I’ve been rediscovering the unique genius of Agatha Christie books
I recently started reading Agatha Christie again and had forgotten how much I love her brilliant mysteries.
I’d previously read around ten of her more famous books. Some at school and the rest because I came across them in second-hand stores or were on sale on Kindle.
A few months ago, I randomly picked up The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, remembered how enjoyable Christie is, and then moved on to A Murder Is Announced.
Agatha Christie has sold somewhere in the region of a gazillion copies, so I’m hardly uncovering an overlooked literary talent. But a surprising amount of people haven’t read her, and I think everyone should.
Christie’s books are short, easy to read and immediately absorbing. They do not need preamble or a knowledge of others in the series. A body appears, a group of suspicious people gathers, and a detective (or old lady) begins asking questions.
Her genius is that you are also convinced that you can solve it. The clues are in the books.
But as I have found multiple times, you probably won’t.
If you’re looking for something start with, you can try some of the more famous ones, like Murder On The Orient Express, Death On The Nile, or And Then There Were None. But you may have seen the films – in which case, try something else. A good suggestion is the one that inspired this post.
A Murder Is Announced
A Murder Is Announced begins with one of Christie’s best premises. (This is all spoiler free in that I won’t reveal anything that isn’t in the blurb.)
A small advertisement appears in the local newspaper informing readers that a murder will take place at Little Paddocks, a house in the village of Chipping Cleghorn, at 6:30 that evening.
The residents of the village assume it must be some kind of game. Perhaps it is a murder mystery party, although the owner of Little Paddocks knows nothing about it. Curious as to what it is all about, they all invent flimsy reasons to pop round at the appointed time.
Then, at precisely 6:30 pm, the lights go out, someone enters the room with a gun, and a murder takes place.
It is a brilliant setup because it wastes no time and you’re hooked. Christie gathers almost all the important characters into one room, creates an apparently impossible crime and gives each of them something to hide.
Basically, it’s a classic setup for Miss Marple.
Everyone looks suspicious
Miss Marple is Christie’s second most famous detective and I really like her. She appears to be a harmless elderly woman who enjoys knitting, gardening and observing the behaviour of people in small villages. She is polite, frequently underestimated and almost impossible to fool. She’s a great character.
Where Hercule Poirot talks about his little grey cells, Miss Marple tends to remember someone who behaved in a similar way twenty years earlier. It is her understanding of human nature that makes her such a good investigator. She also has the advantage that she is so non-threatening and easy to open up to.
The cast of A Murder Is Announced is particularly good because almost everyone seems slightly suspicious.
There is the owner of Little Paddocks, the no-nonsense Letitia Blacklock, her scatty old friend Dora Bunner, her good-looking young relatives, a feisty foreign cook, a retired Colonel, and several other questionable villagers. All are downright suspicious, and all have secrets.
It’s a great set-up. I am using A Murder is Announced as an example, as I have just read it, but a limited number of disparate suspects is classic Christie.
The genius of Christie is clues are right there
The most enjoyable thing about Agatha Christie is that she generally gives you the clues. It is also kind of annoying, as I always find that I kick myself for not spotting them. I’ve read other detective books where there is no way you could have solved anything, as the crucial info doesn’t appear till the end.
With Christie, the main clues are usually there. You can read the hints and subtle evidence, but either don’t notice, or fail to figure out how they fit in. This gives her books a particularly satisfying quality.
I rarely do. I normally sit down and try to figure it out by starting with who it can’t possibly be and then work from there. It usually turns out to be one of those people it couldn’t possibly be, and even though I know this, I make the same mistake again the next time.
More than cosy mysteries
Agatha Christie’s books are often described as cosy mysteries. That description is not entirely wrong. There are country houses, village gossip, afternoon tea and people discussing murder with surprising calm.
They are comforting books to return to and read, despite the fact they are also full of poisonings, betrayals, blackmail, secret identities and deeply unpleasant families.
Christie’s writing is clear because she does not waste much time. She introduces a character, gives you the details or background you need, and moves on. The simplicity belies the fact that everything you read is carefully constructed.
The books are also much quicker than many modern crime novels. You can read one over a few evenings. Or one day on a beach.
Why you should read the books
Agatha Christie’s stories have been adapted so many times that many people probably feel they already know them. There have been films, television series, radio dramas and stage plays. Miss Marple and Poirot have been played by numerous actors, and some of the stories are now part of popular culture.
The adaptations can be excellent, I’ve watched dozens, but the books offer something different and have their own advantages.
I find that sometimes TV or film versions can accidentally guide you. A camera lingers on an object for no real reason. Or editing tells you that a conversation is important.
On the page, Christie can hide a vital clue in the middle of a perfectly ordinary paragraph about gardening, sandwiches or someone arriving late for dinner and you don’t notice it. Then, two hundred pages later, Miss Marple explains why it mattered and you feel like an idiot. If you want to feel like a detective, the books are often more fun.
A Murder Is Announced is a very good place to begin. I was pleased that I had worked out one of the character’s secrets, and how things may have been done, but I utterly failed to identify the culprit.
I will almost fail again in the next one.
You can check out A Murder Is Announced here. Or if you fancy some Poirot check out The Murder Of Roger Akroyd here.
Or have a look at her other books here. They’re all good.
