A bunch of mischievous young people staying at the house decide to surprise their friend, an amiable but vacuous young man called Gerry Wade, notorious for sleeping in late. Though the grand estate of Chimneys doesn’t feature as much in this book, it’s where the story kicks off, with a practical joke that turns into tragedy. For this reason, they do feel like unique standalones in her oeuvre. Christie’s writing can often be funny, but I don’t think she ever got as deliberately comical and Wodehousian as she did with these loosely connected mysteries. Somehow I completely missed out on these two early novels back in the days, and it’s fair to say that they were the pleasant surprise of this re-readathon. A sorta-sequel to The Secret of Chimneys, this high-spirited thriller is equally enjoyable, and showcases Dame Agatha’s criminally underrated sense of humour.
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