Crooked House

Title: Crooked House

Author: Agatha Christie

Publisher: William Collins Son & Co. LTd 1949

Genre: Mystery, Fiction,

Source: Owned

My Review:

It had been years since I read Agatha Christie, so it was like reading a new author. I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

If you notice the picture, this is the copy of the book that I have, it's the original cover published in 1949. When I saw the cover I wondered what it had to do with the story. The answer is absolutely nothing! 😂 It makes me curious if all her books are like that or what.

"If the right person did it."

The Crooked House is a fascinating story. There is a house full of interesting characters, but you meet them slowly, making it possible to keep them all straight. Sophia does a great job of giving Charles a quick rundown of who they all are before we meet them, which also helps. Sophia and Charles want to get married. However, Sophia has refused until the mystery of who killed her grandfather is solved.

"I'm a police spy? Is that it? I'm to get the inside dope from Sophia whom I love and who both loves and trusts me, or so I believe."

As a side note, I was also surprised to see "dope" used in the story. It's funny how slang goes around and comes around!

Agatha Christie does an excellent job of setting the stage and casting doubt on each character. I would think I knew who did it and then I was doubting myself as new evidence came into play. It's no wonder that her books are still popular all these years later, she is a master storyteller. 

I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good whodunit. It does have a few instances of profanity, which I was surprised at (considering when it was written), but not so much as to make the story crude and unenjoyable.

★★★★/5 

If you have read this one I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on it!!

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

In the sprawling, half-timbered mansion in the affluent suburb of Swinly Dean, Aristide Leonides lies dead from barbiturate poisoning. An accident? Not likely. In fact, suspicion has already fallen on his luscious widow, a cunning beauty fifty years his junior, set to inherit a sizeable fortune, and rumored to be carrying on with a strapping young tutor comfortably ensconced in the family estate. But criminologist Charles Hayward is casting his own doubts on the innocence of the entire Leonides brood. He knows them intimately. And he's certain that in a crooked house such as Three Gables, no one's on the level...