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Non-Series Novels & Stories

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

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Warning: These discussions may contain spoilers!

Endless Night

Jemma 25 Sep 09 at 4 p.m. GMT

Michael Rogers falls in love, but with a piece of land - Gipsy's Acre - not a girl. When he then finds the right girl, Ellie, and they marry and commission renowned architect Rudolf Santonix to build a wonderful house on the land, life seems very sweet. However the land seems to be under a curse, and accidents begin to happen. Michael is not comfortable with the fact that Ellie's long time friend Greta is living with them and would happily be rid of her. But when Ellie dies things begin to unfurl for Michael. 

This is not the usual Christie murder mystery. For one thing it has no investigators and the killer is caught more through bad luck than anything else. Is Christie successful in her portrait of a psychotic killer? Does she play fair with the clues she gives, keeping some back until near the end of story?

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42 replies

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Swati_GGN_India 20 Jan 12 at 2:25 p.m. GMT

One of my Favorites. I was stunned by the ending once I finished it. The way Christie has given the twists and that too when Michael himself is the narrator of the story. While you continue guessing who the murderer is throught the novel, it swiftly twists to a thrilling and surprising ending. I simply love this one and would recommend it to all those who have not read it yet.

Mr_Battle_Brent 01 Sep 11 at 8:30 a.m. GMT

Thank you.

GKCfan 30 Aug 11 at 8:13 p.m. GMT

After her divorce, Cora takes the name "van Stuyvesant."  Note that "van" is spelled with a lowercase "v."

Mr_Battle_Brent 30 Aug 11 at 12:42 p.m. GMT

Excuse me,what is Cora's surname?

ErkutSoyer 16 Jul 11 at 7:23 p.m. GMT

There isn't a detective in this book but it is don't problem for me.Am I buy it?Is Endless Night excited and good?

Rahat 18 Jun 11 at 11:46 a.m. GMT

Nofret This is quite a brilliant review! I also have this as one of my top 5 AC novels.

This is definitely one of my Top Five!

How does she do it? As the Americans say "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!" Dame Agatha got away with this plot trick in The murder of Roger Ackroyd", and when she repeats it she has us all fooled again! I can still remember the disbelief I felt when Michael announced he was going to marry Greta, let alone the final revelation!

Yet all the defects of Michael's character are clearly set out - a drifter, a wastrel, unable to hold a job down, but with a craving for the trappings of extreme wealth. His type is even more recognisable in the 21st century than when this book was written.

I think a careful reading of the story would provide more clues - for example when Michael discovers Ellie's body Christie tells us what he says, not what he is thinking.

In the same vein  ""Greta again!"  I said, allowing the usual exasperation to creep into my voice".

This is not only a brilliant whodunit, but an insightful study of psychosis and a superb novel in its own right.

Rahat 18 Jun 11 at 11:36 a.m. GMT

This is a heated one. There are always views from opposite sides of the spectrum on this one. Reading all your  reviews proves this point once again. I'm going to say that this was one of AC's best works. A nasty ending, yes I'm not going to use that other word as that alone can be the spoiler. So yeah, let's call it a very nasty ending. So that level of nastiness brings out so many different  emotions in the reader that this has to be considered as an AC classic. Masterclass writing, which is actually a pretty common feature with AC and this book is a prime example of her story telling abilities. Overall, a fantastic read which will forever leave you with a sense of melancholy. A bit too bland and one sided in some people's minds, but it's unforgettable in my opininon. 5 stars!

iclaudipuss 29 Mar 11 at 2:43 a.m. GMT

I didn't like the book very much, I must say, because I guessed that Michael was the murderer, and it wasn't a surprise to me that he and Greta were already involved with each other and had planned and executed (literally) the demise of Ellie. And that, along with my own experience of severe mental illness, which meant that I found michael's unravelling at the end, after years of being able to sustain a normality, a little hard to swallow. I realize that AC tried to get round this by informing us that M's mother and Santonix had been aware of the fact that M was a bit different, in that they saw his potential for evil, but again, that doesn't mean that he is unbalanced. I found the Ellie hallucination odd in that it was unallied to any sense of remorse or real guilt on his part, and very much out of character in a man who sees only his own needs and desires. And then the killing of Greta seems too sudden and too psychotic for a man so much in control of himself. Having said that, I acknowledge that most readers approaching the novel will not have the lifetime of living with psychotic behaviour that I have, and I'm sure that they will, therefore, be much more able to accept the general premise and then the denouement, complete with Michael's descent into some form of insanity.

Crikey, I've rambled on for longer than I planned, sorry about that, and hope you don't mind.   

I've really enjoyed reading all your posts on the forum and am glad I decided to join.

iclaudipuss 29 Mar 11 at 2:41 a.m. GMT

Hi. New to forum so bear with me..

I have to say with reference to this novel that I agree with puffinjill about Michael being psychopathic rather than psychotic. I speak with some experience as my brother sustained brain damage following a hit and run when he was young. His injury led to severe mental illness, and a lifetime of psychotic episodes, and he, along with the other people similarly affected by psychosis I've interacted with over the years, are not able to sustain a meaningful level of 'normality', and their general demeanour and behaviour, along with the things they say, tend to cause wariness in people around them, if not outright fear, and it would be most unlikely that they would prove popular and/or sexually appealing to many people. I mention this because it is stated in the book by Michael and others, that he has no problems when it comes to attracting partners, and is described as a 'sexy' man with a strong 'sex appeal', and this is quite likely to be the case in someone with the intense self-interest and vanity, allied with charm that is often a part of the psychological make-up of a psychopath, but I can't imagine that it would be found in someone with psychotic illness.

