The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie Narrator: Hugh Fraser
Published by Harper Collins on July 3, 2012
Source: Library
Genres: Vintage Mystery
Length: 6 hrs 45 mins
Pages: 248
Format: Audiobook
Add on Goodreads
In a remote house in the middle of Dartmoor, six shadowy figures huddle around a table for a seance. Tension rises as the spirits spell out a chilling message: "Captain Trevelyan . . . dead . . . murder."
Is this black magic or simply a macabre joke? The only way to be certain is to locate Captain Trevelyan. Unfortunately, his home is six miles away and, with snowdrifts blocking the roads, someone will have to make the journey on foot...
The Sittaford Mystery is a stand alone that doesn’t feature and of Christie’s usual characters. The book starts off with a party held in a stately manor in the middle of nowhere during a snow storm. The guests are an interesting mix and they decide to try table-turning, a way of contacting the spirits based on the movements of the table they are all sitting around. The table soon announces that the owner of the house, Captain Trevelyan, who is not present, has been murdered. Everyone assumes it is a joke in very bad taste, but Trevelyan’s friend, Major Burnaby, decides he need to walk six miles in the snow to the house Trevelyan is renting, to check on him. Trevelyan has, of course, been murdered.
We get a nice mix of amateur and official investigation here. Our amateur sleuth is Emily Trefusis, the fiancée of the man being held for the murder. She is determined and clever. She teams up with a newspaper reporter, Charles Enderby, who is hoping this case will jumpstart his career. Emily is good at playing the damsel in distress when she needs to, but is in reality quite practical and competent and happy to manipulate the men around her. Our professional is Inspector Narracot who is calm and competent. We get a lot of red herrings and several possible suspects.
This is a fun mystery with a bit of humor thrown in. The winter setting is perfect for this time of year. I listened to the audiobook and as always Hugh Fraser does a fabulous job.
I finished this last year, even though I’m not getting around to writing it up until today.
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.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
I enjoy this one.