Who saw him die? / I said the fly!
I Saw Him Die (Agatha Christie #4) by Andrew Wilson
Agatha Christie is meant to be on a repairing lease, on a holiday on Skye with her daughter, Rosalind and her sister, Mary. A time of rest before her marriage to Max Mallowan, the archeologist she'd met in earlier in the year in Ur, in southern Iraq. Max is fourteen years younger than Agatha. Something she worries about, and wonders at.
She no sooner arrives than she has a message from her Secret Intelligence Service contact John Davison requesting help. “One of [their] former agents, Robin Kinmuir, who [lived] on Skye, believed he was in danger. He’d received a series of threatening letters."
Against her better judgement Agatha agrees to assist Davison, leaving her daughter and sister with the arranged subterfuge of having to go to London unexpectedly to see her literary agent.
When Agatha and Davison journey to Kinmuir's property they find a lodge full of guests, murder and a chain of happenstance that begs belief. Add in an attempt on Agatha's life and the story takes on an alarming note, at least for Agatha.
Wilson has cleverly incorporated a number of Christie's organizing devices, including the Nursery Rhyme, a variation on the poison pen letter, the butler is present, and the next of kin motifs, amongst others.
All meld to produce a meaty puzzle, with the added bonus of Agatha questioning her future with the SIS. Her near death experience shocking her into thinking of her relationship with her daughter and her future with Max and questioning her agent role.
Although I enjoyed the mystery, I found myself annoyed with Agatha as she kept being inveigled back into SIS matters. How to resolve this?
An Atria ARC via NetGalley
****
Agatha Christie is meant to be on a repairing lease, on a holiday on Skye with her daughter, Rosalind and her sister, Mary. A time of rest before her marriage to Max Mallowan, the archeologist she'd met in earlier in the year in Ur, in southern Iraq. Max is fourteen years younger than Agatha. Something she worries about, and wonders at.
She no sooner arrives than she has a message from her Secret Intelligence Service contact John Davison requesting help. “One of [their] former agents, Robin Kinmuir, who [lived] on Skye, believed he was in danger. He’d received a series of threatening letters."
Against her better judgement Agatha agrees to assist Davison, leaving her daughter and sister with the arranged subterfuge of having to go to London unexpectedly to see her literary agent.
When Agatha and Davison journey to Kinmuir's property they find a lodge full of guests, murder and a chain of happenstance that begs belief. Add in an attempt on Agatha's life and the story takes on an alarming note, at least for Agatha.
Wilson has cleverly incorporated a number of Christie's organizing devices, including the Nursery Rhyme, a variation on the poison pen letter, the butler is present, and the next of kin motifs, amongst others.
All meld to produce a meaty puzzle, with the added bonus of Agatha questioning her future with the SIS. Her near death experience shocking her into thinking of her relationship with her daughter and her future with Max and questioning her agent role.
Although I enjoyed the mystery, I found myself annoyed with Agatha as she kept being inveigled back into SIS matters. How to resolve this?
An Atria ARC via NetGalley
****
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