Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #388315 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
Three generations of the Leonides family live together, presided over by the very old and very rich Aristide Leonides. The presence of the 'little old man with the velvet skullcap' is a great influence on them all - until he dies suddenly and mysteriously. It soon becomes apparent that the murderer must be one of the family but which one? The narrator is Charles, son of the chief inspector of police, who has already fallen in love with Sophia Leonides when he is told of the murder of her grandfather. He is challenged by his father to provide the 'inside knowledge' for the murder investigations, and he realizes that Sophia has been secretive about her background. It is his job to discover why. Charles gradually learns the foibles of this strange family. The dead man - 'just a gnome-ugly little fellow - but magnetic' - proves to have been more mysterious than he first appeared. Then there is his new young widow, the chief suspect yet strangely sympathetic. She is over-indulged and seems to lack the necessary ruthlessness to have killed the old man. But what of her young lover, the family tutor? Then there are the controlled and emotionless Philip, Sophia's father, and his alarmingly theatrical wife Magda. Uncle Roger, kind and loveable but possessing an uncontrollable temper, Aunt Edith, forthright in her dislike of her dead relation, and Clemency, a sharp and cold-blooded scientist, add to the mix. When the late man's will is lost, all fingers point to his young widow who stands to inherit everything... but all is not as it seems. This is classic Agatha Christie, with a plot that twists and turns at a great pace. As the story unfolds, motives emerge that implicate every family member as a potential murderer. Christie weaves a complex and intricate web of mystery and the ending, as we would expect, is both surprising and satisfying. The author confessed that this was one of her favourite novels, and that enthusiasm comes across in this vibrant reading of a classic tale. David Horovitch uses his acting skills to great effect. A relaxing and entertaining audio book. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author
AGATHA CHRISTIE is the world's best known mystery writer. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in 44 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

Her writing career spanned more than half a century, during which she wrote 80 novels and short story collections, as well as 14 plays, one of which, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in history. Two of the characters she created, the brilliant little Belgian Hercule Poirot and the irrepressible and relentless Miss Marple, went on to become world-famous detectives. Both have been widely dramatized in feature films and made-for-TV movies.

Agatha Christie also wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. As well, she wrote four non-fiction books including an autobiography and an entertaining account of the many expeditions she shared with her archaeologist husband, Sir Max Mallowan.

Agatha Christie died in 1976.

Customer Reviews

WILL SOMEONE LET THE WOMAN SPEAK?
What "improvements" have been made for the St. Martin's Minotaur edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further additions still in the Signet, Bantam, Berkley, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.

Tedious Christie
This Christie novel doesn't quite deliver the goods. It's the usual savoir faire: a crumbling family's patriarch is murdered, and his significantly-younger trophy wife is thought to be his killer. The dysfunctional Leonides family thinks the victim's wife might be carrying-on an affair with the live-in tutor. There's plenty of police talk and not nearly enough character development. In fact, one wishes the characters weren't so "Christie," i.e., familar, predictable, etc. Despite a mildly intriguing denouement (which, also, was somewhat predictable), Crooked House lacks fresh characters and gripping dialogue, which makes it a tedious read.

CHRISTIE AT HER BEST
By all means, this is one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels. The denoument is so gripping I couldn't put the book down, even after I finished reading it. I just immediately started reviewing the clues again. It was all there in the open to see. Pure genius! Most of the other reviewers have summarized the plot, so I won't rehash it. Excellent, quick read.