Towards Zero
Ratings41
Average rating3.7
3.5
Actually couldn't figure this one out. But far too convoluted for my taste. Also superintendent battle is a really dry character.
A very clever Christie novel that keeps you guessing until the end. There are so many strands that come together beautifully, showing why they called her the “Queen of Crime”. Well worth a read or a re-read.
This is #33 of chronologically reading Christie's mysteries (minus short stories) and it was a mixed bag. It was a relief to have Superintendent Battle back again, but the structure of the story was odd this time and took a while to get going.
The idea is that a murder begins long before it actually occurs and that, instead of the story beginning with the murder, the story should end with the murder. Usually she moves away from 0 (that being the point of the murder), but in this story she moves towards it. I liked the concept, and you think you understand it from the start just the way I explained it, but she adds a twist. I don't think that's spoiling anything for you–after all, it is a mystery novel. The downfall of writing the story using this structure is that the first half of it felt a bit like a soap opera as you're just waiting for someone to be murdered. It sounds crude, but there it is.
Once the story took off a bit and Superintendent Battle came along it seemed to take off and feel like her other novels. However, if you have read a lot of her books like I have, you will probably guess “whodunit”. On the plus side, you probably won't guess how. She does a good job of turning everything you thought you understood on its head, even when you think you know the culprit.
Worth reading!
Another great Agatha Christie read. I loved how all the seemingly unrelated pieces of the puzzle gradually came together perfectly.
