Review: And Then There Were None

January 30, 2017January 29, 2017 / rtrube54 / 1 Comment

And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie. New York: Harper Collins, 2011 (first published 1939).

Summary: Ten strangers are invited to an island by a mysterious U.N. Owen, accused by murder, and one by one are murdered following a rhyme found in each of their rooms, Ten Little Soldier Boys.

This is an unusual work by Christie. No Poirot or Miss Marple. One of the most difficult mysteries for Christie to write. A book that went under several other titles before its current one — Ten Little Indians, Ten Little N****** (the “N” word, it always was published under the current title in the U.S. because of the racial offensiveness of the other titles).

Ten people unknown to each other are invited to an island getaway on Soldier Island by a mysterious U. N. Owen, who is absent from the proceedings but has provided comfortable accommodations and good food.

In each room, there was a children’s poem, “Ten Little Soldier Boys”:

Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Soldier Boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Soldier Boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.

A dinner is laid out for them on a table with ten little crystal soldiers down the middle. After dinner, they suddenly hear a voice which proceeds to charge each of the guests with murders of the sort that would never come to trial–a death after a medical operation, a child drowning, and so forth. The voice was from a recording that Rogers, the butler had been instructed to play after dinner. All present deny the charges. Then Marston, the reckless young man who had killed two children driving, chokes on his drink and falls dead. It was later determined he died of cyanide poisoning.

He is followed the next morning by cook/housekeeper Mrs. Rogers, who does not waken from her sleep, dying of a chloral hydrate overdose. Later that day, General John Gordon Macarthur, who had sent an underling, who had had an affair with his wife, to his death in battle, is bludgeoned to death sitting on the shore.

The deaths are following the nursery rhyme. A search of the island is made and it is determined no one is there but the guests themselves–and they are stranded because the boat from the mainland failed to show up. The awful reality sets in — the murderer is in their midst!

The murders continue, and when someone finally comes from the mainland, all ten guests are found dead, with the mysterious circumstance that one, who they determine was the last to die (as in the rhyme), was found hung, but the chair that the person had stood upon and kicked away had mysteriously been put in its place!

Because the murders take so long to narrate, for the Scotland Yard inspectors to unravel it would have made for a lengthy novel. Christie resolves that by resorting to an unusual plot device, a confession in a bottle, thrown out to sea, that just happens to be recovered by a fishing trawler.

An ingenious plot indeed and I can see how it would have been difficult to figure out how they would all end up dead without an outside “murderer.” More chilling yet when the lives of all depend on figuring out who the murderer is among them–a most cunning murderer indeed, who has tracked down their stories and arranges their murders to fit the rhyme.

Many consider this Christie’s best work. It was adapted for both stage and screen. I did wonder why she narrates the murders serially only to resolve this for the authorities with a message in a bottle. Why not let the authorities unravel it and figure out who was the killer. In the end I concluded that this would be a much duller way to tell the story, and that the message from the killer was the best way to help us understand the mind and motive of the murderer. I think Christie got this one very right!

Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

July 26, 2016August 25, 2025 / rtrube54 / 3 Comments

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie. New York: HarperCollins, 2002 (originally published 1926).

Summary: Poirot comes out of retirement to solve the murder of Roger Ackroyd, who is killed after learning that the woman he loved, who has taken her life, had poisoned her first husband and was being blackmailed to cover up the fact.

There are some who consider this among the very best of Agatha Christie’s mysteries. It is the only one appearing in the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I am inclined to agree that it is one of the best I have read, particularly for the unusual surprise at the end.

Mrs. Ferrars has committed suicide. Her husband had died the previous year under somewhat suspicious circumstances. Dr. James Settles is the physician consulted on the case and it turns out that he is with wealthy Roger Ackroyd when Ackroyd, who had fallen in love with Ferrars, receives a suicide note confessing she had poisoned her husband and was being blackmailed by someone she named in the letter who knew the fact. Ackroyd refuses to reveal the contents of the letter. Later that evening Settles receives a call informing him that Ackroyd has been murdered in his study. He goes to the house and discovers it is so, in the neck with a knife from a collection of curios.

Flora Ackroyd, a niece who stands to inherit a tidy fortune, having agreed to marry Roger Ackroyd’s choice of spouse, Ralph Paton, enlists the help of Hercule Poirot, who has retired and lives nearby. Dr. Settles, who saw the crime scene, becomes Poirot’s aid in the investigation and is the narrating voice in the story. Flora is particularly concerned because Ralph has gone missing and is the prime suspect, because of his financial straits. But others in the household are also suspicious. Parker the butler appears to have been listening at the door of Ackroyd’s study during the meeting between Ackroyd and Settles, and then again later in the evening as well. Others seems to be hiding things as well: Flora’s mother Mrs. Ackroyd, Hector Blunt, a friend staying with the family, Geoffrey Raymond, the secretary, Mrs. Russell and Ursula Bourne on the staff. There is a strange American-sounding figure who gets directions from Settles to the house shortly before the murder took place.

