Crooked House by Agatha Christie Narrator: Hugh Fraser
Published by Harper Audio on July 3, 2012
Source: Library
Genres: Vintage Mystery
Length: 5 hrs 45 mins
Pages: 236
Format: Audiobook
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The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection.
Suspicion naturally falls on the old man's young widow, 50 years his junior. But the murderer has reckoned without the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiancé of the late millionaire's granddaughter.
Crooked House is one of Christie’s stand-alone mysteries. We have three generations of the Leonides family all living under the roof of the wealthy grandfather, Aristide. When Aristide is murdered, all the household comes under suspicion. His granddaughter Sophia tells our narrator and her fiancé, Charles Hayward, that they cannot marry until the killer is caught. Charles’ father happens to be the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, so Charles investigates from the inside along with assigned detective, Chief Inspector Taverner.
The Leonides family members are an interesting, mostly unlikeable lot and any of them could have a motive – money, control. There are plenty of tensions and secrets. Charles makes a decent amateur sleuth and this one is more about uncovering family dynamics and tensions than concrete clues. The whodunnit is surprising, but makes total sense.
About Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright. She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world’s longest-running play, a murder mystery, The Mousetrap, and six romances under the name Mary Westmacott. In 1971 she was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contribution to literature.
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