The Secret of Chimneys

by Agatha Christie

Genres: Crime, Mystery
Pages: 400
Series: Superintendent Battle #1
Rating:

Synopsis:

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would land 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.

Agatha Christie’s The Secret of Chimneys is one I’d tried to start before, but hadn’t got into at the time — I think because it just felt convoluted from the start. This time, reading it via Serial Reader, I enjoyed it rather more: Cade and his irreverent tone, Virginia and her lively curiosity about life (and reluctance to accept conventionality for the sake of it), and poor Lord Caterham, forced to host political meetings because of the traditions around his house (leave the poor man alone).

There are a few points where she really bucks the stereotypical trends in mystery stories, e.g. when Cade confides some of what’s going on to Battle, cutting through a lot of suspicion to clear up some of the webs of mystery (which only sharpens interest in other aspects, of course). There were several turns that were clearly intended to be surprises which I found very obvious, but it was still fun to see how things come to light.

In a way, the romance isn’t very different to that in The Man in the Brown Suit, but the difference in point of view and a touch less focus on it helps; it still feels abrupt, but I found it significantly less annoying. (I suppose it also helps that they meet under somewhat different circumstances, too.) I’m also reading a biography of Agatha Christie at the moment, and I think it’s right there’s a touch of her first husband in some of her protagonists, Anthony Cade included.

Anyway, an enjoyable mystery.

Rating: 3/5