Agatha Christie

A young drifter finds more than he bargained for when he agrees to deliver a parcel to an English country house...

The Secret of Chimneys

Sarah Sammis

The Secret of Chimneys: 05/06/05 
The political upheavals of WWI seemed to have inspired a great many popular fiction books in the years before WWII started to gear up. Many of these books take a rather humorous and satirical approach to the machinations of one country to control the flow of events of another country. The Secret of Chimneys is Agatha Christie's contribution to this "genre." 

Ignoring the romantic ending, The Secret of Chimneys is a political satire that pokes fun at the British Empires history of putting in puppet governments with in countries that would benefit British interests. In this case, it's a post Great War eastern European country that needs a new king. Somehow the Chimneys estate cum hotel holds the secret to who the new king will be. Some of the political parody reminded me of the Marx Brother's film Duck Soup but without the dance numbers. 

Another book I'd recommend in this "genre" of political intrigue / comedy, is Alias Jane Smith by Clarence Budington Kelland. Like the other Kelland books I've read, it is the story of a person who has been thrust into an unusual situation and a hostile environment and must use his or her own wits and industry to succeed and survive. In this case, the character is a duchess exiled and penniless in New York during WWII. To survive she must become an interior decorator. In the process she stumbles into a blackmailing ring.

The Secret of Chimneys Agatha Christie - The Secret of Chimneys is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in June 1925 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It introduces the characters of Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent. Agatha Christies The Secret of Chimneys, starring her occasional sleuths Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen Bundle Brent, is a murder mystery-treasure hunt crossover, considered to be one of her best early novels. The plot should be delightful to traditionalists: there are a bunch of people staying at a mansion when one of the guests is murdered! (Apparently, theres a chance it might also be a bit racist, so just a heads up on that front.) It also features the fun-sounding fake-country name Herzoslovakia, which I think is one of the better sounding fake country names in fiction.

Colleen

4 Stars
 
*The engaging and twisty start to another good Agatha Christie series*


It's hard to go wrong with Agatha Christie. With her large body of excellent work, she's a great one to turn to for smart, snappy mysteries. Since I've read many of Christie's most popular books, I've been exploring some of her lesser works. I really didn't know anything about the Inspector Battle series, but I gave it a go.

As with the start of the Miss Marple series, the supposed star, Superintendent Battle, was not actually the center of the story. He came across as more of a side character. And as with Miss Marple, I wonder if he was always intended to have his own series, or if he just got plucked from a popular book and given a run.

The story centers on a young man named Anthony Cade who agrees to do a favor for a friend but quickly finds himself embroiled in murder and mayhem. The Secret of Chimneys combined the typical murder at a manor house with political intrigue, a little love, and an elusive jewel thief. The story was fun and pacey proving yet again why Christie is still the reigning queen of Mystery.


  “I've got a theory that one can always get anything one wants if one will pay the price. And do you know what the price is, nine times out of ten? Compromise. A beastly thing, compromise, but it steals upon you as you near middle age.”

But beneath that seemingly blasé attitude towards obsession with murder, Christie showed her insight into human nature. This may seem like yet another story about upper-class English people murdering each other, but the story has hidden depths. 


  “Men don't want to be brothers - they may someday, but they don't now. My belief in the brotherhood of man died the day I arrived in London last week, when I observed the people standing in a Tube train resolutely refuse to move up and make room for those who entered. You won't turn people into angels by appealing to their better natures just yet awhile - but by judicious force you can coerce them into behaving more or less decently to one another to go on with. I will still believe in the brotherhood of man, but it's not coming yet awhile. Say another ten thousand years or so. It's no good being impatient. Evolution is a slow process.” 

It's hard to say much without giving away the plot, but this was a fun one to read. I did occasionally lose track of who the side characters were, because there certainly were a lot of them. But the story kept me guessing as Christie is wont to do. There was a lot packed in this delightful little story, and it was certainly fun to read while also having enough substance and acumen to give the story some meat on its bones.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 5 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Kirsten Simkiss

I normally really enjoy Agatha Christie's stuff, but I just couldn't get into this one. After eleven days, I've only read 40 pages - so I skimmed the rest of it. Agatha Christie's written better mysteries.

Rose Stanley

Utterly preposterous, enjoyed immensely. Reminiscent of The Moonstone (sans laudanum). 

PS: Glad Bundle and Battle had another story after this (especially Bundle, who doesn't get much to do or say here).

Giulia Pianta

I think every Agatha Christie book just gets a 5 star for me. I love them all too much. I can say this one was not a full 5 starts, it was more on the lower side.

I read this months ago so there is much I don't remember, but I can say it was enjoyable. I definitely prefer her mystery books to the international espionage ones.

I liked all the characters. Anthony Cade was very dashing and smart, and I found Lord Caterham hilarious. I enjoyed Battle too, despite him not being much on the page.
I think that the romance included was a bit redundant, possibly because I never really care for romance when I read a mystery novel.

I found the plot very smart and full of action, and I was surprised by most of the many twists (apart from maybe the last one, which I saw coming).

It was definitely a fun story.

Christine

J. Faller

Sonia Grgas

Melissa Railey

The beautiful woman who once belonged to a ring of international jewel thieves makes known to her former associates the location of certain gems, thereby triggering a number of people to recover them at any cost

Daniel Kilby

Luca Masters

Pelagia

Anna

Haley Murray

Cheri McElroy

Noha Abdelaziz

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realize that the simple favor has placed him in serious danger. As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French SÛretÉ gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret. . . .

The Secret of Chimneys

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