Ordeal by Innocence, by Agatha Christie

 

The Book

When Dr. Arthur Calgary goes to Sunny Point (formerly Viper's Point), to deliver the news that the now dead Jack Argyle did not murder his mother Theresa Argyle he does not know the can of worms he's opening up. 

Jack or Jacko as the family calls him, may have had an alibi for the time of the murder, but many of the others in the house do not. None of them, Theresa's husband and father of the clan, Leo; the kids Michael, Hester, Mary (and her husband Phillip), and Christina; nor the help, Miss Kirsten (Kirsty) Lindstrom (the nanny/housekeeper), or Miss Gwen Vaughn (Leo's secretary/new fiancee) believe or want the news to be true. Because if Jacko didn't or rather could not have killed his mother, then one of them must have. 

Now the innocent and guilty alike are suffering the consequences of the truth. Leo and Gwen put their wedding plans on hold, perhaps they will not marry now with each believe the other did it. Hester's fiancé is will to stand by her, but only if she will tell him the truth about why she killed her mother. Nobody think Kirsty did it, but then, if she didn't why did she stay on? Michael and Tina (Christina) both have alibis, or do they? 

The mistrust is palpable as Mary's husband Phillip trying to solve the case, believing it to be a matter of deduction. He keeps setting what he believes are clever little traps, which does ensnare someone. Someone who has already killed once and will so again. 

Let us hope Dr. Calgary and his keen deductive skills figure it out before the killer kills off the girl he falls in love with. 

My Thoughts

Well, I knew who was going to marry whom by page 20. It's a fairly standard Christie subplot at this point, so no points to me for reading her foreshadowing properly. I did figure out the clues and who had killed Theresa fairly early on. Christie is a writer who regularly rewards readers for reading closely.

I think this book does well as a stand alone, much better because it's a mystery and not a thriller, which I feel are much harder reads. I found this one a quick read, with easy to follow clues, and yet enough legitimate red herrings along the way to keep me guessing if my conclusions were correct. I was delighted to be accurate in my reading, but I was a bit disappointed at the answer. I felt either Poirot or Miss Marple might have summed it up a bit better. And I missed the presence of one of those characters here. Dr. Calgary did not strike me as quite as strong as either one of them. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

This book came to me from Wilmette Public Library. According to the pencil marks on the inside of the book, it appears to have entered their collection on 3/3/21. There was paper clipped onto the title page of the book a slip that said the book was in poor condition when it was received, with instructions not to remove said slip. Okay. Gotcha. The edges of the book did have a few upturned pages. Admittedly the cover of the book is loosing its lamination, but overall I would say the book isn't in really bad condition. Certainly I believe the book should be pulled from the collection, but other than the markings Wilmette put in, there were none. Friends, I fear we have read books in far worse condition. Perhaps this marks a change in the standards of the books that are acceptable in collections. I don't know. We will roll with it. The back of this book says it was $14.99 and the receipt says $15.00. This is the first time the value of the book has exceeded the price on the cover. I have no idea how or why that's the case. Interesting. 

This Book                                                        $15.00

Library Items Reviewed This Year                  $66.95

Private Books

This Book                                                        $00.00

Total of Private Books                                     $52.75

Total of All Items Reviewed This Year          $122.70

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