Book Club

Non-Series Novels & Stories

For those of you wanting to discuss Agatha Christie's standalone books, such as And Then There Were None. 

Beware spoilers and remember we'll be able to add the most insightful comments to the stories section. 

If you can't find your favourite one, don't worry, we'll be adding them in the coming weeks.

Warning: These discussions may contain spoilers!

Crooked House

Jemma 25 Sep 09 at 3:57 p.m. GMT

Aristide Leonides was an enormously weathly man but was that reason enough for one of the members of his family to kill him? His grand-daughter Sophia is engaged to Charles Hayward, son of the Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard, and Charles is able to get inside the crooked country house to help with the investigation. Charles observes that the family don't really seem to like each other very much and there are many arguments and he wonders what effect this has on the two children, Josephine and Eustace? And, there is also the outsider, the tutor Laurence Brown, to consider. 

The ending of this story is quite unlike any other Christie story in one major respect. Did she play by the rules in this case? Was it a natural conclusion to the story or just done for effect? Christie was often quoted as saying this was one of her favourite stories. Was she right to think so?

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Puffinjill 11 Oct 09 at 8:54 a.m. GMT

I remember reading that Agatha Christie considered this one of her most 'satifying' novels.I assume from that she considered it to be a novel that worked well, created the right atmoshere, contained a good assortment of suspects and then drew to an unusual and unsuspecting finale. It's complete unto itself, one of a kind. I think all of that is true for me too. I think her non-series books are often looked down on by some as they see the fact that there is no recognisable main character a handicap, a reason not to become engaged with the plot.

Having a Poirot or Marple somewhere within the pages gives an entree into the book. "Ah", we say, "I've been here before" and we are more willing to pick up the book and read as we already identify with it and what it might bring us. Non-series books don't have this peg to hang their hat from. They have to sell themselves to us once and do it well. And Crooked House does that. It creates its world well, again by having the novel narrated in the first person, we are caught up, confused and then genuinely shocked by the conclusion. Is it fair? I think so. This is a true touch of grim reality, of how awful some things can be. It is an uncomfortable conclusion for the reader and that's perceptive of AC.

I've rambled again and not touched on a single topic Jemma put forward! Sorry!

aquaflute 31 Jan 10 at 10:50 p.m. GMT

I absolutely love this book! The Leonides family is one of the most interesting families that AC has written. The characters are so very diverse. And the concept of having a big family together because the old man loves it kind of resembles the family of my own! But I think there is a weak point in the book that is the narrator or main character. He really was just there to tell the story. He played little to no significance after all. I absolutely loved the Josephine character. She was so smart and IMO the true sleuth of this story. She was evil and twisted but in the meantime made you really care about her. I have always hoped that she would turn out well after the mistery was solved. Such a poor little demon!

HeiseiHolmes 01 Feb 10 at 4:16 p.m. GMT

The ending really plays with your sense of justice, right? It sounds like an essay question for my English class. Maybe I should do this next year...

cameronjhw 17 Feb 10 at 8:44 p.m. GMT

I love this book. I was completely surprised by the ending. I liked the characters such as Eustace, Sophia, Charles, and Josephine. I however had some sympathy for the killer. I was shocked by their motivation. I wonder if any one of you feel that we should feel sorry for the murderer. I would be very interested in your opinions. Also I was wondering when Sophia talked about the different types of ruthlessness in the family she mentioned Philip, Roger, Clemency, and Magda and we learn of the killer's ruthlessness. I wanted to know if you think Edith, Eustace, Brenda, Sophia, and even Laurence Brown posess some form of ruthlessness and if so what could it be. I would be very interested in anyone's answer.

HeiseiHolmes 20 Feb 10 at 10:39 p.m. GMT

I feel sorry for the killer, as I think she's had a terrible childhood. I think at one point in the book her mother calls her "My funny ugly baby", which seems to show she never really cared for her.

The interesting thing about this book is that it wasn't written so that a child could be the killer as Ms. Christie thought of several different endings.

cameronjhw 18 Mar 10 at 2:07 p.m. GMT

When Sophia talks about the different kinds of ruthlessness in the family she only mentions her grandfather, grandmother, Philip, Magda, Roger and Clemency and later we learn of Josephine's ruthlessness. What I want to know is do Sophia, Eustace, Edith, Brenda, and Laurence posess a certain kind of ruthlessness and if so what do you think it could be and why? Also since Christie had different endings in mind for this novel who would you chose as the killer. I would be very interested in your response.

cameronjhw 12 May 10 at 4:18 p.m. GMT

This novel is great not only because of the ending and the identity of the killer but what really interests me about this one is that it shows how heredity traits are passed to the young. Also the Leonides family are a very mixed-up bunch of conflicted emotions and personalities. They are sort of like most families today in real life.

Lone_Wolf 12 May 10 at 7:03 p.m. GMT

The ending was indeed a shocker for me when I've read it. The book is also very athmospheric.

It does have a flaw, in that the identity of the murderer wasn't revealed by deduction, though I'm more forgiving of deduction-less solutions when serial detectives (Poirot, Marple) aren't present.

cameronjhw 13 May 10 at 2:53 p.m. GMT

Although the killer's identity was not reveal by deductive methods from detectives like Poirot or Miss Marple or not even the detectives in the novel Charles Hayward, Taverner, and Charles' father although at the end of the novel he suspected who is the killer for some time during the investigation. I think what Christie wanted the reader to do was to go over each family member's character and personality and she sprinkles hints about the killer and throughout the novel it should have been obvious that Josephine did the crimes. Christie mentions her ghoulish interest in detective stories and work, her excitment in having the police arivving and solving the case and also she admits that she hated her grandfather and her nannie. It was left up to the reader to figure it out and to be surprise but the killer's identity and motivations as well as what happens to her and shows us what kind of person she is.

