Endless Night, by Agatha Christie

 

The Book

Mike Rodgers spins us a tragic yarn. He fell in love twice, once with a piece of property where his imagination took flight. He desperately wanted to have a home built there by a genius architect, Santonix. But he knew, due to his lower class status as a personal driver, he would not be able to afford it. Miraculously into the picture walks a young, pretty, rich girl. They fall in love almost at first sight. But no sooner do we have the meet cute than Mrs. Lee, the local gypsy woman (this is the in book descriptor) tells their fortunes and tells Fenella (Ella) to leave and never come back. 

But Ella falls in love with the plot of land just as hard. And after a brief bout of decieving Mike, agrees to marry him as soon as she turns 21, when she can marry him legally. In this day and age, 21 was the age of majority, not 18. When they get married, she confesses she purchased the land and hired his favorite architect to build the house. 

They are secretly married for a little while, but before too long, someone recognizes Ella and she has to come clean. Her family and advisers make a fuss, but they can't do anything. Before long, the house is finished and the young couple moves in. Ella makes friends, but the local woman keeps scaring her, telling her to leave. Warning her that staying around will only result in her death. 

But Mike and Ella seem happy. And Mike goes out to an estate sale, looking for furniture for the house with the local upright gentlman, Major Philpot. They are supposed to meet Ella for lunch. When she doesn't turn up, Mike sends out everyone looking for her. They find her--dead. Apparently thrown from her horse. Is it the tragedy old Mrs. Lee foretold. Or is it murder? And who would want poor Ella dead, when really, she was the sweetest thing in the world. 

My Thoughts

As a stand alone book, this has to be one of Christie's finest. It so perfectly taps into the zeitgeist of the 1960s. Mike is perfectly charming, seemingly earnest, and clearly living with regrets. We see a deeply imperfect young man, regaling us the true story about his late love. In a tale only Agatha Christie could write, this book lays to rest the question of if she can do characterization. She can, she does, this book is a masterpiece.

I can only hope it's not her last masterpiece. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

This book came to me from Winnetka-Northfield Public Library. It's in fairly good condition. Not pristine, but not bad either. There is a crease in the upper right hand corner of the front cover. There are a couple of places where the spine supporting tape is beginning to bully off. All of which might be expected from a book which has been in the collection a few years. If I squint hard enough on the first page, I can see this book entered their system in May of 2015. Since the quality of the cover looks newer, I can believe that it has maybe been lightly read. Not bad for an 11 year old book. The back cover says the list price in 2015 was $12.99. Amazon says the list price today (in 2026) is $18.99, which seems about right for inflation. However, you can pick it up for $10.97. By reading the "official" back of the paperback on the Amazon preview, the list price apparently remain $12.99. Interesting. Either way, that's the number we will use. 

Library Books

This Book                                                          $12.99

Library Items Reviewed This Year                 $456.31

Private Books

This Book                                                          $0.00

Total of Private Books                                     $58.75

Total of All Items Reviewed This Year          $549.06

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