, as having simply made a bid for attention.  However, things take a nasty turn when she is found dead, drowned in the bucket using for bobbing for apples at the end of the festivities.

Numerous suspects are soon identified, including a couple of local school teachers, a couple of presumed forgers, now supposedly dead or missing, and a landscape gardener who lives in the garden he created for a local rich widow, whose disputed will following her death two years earlier provides the first leads in the case.

 The party that sets the scene is at the home of Rowena Drake, the niece of the late Mrs. Llewllyn-Smythe, who stood to benefit in Llewellyn-Smythe’s will before the last codicil (amendment) was uncovered.  She is also found to have ties to the gardener, and one of the perceived forgers who was also the late lady’s au pair.  However, Mrs. Drake is a respected member of society; a leader of charity groups; and her daughter was the best friend of the late Joyce Reynolds.  What secrets does she really hold?  It takes the shock of another murder before she is ready to reveal what she knows.

Another old friend, the now-retired Superintendent Spence, mentioned in Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, also makes an appearance, and so this book, near the end of the series and presumably Poirot’s career, feels almost like a reunion as our intrepid detective solves the case, uncovers the true murderer, as well as his relationships to the victims, and saves the life of another.

I really enjoyed this story, with all its twists and turns, sorted affairs, and intrigue that abounds in what is reputed to be a quiet, respectable community.  Christie turns everything on its head, and provides a number of false leads, leaving the reader in suspense about the culprit to the very end.  I give this book five stars, and recommend it to any fan of mystery fiction.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : And Then There Were None

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And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review 

Ten strangers from different walks of life meet as they embark for an island off the coast of the English shore, the invited guests and newly hired staff for the mysterious owners.  These ten people soon realize none of them have actually ever met their hosts/employers, just as a storm strands them there, with no way to communicate with the mainland.  Then, the bodies start piling up, as the unwitting residents realize a murderer walks among them.

This beloved Agatha Christie story, originally published in 1939, has also been published under the title, Ten Little Indians, and has been produced, and imitated, multiple times as movies, plays, television shows, and has served as inspiration for other author’s works.  In some versions the guests are stranded on a snowy mountain that can only be reached by cable car, but much of the plot remains the same.

Dame Christie’s plot draws on an old children’s poem, which the murderer, unknown to the end, utilizes as both inspiration and methodology.  The poem, alternately called “Ten Little Indians” or “Ten Little Soldiers,” depending on the version, details grisly ways these unfortunates decrease in number until all have met their fate.

It takes several deaths for the remaining party to realize that their numbers are dwindling, in accordance with the rhyme.  However, they still have difficulty reconciling how the killer can perform these outrageous deeds, unseen and unknown, especially on an isolated island.  Wittier guests realize that the murderer must have set things up ahead of time, but repeated searches of the island prove futile as the body count rises, and the survivors grow more and more suspicious of each other.

What the “tribunal,” presided over by Justice Wargrave, a retired judge, determines is, in accordance with a recorded message left for the party on the first night, each of the guests has participated in a wrongful death or murder, but has escaped justice in some manner.  Each victim first denies and then admits the truth, if only in their own mind, before their demise.

Still, the reader is left wondering clear to the end of the story as to the actual identity of the murderer, as several good suspects fall prey to the unseen killer.  In fact, Christie only reveals the actual murderer after the end of the story, in a document attached to the end, like an afterward, which reveals the murderer’s thoughts and actions in his/her own words.

It is not surprising that this story is one of the best-selling books of all times, and is a tribute to the author is work is so absorbing and timeless.

I give this book five stars, and recommend it to all fans of mystery, crime, and to any who have ever watched a movie or television production based on Agatha Christie’s work.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Death in the Clouds

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Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

Death in the Clouds (Hercule Poirot, #12)by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review 

When I did a post last week about the celebrated author Agatha Christie I had not yet had the leisure to finish reading this lesser-known entry in her vast body of work.

 To be honest, when I read the first couple of chapters, I was afraid that this would be a more modern retelling of The Murder on the Orient Express, one of my favorites, as it entails a murder committed on an airplane mid-flight in a cabin full of people.  Luckily, the superficial resemblance to that other story ended quickly, as Hercule Poirot, the private detective, is both a witness, and (to some) a possible suspect in the case!