Working alongside Inspector Raglan, Poirot with the help of Settles and his sister Caroline seek to get to the truth these different characters are hiding. There is also the puzzle of who it was Ackroyd was speaking with shortly before his death and why one of the chairs in the study was moved out of place. Eventually there is the traditional “gathering of suspects” at which Poirot reveals the killer. I can say no more because this is where the plot takes a surprising turn.

What I enjoyed was the character of Poirot. One sees why he is one of the most celebrated figures in detective mysteries. He is thorough, thoughtful, relentless in the pursuit of truth, intolerant of deception, and gentle when people confess the truth. He takes truth seriously but himself not at all. He can be both droll, and infinitely sad as he ponders the evil people do. I’ve read or watched other Poirot stories but found his character especially well drawn here.

Likewise, the plot seems to move at just the right pace, unraveling each thread of the mystery until all is prepared for the final revelation of the murder. The perfect book for a summer read, or any time you need a few hours of rich diversion.

Repost: After The Funeral (An Agatha Christie Mystery)

July 23, 2015August 26, 2025 / rtrube54 / Leave a comment

I recently reviewed Agatha Christie’s At Bertram’s Hotel. Agatha Christie mysteries are a favorite summer read for me. Here is a review of another novel that I wrote last summer.

This was a wonderful diversion during a very full schedule of meetings in this past week. Agatha Christie always seems good for that and why I chose her for a break from serious reading during some serious discussions.

Leaving aside the personal stuff, the relatives of deceased estate owner Richard Abernethy are gathered for the reading of his will following his funeral. He had been ill but nevertheless had died rather suddenly in his sleep. Entwhistle, the family lawyer has just announced that the proceeds will be divided in six equal shares among the family when Cora Lansquenet, a daffy niece known for saying what she thinks, pipes up and asks, “But he was murdered, wasn’t he?” The fuss dies down until the next day when Cora is brutally hatcheted to death, in what appears to be a break-in. At this point, Entwhistle’s suspicions are aroused and his informal discussions with family members only deepen the impression that any of them could be involved in this murder, and presumably Richard’s. And so he calls in Poirot, an old friend.

Tension deepens when Mrs. Gilchrist, Cora’s housekeeper and companion, suffers a serious poisoning incident with an arsenic-laced piece of wedding cake. It appears there is a desperate killer set on wiping out anyone who might have a notion of who committed the murder. When Helen Abernethy realizes who is responsible, she is struck on the head and knocked out, just on the point of revealing the truth to Entwhistle.

Poirot deduces the true killer from what she did say and reveals the killer in one of those typical library scenes where the whole family is gathered. Of course, I will leave the fun of discovering the murderer to your reading. Having read some Christie, I would say that it was a bit of a surprise, and yet not a surprise at all. Have fun with that!

I came by this book as a free giveaway as part of World Book Night, which has suspended operations for lack of funding. Even if you have to buy this, I think you will find it a diverting and worthwhile read.

First posted here on July 29, 2014.

Review: At Bertram’s Hotel

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 / rtrube54 / 2 Comments

At Bertram’s Hotel, Agatha Christie. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2011 (reprint).

Summary: Bertram’s is a quietly elegant hotel from the Edwardian era that seems utterly respectable from the outside and yet is the center of a nefarious crime syndicate and a murder late in the story that Miss Marple and Chief Inspector (Scotland Yard) Davy attempt to unravel.

As I noted, this is an unusual Agatha Christie story. The murder occurs late and actually is not at the heart of the plot. This change of pace alone caught my attention, just to see what Christie was up to.

The center of the action is Bertram’s Hotel, a throwback to an Edwardian past. There one receives refined, understated service from the helpful attentions of the commissionaire, former military Michael Gorman, to the tea service with exquisite muffins, to Miss Gorringe’s front desk and Mr. Humfries’ efficient management, to the kitchen which serves a proper English breakfast. It has done so since Miss Marple’s childhood and to it she returns for a holiday. It is a place that the well-to-do visiting London come for good service out of the public spotlight.

Yet things are not as reputable as they seem as Miss Marple soon becomes aware. She runs into old friend Selina Hazy who speaks of all the people she sees who appear to be old acquaintances only to turn out to just look like them. She observes the reckless race car driver Ladislaus Malinowski in a public encounter with his love interest, the adventuress Lady Bess Sedgewick. Then there is the heiress Elvira Blake, in fact the estranged daughter of Lady Sedgewick, eluding her guardians to make an overnight trip to Ireland to make enquiries related to her estate and to make rendezvous with love interests including race car driver Malinowski. She becomes the object of Miss Marple’s grave concern.

While all this is occurring there have been a string of jewel heists, bank robberies and a daring robbery of the Irish Mail train that all seem to be the efforts of a mysterious crime syndicate. Chief Inspector Davy has been charged to discover who is behind this. When absent-minded Canon Pennyfather, a guest at Bertram’sm does not return from a trip to Lucerne for a conference, Davy becomes involved in the investigation, and, as he interviews Miss Marple, who witnessed Canon Pennyfather leaving the hotel the night he was supposed to be in Lucerne, he begins to share Miss Marple’s suspicion that things are not as they seem at Bertram’s and that there is a connection between the rash of crimes and this respectable hotel.