I think Michael fits perfectly the pattern of a psychopath: He is self-obsessed and overly concerned with his own desires and needs; he appears to have a history of using people in order to fulfil his wants; he dislikes being around a person who 'knows' his true self and actively goes out of his way to avoid his Mother who, far from flattering his personal vanity, criticises it along with the choices he makes; he is strongly attracted to someone who mirrors his selfishness and manipulative ways, and in this, it is almost as if Greta is the female equivalent of himself; he has no problem with disposing of people who have served their purpose, even if, as in the case of Ellie, he has enjoyed their time together.

NightRayDuck 12 Oct 10 at 5:28 a.m. GMT

SPOILERS!!

Personally, I rather appreciated the way that the first-person narrator, Michael Rogers, is somewhat confused and distraught by the time he comes to set down the events as he remembers them... Reading through the places where he says that it's hard to get things clear in his mind, and so on, and that only much, much later he started appreciating Ellie's sweet personality... it gave me very natural places to suspect that Michael is neither innocent of whatever tragedy he's about to tell the readers, nor completely sane.

Pongo 16 Sep 10 at 2:40 a.m. GMT

SPOILERS!!

Again, I think it is great that there is a lot of discussion on this great book!

My opinion is that the book is not really different from the rest of AC'S work.  Rather, Endless Night feels like a summation, or perhaps a culmination of many of the themes she has explored in past works.  For example, the theme of marital fidelity played out to the extreme, the supernatural being used as a smokescreen, the line between evil and insanity, natural forces that seek the restoration of justice and order, etc. 

At the same time, Endless Night feels like a progression in AC's work.  I keep coming back to that OTHER AC BOOK, the famous one where the same plot device is used (you know the one I mean!!).  Anyway, as compared with THAT book, Enless Night feels more natural and more organic, that AC has progressed in her writing to being able to write in such a plot device without it feeling "forced" or "contrived".  

Puffinjill 13 Sep 10 at 3:13 p.m. GMT

SPOILERS!!!

I have to say that I don't particularly like Endless Night myself. I admire it and AC's ingenuity at writing something so different from the majority of her work. It's clever and chilling but I find it a difficult - or perhaps I should say uncomfortable - book to read and enjoy. She really manages to get under the skin of Michael and make him, and his fatalistic journey towards tragedy and death, uncannily real. Perhaps that says more about me than it does this book!! Strangely, it works better for me as an audio book and I think that is due to the subtle way Hugh Fraser's understated reading draws me in. I'm fascinated by how this book divides opinion much more (or so it seems) than any other AC book and completely intrigued as to how AC, at an advanced age and late in her career, can still surprise and shock us all.

Pongo 13 Sep 10 at 8:05 a.m. GMT

to CG: You are a brave one indeed!  I am very impressed, though I wonder what the rooster was doing at 2 am! 

Anyway, I don't see any arguments going on here at all, just some friendly debate, which is very good because it suggests that, at the very least, Endless Night is a book that engenders debate!    The posts have all been excellent and thought-provoking, and above all friendly and courteous to others.  Let's keep this going!!! 

xrysoula 12 Sep 10 at 7:27 p.m. GMT

That 's exactly what we 're saying, that there 's nothing wrong with it, MissQuin!

christie_greece 12 Sep 10 at 9:50 a.m. GMT

Pongo

I totally respect anyone saying that this book is not entirely successful. Completely fair! But, I do suggest re reading it, and especially pacing yor read such that you get to the final few chapters at 2am on a stormy night!!!

I was reading the final chapters at 2 am and I heard rooster!!!!I was terrified!!It's not normal to hear a rooster at 2 am!!!!!

MissQuin 11 Sep 10 at 8:31 p.m. GMT

 I don't see any arguments here. Heisei just said he didn't like the book and he has the right to say that, and I agreed. What's wrong with that?!

xrysoula 11 Sep 10 at 5:27 p.m. GMT

That goes without saying, my friends. It 's totally ridiculous to turn on someone in a forum, for expressing a different point of view! Exchanging thoughts and views is the whole meaning of it, isn 't it? So, if some people cannot even take into consideration others' opinions, they 'd better delete their account here until they learn how to disagree POLITELY. 

Pongo 10 Sep 10 at 10:09 a.m. GMT

I totally respect anyone saying that this book is not entirely successful. Completely fair! But, I do suggest re reading it, and especially pacing yor read such that you get to the final few chapters at 2am on a stormy night!!!

MissQuin 09 Sep 10 at 6:23 p.m. GMT

SPOILERS:!!! I didn't like this book either. But I do respect it, but found it deeply unsettling. If I had read it for the first time now, I might not feel the same I'm more used to suspense. I was too imature and nervy when I read it!

But yes, I did suspect Micheal. I give huge credit to AC for the way she wrote about a convincingly disturbed young man, when she may have been aged between late 70's 80's.

Although there's other books as suspensful (is that a word?) this one feels different. I don't think any other AC murderers thoughts have been shown in as much depth. The part where he imagines Ellie's ghost, it really made me shiver.

I love the title though, it's stayed with me and inspired me to look into William Blake's works.

HeiseiHolmes 09 Sep 10 at 5:44 p.m. GMT

Will everyone turn on me if I say "I didn't really like this book so much"? I kind of saw the ending coming, and it was just an extended version of a Miss Marple short story, which I had read beforehand. It was, of course, written incredibly well, very creepy, etc... BUT I just don't get why it didn't work well with me...

It's kind of sad. I want to like the book, but it's not working for me... >___<