She swerves and misses him yet she finds him dead. Unfortunately one of the young men has been murdered and seven alarm clocks (there had originally been eight) are found line up across the mantle across from his bed.Īfter the murder, Sir & Lady Coote leave the Chimneys only to be invited back to a neighboring estate for a highly important political deal where Sir Coote's steel manufacturing will be involved.Īs Bundle is driving through to town, she comes across a young man in the road & nearly runs him over. The Cootes, and most of the previous political figures from 'Secret of the Chimneys' are gathered again at a house party that the Cootes are giving. Once again we have a gathering at Chimneys, which had been let out to Sir & Lady Coote. Christie was a partisan) Conservatives, it seems, are a bunch of bigots, intolerant, narrow-minded creatures… I don’t know about others, but I enjoy reading authors such as Christie, Buchan, Sapper or Mason not only because of their literary capacities, but also BECAUSE of their lack of PC, so I’d appreciate the absence of this kind of “introduction”! Read more He then lectures readers on the shortcomings of “hidebound” Conservatism (to which he, at least admits, Mrs. Now, brace yourselves for the Introduction by Val McDermid… He warns readers of Christie’s lack of political correctness-I kid you not!-as if we were a bunch of little kids who need guidance.

It reintroduces superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen (aka Bundle), who had their first appearances at Chimney’s they are back to solve a entangled net of international espionage. A thoroughly enjoyable read with a quite surprising end that I defy you to guess! It’s a young Agatha Christie at her best. Christie that has been adapted into an excellent movie-with John Guielgud perfectly incarnated in the skin of the Marquis of Caterhan, and James Warwick from “Tommy & Tuppence” playing the bad guy.

The 7 dials mystery