The Clocks, by Agatha Christie
The Book
Colin Lamb (not his real name) is investigating the strange murder of Mr. R. H. Curry. While Colin (who is in the British Intelligence Services) is investigating who might be a spy, a young woman comes running out of the house of blind lady screaming murder. When Colin looks inside, the body of an elderly man is discovered and a whole bunch of clocks, all set to 4:13. It seems strange.
The blind lady (Miss Pebmarsh) is both miffed and clueless. The girl, Sheila Webb, is sent to Miss Pebmarsh by her employer the formidable Miss Martindale without even having time to console her friend Edna Brent who broke her shoe at lunch. But Miss Pebmarsh swears she didn't hire a girl, Edna is too distracted to know the truth. The residents of the neighborhood all lie to Colin's friend, Inspector Hardcastle. And given all of the intrigues, Colin swings by his dad's friend, Hercule Poirot to see if Poirot really can solve the case from his armchair. (Spoiler alert, he does.) But will the solution set Ms. Webb free? And will Colin be able to confess his love for Shelia?
My Thoughts
Well, on the one hand, Agatha Christie played quite fair in this book. The key clue, given to all of us in passing, was there for us to figure out. It's what I like best about Christie. She doesn't divert our attention at the last moment. We see what we're supposed to see. In fact, she plays as fair as any author in the puzzle mystery genre. On the other hand, the book, the plot, except for changes a few of the features, felt worn out. The book is a breezy enough read. The clues come hard and fast, with one suspecting that fall outside of the purview of the particular crime, up until you remember that Colin is spy hunting.
The modern reader in me would like for the two plots to converge in a spectacular way. But, never-ever second guess Poirot's conclusions.
I would love to write puzzle mysteries of this caliber, but I fear I don't have the same gift for parallel thinking Christie does. And she does have quite a gift.
How Much My Library Card Saved Me
Once again we have one of the leatherette editions of these collections. This one is falling apart. The spine is beat to shit at the top and the tape is peeling off. As you know, this book has been in the collections so long, it's not stamped with the date it was acquired. We know from previous research these books were sold between 1984 and 1992. However, we do know that the last card holder was glued into the front of this book in January of 2000, or at least that's how I read the marking on the card that says 1/00. Also from previous research, we know this book likely cost around $20.00 at the time. If purchased at the very end of the run in 1992, and adjusted for inflation, this book would a little under $50.00 today. The number I pulled at the end of March 2026 for January of 1992 says $46.58. Not a bad return for 30-35 years of reading at my local library.
This Book $20.00
Library Items Reviewed This Year $216.83
Private Books
This Book $00.00
Total of Private Books $52.75
Total of All Items Reviewed This Year $281.58
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