Lone_Wolf 13 May 10 at 5:19 p.m. GMT

True, there's indeed something in thought that Croоked Hоuse has more of a "challenge to the reader" flavor then most of AC's books. And you are right, that while the solution is not revealed by deduction within the novel, it was adequately foreshadowed and a smart reader certainly has a chance of guessing it (compare 4:50 frоm Paddingtоn for an example of a non-deductive solution that feels random and dissapointing). That's why I didn't mind it much, I guess.

Lola_White 25 May 10 at 8:42 p.m. GMT

I, unfortunately had the ending of this book spoiled for me. So, although I missed out on being shocked, I was completely satisfied with Christie's narrative and psychological breakdown of the family.

I think too often, people forget about what an innovative writer Christie was, just because she didn't write in a verbose, Dickensian-like way. But it is novels like this, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Hallowe'en Party that remind me each time what a brave and bold writer she was.

Number3 27 Jun 10 at 2:53 p.m. GMT

I enjoyed this one greatly.  I have a feeling that it was based on a true case, but I might be wrong.

Once you start this one you don't want to put it down. Has anyone ever done a study comparing true crimes and finding a match in Christie's writing?

Mr_west 06 Jul 10 at 10:03 a.m. GMT

i don't know if Christie based this story on a real case and i check but i have not found anything, i think i know why Christie pick this book as her favorite (and so do I) this book has everything for being a great crime novel: the characters, the crime his self, the crime scene realy help to the novel, the crime take place in the house so the suspects can only be the family (which no one had an alibi) 

Littlegirl 02 Sep 10 at 4:10 p.m. GMT

Yes I greatly enjoyed this book also. And I have to admit that it baffled me. I don't think that the books without Poirot and Miss Marple are any better than the ones with them. I think that Agatha Christie is a wonderful writer no matter what she writes.

NightRayDuck 12 Oct 10 at 5:11 a.m. GMT

I agree with Littlegirl. There are some types of stories that simply get told better without some character making a list of clues and doing a grand explanation at the end....

Cameron- about the different ruthlessness in the family; I believe Sophia did mention that great-aunt Edith was a landed gentry type, arrogant, if Edith saw something as bad, then she would not hesitate to remove it? as witnessed by Charles when Edith plucks weeds and then grinds her heels down hard on them.

It's a little difficult to comment on Eustace. I don't feel he's got quite as much "screen time" as the other family members. Personally, I think the way he expects to become the next head of household if granddad's legacy were to be inherited by only one person... but Eustace doesn't care at all, for example, how to keep his little sister from harming other people, a concern that granddad had been working on for years, and had expected Sophia would understand. Then again, Eustace, as a teenager, may simply have been more concerned with himself and less perceptive of others' worries.

Tommy_A_Jones 01 Dec 10 at 4:21 p.m. GMT

I liked Charles, Josephine and the Great-Aunt but I didn't like te others much, the brothers I had no sympathy for, I had some sympathy for Magda as I wonder what her childhood was like, why she has to use others especially her Children like Fellow cast members and Props, I had sympathy for Clemency wanting to get her and her Husband away and I felt sorry for Brenda, everyone wanting her to be Guilty because they suspected she wasn't and it would have made a tidy solution, On balance I didn't like Sophie, I thought she was too harsh in her assessments and I liked Josephine, By The way I didn't feel sorry for the Murderer, I first read it 25 years ago, It gave me a nasty feeling, I like it a bit more now but it wouldn't be one of the first I would reach out for to re-read.

Tommy_A_Jones 02 Dec 10 at 4:52 p.m. GMT

What do you mean HeiselHolmes by he Ending pulls at youer sense of Justice? SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! I can understand why Edith did what she did at the end but I don't Think It Was the right thing to do, It felt as if she was doing it to save the Family Name, I don't think The Murderer would have been treated too harshly.

I personally think that with the exception of The T&T books and Bundle Brnt Books and Why Didn't They Ask Evans, Towards Zero and Pale Horse the books without Poirot and Miss Marple lack structure which Poirot and Miss Marple provide, although They Came To Baghdad and Destination Unknown don't need them perhaps they need a egular Character like Race to help them along. The Mn In The Brown Suit is Fine as it is.

Tommy_A_Jones 03 Dec 10 at 4:59 p.m. GMT

I would like to ammend my last garbled post and say in  my view Destination Unknown and They Came To Baghdad are fine but could be improved perhaps with someone like Race even though I don't like him or perhaps the Colonel who apears in Appointment With Death, and even though it is good Ordeal By Innocence might have been better with Poirot.

skull 07 Mar 11 at 6:36 p.m. GMT

Two novels by Agatha Christie are really badly written in my opinion: Crooked House and Murder is Easy. I mean...the mistery case could be ok, but the way characters are described, with no psychological depth, but just "names" without any interest, and the ridicolous dialogues, definately let these two novels down. Please, excuse my english!

Tommy_A_Jones 06 Apr 11 at 4:38 p.m. GMT

I agree with Murder Is Easy but I found it hard to read due to the fact I found it Dull but I liked Crooked House but I didn't liuke it the First time, psychological Depthness doesn't bother me. Murder is Easy is too much of a slow Burner for me.