HarperCollins Towards Zero

I am still re discovering a lot of Christie's non Poirot.Marple books, and thoroughly enjoying them. This, whilst a bit meandering and now very dated, is still a thundering good read, with the denoument, for me, kept a deep secret (though I suspect many might guess, particularly if you are reasonably familiar with her labyrinthine plots). Great fun fo crime novel lovers, and she still ranks as one of THE great writers of the 20the Century - Yes she does!

This book has been described as one of Dame Agatha';s best, but I am still a big fan of "The ABC Murders and "Murder is Easy". I found it very easy to read and it was nice to meet someone other that Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple or the Beresfords, the astute Superintendant Battle.Unfortunately there was a page missing from my copy quite near the beginning so I had to obtain another elsewhere - that is how much I was enjoying it.Classic Christie; Elderly invalid is murdered in isolated country house on the clifftop. No shortage or red herrings and gay young things, jolly good sporting types and colonials. I will give no more of the plot and spoil it for the reader.A useful observation from Dame Agatha is that murder is not the start of a mystery, but the culmination of a motive. Does that make sense? That is the thread which runs through this enjoyable book.Certainly it is amongst her best written works, but I was rather disappointed in the ending. I felt is was rather rushed.

I loved this book - it deserves to be more famous. The characters of Audrey and Nevile Strange, Mr Treves and Camilla Tressilian are excellent, and the setting is atmospheric and dramatic. I thought I'd been clever and guessed the murderer for once - but I was wrong! I also liked the insights into Superintendent Battle's personality and family life. In the 2007 film version - which I also enjoyed and which successfully maintained the "feel" of the book despite introducing Miss Marple into the story - the character of Angus MacWhirter was cut out, which I actually felt didn't detract from the story, as he seemed rather subsidiary to the tale. Altogether, though, I thought this was an ingenious story and a riveting read!

Not your typical Christie and definitely more difficult to work out what is going on then the Poirot or Miss Marple stories. The characters are well defined and there are a few very subtle red herrings along the way. I believe this has been filmed at some point years ago, and although I had a slight recollection of it as I got about a quarter of the way in, it didn't spoil my enjoyment as I find the two genres totally separate experiences. If you like a lot of blood and gore this isn't for you at all, but as a comfortable and interesting who-dun-it this story hits the mark.

A rather straightforward plot,with the story slowly building up to the second murder(while the first wasn't readily recognised as such),and ending with a rather sharp and unexpected twist.Altogether a good read,with Superinetndent Battle taking over from Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot!