Sparkling Cyanide - Agatha Christie
First published 1945.
Agatha Christie is one of the most well-known murder mystery writers ever. Her most famous work is probably Murder on the Orient Express but all of her books are known for being very well crafted.
In this book it is a year since the death of Rosemary Barton, whom it is believed committed suicide in a very dramatic fashion, poisoning herself with cyanide at a party in her honour. Her husband, George Barton, has recently received a letter implying that the death was a murder, and has devised an elaborate ruse to try and flush out the murderer. However, as this ruse is put into action, a second death occurs, and now a number of people are suspected of killing either George, or Rosemary, or both.
As befits the genre, there are a number of twists and turns, with each of the six main suspects seeming by turns guilty and innocent, but Christie manages to keep the reader guessing until the reveal. In this instance I did manage to lay my bets on the right murderer, and yet some of the twists and reveals that supported this revelation were not ones I saw coming. One reveal in particular I found a little unusual, as it results in an apparent suspect being immediately accepted by the investigators as a trusted colleague despite still being plausibly the murderer yet this seems an example of changing times from when the book was first published.
Feels, as I said to Elise, a little like Downton Abbey with murders.
Completed 5 May 2021.
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