The victim is a “money-lender” a famed character in Paris who uses blackmail material as collateral for her loans.  Who out of the passengers would benefit from her death?  The case is complicated when the victim’s staff, following her pre-stated instructions, burns all the evidence of her clients’ misdeeds.

Poirot, assisted by detectives in both France and England, interviews witnesses and seeks clues that involve passengers from numerous walks of life, with more than a couple of hints of new romance blossoming out of the tragic event on the otherwise routine flight from Paris to London.

As usual, Christie wove a tale with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, with a pace just fast enough to maintain interest but not get the reader helplessly lost. I was actually able to anticipate one or two small clues before they were revealed, but the major villain was still a complete surprise. 

The uniqueness of the methodology of the murderer was notable; as a blow-dart gun, a wasp and snake poison were, and still are, unusual elements in a murder of any sort, especially on a luxury flight.  Perhaps this is why the writers of Doctor Who chose to utilize this story, among others, when they did an episode that featured the real-life disappearance of the author among mysterious circumstances.

Overall, a very good story, and as usual, a stand-alone, so new readers to the author will not be lost.  I have to give this one five stars for originality, plot, well-developed major and secondary characters, and a slightly humorous but absorbing murder case.

100 Years of Stories-Agatha Christie

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Who doesn’t love a great mystery? This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of the “Queen of Mystery’s” first novel, A Mysterious Affair at Styles, which I reviewed last year (see my review here. ) While the bestselling author of all time is no longer with us, her stories survive and even thrive, as reprints, as well as inspirations for movies and televison shows.

Even those who have never read her novels have most likely heard of The Murder on the Orient Express, which was last made into a movie in 2017, and the official author’s website contains a listing of many current and classic productions based on her amazing work.

Born in England in 1890, the daughter of an English mother and an American father, the young Agatha Miller was an avid reader who created imaginary characters and wrote poetry even as a child. By age eighteen she was writing short stories, but did not begin writing detective fiction until World War I, when her husband, Archie Christie, was posted to the War Office in London.

In the 1920s she became a sensational news story for her personal life as she disappeared for several days soon after Archie asked for a divorce. When she was later found, she claimed no knowledge of where she’d been or even her identity for a time. She eventually recovered but that event was never successfully explained, though much has been speculated. That particular time in her life was even made into an episode of the BBC show Dr. Who, which features the author and includes elements form several of her books.

The late authoress was known for writing intriguing characters, including a number of heroic and intelligent female detectives and adventuresses, most notably Miss Marple and Tuppence Beresford.

I myself have read numerous of her books, and have reviewed several of them on my Goodreads site.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Mysterious Affair at Styles

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The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1) by

Agatha Christie
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Amy Caudill‘s review

From the mind of the great Agatha Christie sprang one of her most intriguing characters-Belgian detective Inspector Hercule Poirot.  His exploits have been chronicled, not only in the author’s books, but also in numerous movies and television specials.  In more than one episode, the popular show Doctor Who pays homage to the iconic writer, including a “behind the scenes” of Dame Agatha’s process for this particular novel.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles opens as Poirot’s Watson, Hastings, is staying with old friends while he recovers from injuries suffered fighting in World War I.  He has not seen Poirot in a number of years, but he is suddenly on the scene when Hasting’s host at the estate of Styles is murdered under strange circumstances.

A number of doors locked from the inside, a house full of potential suspects, several different possible methods for administering poison to the victim, and questionable identities of multiple personages make for a case that is beyond the local constabulary, so Poirot is soon on the scene.

While Hastings privately worries that age and time have cost Poirot his sharp faculties, the detective begins his investigation, leaving Hastings (and everyone else) wondering what clues he has discovered but is reluctant to share.  The story ends with a typical confrontation that unites all suspects, and those previously not suspected, in a scene where Poirot reveals all.

Agatha Christie’s body of work in general and in this novel in particular are considered classics because her stories are ageless.  While technology and society move forward, the mysteries she pens still appeal to readers because she weaves so many details, false blinds, and seemingly contradictory plot points into her work that are perfectly explained in the end.

I recommend this book to any lover of mysteries, and award it five stars for its originality, and depth of intrigue.