A Few Great Christie Novels
These in my opinion (and having discussed some of these with others) are some of the best and greatest of Agatha Christie's novels which do not star any of the "main" or recurring characters in Christie canon (ie: Poirot, Marple, Race, Quin, etc.).
Christie has proven that she can write excellent stories not featuring these characters (gasp!). For example, some of them are And Then There Were None and Why Didn't They Ask Evans?. Not only that, but her short stories are incredible and unforgettable. For instance, Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories deals with murder and the supernatural while The Golden Ball and Other Stories contains some supernatural stories and others of just "normalcy" (it doesn't always have to be about crime, you know!).
Just click on a title to immediate jump to it:
And Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians)
And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians
By far the most chilling and scariest book of Christie (it actually made me shiver while reading it) was Ten Little Indians, also published as And Then There Were None. This is one of my favorite books because of the plot (although some critics think it's ludicrous): 10 people guilty of murder (but never tried) are invited as houseguests on Indian Island, off the coast of Devon. There, systematically one by one, they die: they must pay for the murders they've committed in the past! That's the demented logic behind the murderer, his or her plan meted out to fulfill justice. Their deaths and secrets actually haunt you. As the novel progresses, thoughts of each of the 10 are revealed to the reader; the reader is told of each of their past histories and their secrets. One of the 10 surely must be the murderer: when there is no one left on the island, the reader has run out of suspects. Who is it then? What kind of mind must it be to create such a plan? Only one person is guilty: Agatha Christie. She truly had surpassed herself on this one. This is an example of the genius of Christie as one of the best plot creators of all time. This novel is the epitome of the Golden Age of mystery novels. I really need to say one more thing I've been dying to say: I know Poirot could've solved the murder if given the chance to. It's psychological, really.
Death Comes As the End
Up next is a novel similar in multiple deaths as in Ten Little Indians, and that novel is Death Comes As the End. Set in Egypt, 4,000 years ago, it is a domestic murder mystery that begins when the temple priest Imhotep brings home a young concubine. Nofret, the concubine, is left behind and anger and hatred start brewing. Before Imhotep returns to his family again, Nofret is murdered. Imhotep threatens his sons' inheritance and accuses the entire family of murdering Nofret. Little by little, members of the family start dying. As the novel continues, the reader's idea of the murderer changes as suspects die themselves. By the end, six members of the family will have died. The interesting thing of this novel is that Christie can show us that she can put a domestic murder anywhere and anytime. The plot is a simple one this time, but it's handled carefully with plenty of suspense, motives, and methods of murder. Indeed, evil exists among families in ancient Egypt, too.
Ordeal by Innocence
A story of a different change of pace is Ordeal by Innocence (Christie had said that this was one of her favorite books). It's a change of pace because of the situation: the murder was a year ago, the accused had died in prison, and the whole basis of the plot was an unusual one (amnesia). The story starts with a geophysicist who visits a family and tells them that their brother, who had died in prison, did not murder his mother. This is a year after the murder, because Dr. Calgary--the geophysicist--had amnesia and couldn't clear the alibi of the accused because he was a witness. This new news to the family is unsettling: if the brother didn't kill his own mother, who did? Something that disturbs Calgary is that the family doesn't care who did! Suspicions and fear enter the household, which leads to another murder. This reveals another plot of fortune hunting and the deceit that can occur in schemes. Novel is well written, but clues are sparse at first, but this is one of the most psychological (there's that word again) stories of Agatha Christie.
The Sittaford Mystery
Let's start off with a nice and quick read of The Sittaford Mystery. The narration is top-notch and very smooth. The story is classic Christie from the 1930s and is the first to feature the supernatural in her novels. Captain Trevelyan is murdered across town and through a terrible blizzard at the same time that his death is announced through a s�ance at a dinner party. That spooks everyone out and the hostess forbids a s�ance in the future. His best friend, Burnaby, is upset at this joke and travels to the Captain's place to find him--dead. It is up to Burnaby the friend, a young reporter named Enderby, and a young lass named Emily to find the killer. Emily Trefusis is very much concerned in the murder since her arrested fianc� is the nephew of the dead man. She sets out to clear his name by doing anything and everything in her power to succeed. Not everything is what is seems at Sittaford, the place of the dinner/s�ance. The hostess (Mrs. Willett) is not very communicative with investigators and several people in the neighborhood are secretive. The characters are excellently written and presented by Christie and the murderer is a classic Christie blueprint.
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
The next excellent read is Why Didn't They Ask Evans? The two heroes (Bobby and Frankie) of this story are a lot like the Beresford couple. Why Christie didn't continue with this new couple beats me. Frankie is an impetuous young lady with guts and Bobby is a smart young man who loves disguises. Bobby finds a dying man who dies with a cryptic question: "Why didn't they ask Evans?" This starts Bobby and Frankie into fantastic adventures: a chase for an unknown murderer, a near-death poisoning for Bobby, multiple disguises for Bobby and Frankie, a plot to do with mistaken identity, a subplot of a mental hospital and a lunatic patient, a scheme of faking a will, a murder in a locked room, a scheme with impersonations, and a thriving drug business. Wow! The plot is by far one of the best of Christie's. Absolutely a must read for anyone new to Agatha Christie!
A Few Great Collections (of short stories)
As it has already been noticed, there are many short story collections. The Hound of Death and Other Stories contains stories of the supernatural, whereas The Listerdale Mystery has short stories of crime or romance, with lighthearted humor in the romance stories.
Only published in the U.S., Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories contains stories from The Hound of Death and The Listerdale Mystery, stories already published in England. Three Blind Mice and Other Stories is a wonderful collection because of the detectives it features: Poirot, Marple, and Satterthwaite. Two of the nine stories have not been published in England, and this collection was again only published in America. Three Blind Mice is the short story from which The Mousetrap (the famous play of Christie's) was adapted.
The Golden Ball and Other Stories is an excellent collection of 15 stories from these previous volumes already mentioned above. There are only two stories not previously published; this collection was published in the U.S. only.
© 2000-2005, J. D. Hobbs