The one murder in this story occurs late as Elvira Blake, who has mentioned fears for her life, is apparently shot at and narrowly missed, only to have Michael Gorman come to her aid, and take a bullet in the chest protecting her. Yet all is not as it seems, neither in this instance nor with the cast of characters at Bertram’s and much of the enjoyment of this story comes from seeing how Miss Marple and Chief Inspector Davy team up to piece together this mystery.

Not all of the reviews I’ve seen of this have been favorable, suggesting a plot that is a bit far-fetched. Be that as it may, I enjoyed the change of pace of a story where a murder was not the center of the plot. Like all Christies, it is a page-turner with interesting characters, a memorable place (Bertram’s), and of course, the inimitable Miss Marple! Great for a summer vacation read.

July 2014: The Month in Reviews

August 1, 2014January 11, 2015 / rtrube54 / 1 Comment

It’s happened again! I’ve read my way through another month and it’s time for my “Month in Reviews” post. This month included biographies of a baseball player and a World War 1 flying ace. I read a contemporary legal thriller and a classic Agatha Christie mystery. It included sermons from the Nineteenth Century and Dallas Willard’s last conference from just a couple years back. There was Joseph Conrad’s classic exploration of betrayal and some good contemporary theology on multifaith conversation, politics, and the influence of the Majority World church on Western Christianity. So here’s the list from July, with links to the full review post:

1. Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad. Conrad does for the crime of betrayal what Doestoevsky does for murder as he follows the wrestlings of a young student who betrays a comrade to save his own future in pre-revolutionary Russia.

2. Enduring Courage by John F. Ross. Ross tells the life story of a Columbus hometown hero, Eddie Rickenbacker. We trace his hardscrabble youth in the Brewery district of Columbus to his involvements in early auto-racing, and then flight, tracing his journey to becoming a World War 1 flying ace. The climax of the book is how he contributed to the survival for three weeks of an air crew on a secret World War 2 mission to MacArthur, that crashed in the Pacific.

3. The Next Evangelicalism by Soong-chan Rah. This is a challenging account of the growing influence of Majority World Christians not only in their own countries but in the West and how critical it will be to listen to and welcome that influence for the Western Church to break free of its cultural captivities.

4. Supreme Justice by Max Allan Collins. This legal thriller begins with the murder of a Supreme Court justice in a DC restaurant. But it doesn’t end there. A second justice is killed and it becomes clear there is an assassination plot afoot to change the makeup of the court. Joe Reeder, a retired Secret Service agent who took a bullet for an unpopular president, is called into an investigation where it becomes quickly apparent that this was an inside job and that he can trust no one.

5. Long Shot by Mike Piazza. This is an “as told to” autobiography by Mike Piazza, who describes the challenges he had to overcome to make the Major Leagues and become the player with the most home runs for a catcher and a .308 lifetime batting average.

6. The First and the Last by George R. Sumner. Summer focuses on how Christians might constructively engage a pluralistic context without becoming religious relativists through a strategy of holding to “the final primacy” of Christ.

7. Living in Christ’s Presence by Dallas Willard. This is essentially the transcript of a conference in which Dallas Willard and John Ortberg give alternating talks that explore what might be called “the essential Dallas Willard”. A highlight comes with the interaction between these two thoughtful Christian leaders at the end of nearly every presentation.

8. People-Pleasing Pastors by Charles Stone. People-pleasing is especially a peril of pastoral ministry but Stone helps any of us recognize these tendencies in our lives and proposes a seven step strategy summarized by the acronym PRESENT to counteract these tendencies.

9. After the Funeral by Agatha Christie. Richard Abernethy has been ill and died, rather sooner than expected, in his sleep. When the family gathers for the reading of the will after the funeral, oddball niece Cora questions, “but he was murdered, wasn’t he?” only to be murdered herself the next day with a hatchet. Hercule Poirot is called in to investigate whether the murders are connected only to discover a family where all are suspects.

10. The Good of Politics by James W. Skillen. In an age where people question whether any good can come of politics, Skillen surveys the Bible, church history, and the contemporary scene and articulates the conviction that we are political creatures from creation, not simply post-fall, and that believing people can participate in the process and have a redemptive influence.

11. The World’s Great Sermons, Vol. 4 by various. This is part of a digitized ten volume collection that a reading group I’m in chose to get a sample of Nineteenth Century preaching in both the U.S. and the U.K. This volume included examples of Lyman Beecher, William Ellery Channing (an early Unitarian), Horace Bushnell, Alexander Campbell and others that typify the preaching landscape of this era.

What’s coming in August? Look for reviews of Rich Nathan and Insoo Kim’s Both-And and Thomas Piketty’s, Capital, along with reviews of a Wallace Stegner novel, a book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a treatment on the theme of the preaching of the doctrine of hell in antebellum America. Don’t want to miss these reviews? Sign up to follow the blog! And let me know what some of your favorite summer reads are for this summer.