Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie Narrator: Hugh Fraser
Published by Harper Collins on July 3, 2012 (first published 1958)
Source: Library
Genres: Vintage Mystery
Length: 7 hrs 5 mins
Pages: 269
Format: Audiobook
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According to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker. The sentence was life imprisonment. But when Dr. Arthur Calgary arrives with the proof that confirms Jacko’s innocence, it is too late—Jacko died behind bars following a bout of pneumonia. Worse still, the doctor’s revelations reopen old wounds in the family, increasing the likelihood that the real murderer will strike again.
It’s been a long time since the last time I read Ordeal by Innocence. It’s one of Christie’s standalones without any of her regular characters. Instead, we have the dysfunctional Argyle family, and Dr. Calgary who has upset their status quo. Jacko Argyle was convicted of killing his mother, despite his claiming to have an alibi, and died in prison. Now, two years later, Dr. Calgary shows up to provide Jacko’s solid alibi – first the doctor had had amnesia from an accident, then gone on a research trip to Antarctica, so had been unable to testify at the trial. Now, the case is reopened, and all the “innocent” are under scrutiny again.
This is not my favorite of Christie’s books. Most of the Argyles are unlikable and we get to spend a lot of time learning about their odd relationships with their adoptive parents and each other. Rachel Argyle, the victim, had opened their home to children during the war and ended up “adopting” four of them, in addition to a daughter she had adopted earlier. She was as good to them as she knew how to be, but it was not the easiest of households. And her husband was apparently jealous of the the attention she lavished on the children, so he fell in love with his secretary. Now that Jacko’s innocent, they’re all suspects, along with the Swedish housekeeper who had been with the family since the children were young
I think some of the attitudes about adoption and nature versus nurture didn’t age particularly well. And I don’t love some of the choices Christie allows her women to make. That being said, the clues worked out well and we do get a happy ending.
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 read this not long ago and found it fairly distasteful – no appealing characters and such outdated attitudes! There’s another one with Miss Marple that is also very negative about adoption.
https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2024/09/ordeal-by-innocence-by-agatha-christie.html
It’s not one of my favorites. Even Hester and the doctor’s ending seems odd.