Ordeal by Innocence - Agatha Christie

Published in an omnibus edition: "Ordeal by Innocence"; "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe"; "The Adventures of the Christmas Pudding" as part of the "Agatha Christie Crime Collection" by Lansdowne Press: Australia, 1985 (1973). First published in omnibus edition 1970.
First published individually 1958.

A non-Poirot mystery, unlike the (main stories) of the other two entries in this omnibus, Ordeal by Innocence has an interesting, if slightly complicated, set-up. Rachel Argyle, a woman with five adopted children, has been bludgeoned to death, and her youngest son Jacko was found guilty of the murder. After some time in prison, Jacko has died, still protesting his innocence. Two years have passed, and now Arthur Calgary - a scientist - has arrived back in England after two years in Antarctica. It turns out Arthur would have been able to prove Jacko's alibi, but due to both his absence from the country AND a convenient case of amnesia, Arthur has not been able to do so until now. Arthur turns up at Sunny Point, the family home where Rachel was killed, and proceeds to tell the rest of the family about Jacko's innocence, assuming they will be happy to learn their family member was telling the truth. Unfortunately, he quickly realises that all he has done is to make the rest of the family begin to wonder which of them is the REAL murderer.

That is the set-up, all taking place within the first few chapters! The rest of the book has Arthur now trying to help the family crack the case, a brother-in-law within the family doing his own detective work, and the usual twists and turns of an Agatha Christie novel, including more death.

Aside from the set-up, it is not a mind-blowingly original story, but it is still fun enough to pass the time. 

Completed 10 April 2025.

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