Two
mysteries, published almost eighty years apart, were this month’s selections.
It was of interest to me how the genre was handled by two masters of the form.
Back to back listens of the two novels on Audible was fascinating.
Agatha
Christie is arguably the most famous mystery novelist of all time and her
novel, And Then There Were None, published
in 1939, perhaps one of her most
lauded. Ten people are brought to a secluded island; all lured there for
supposedly logical reasons. None, however, know their host. Once there, they
each find framed in their rooms, the nursery rhyme, Ten Little Soldier Boys. Each stanza of the rhyme tells of the
death of a little soldier. After dinner the first evening, a recording plays
which names each guest in turn and accuses them of murder. Soon, one by one,
the guests begin to die in mysterious circumstances. Circumstances which eerily
match the rhyme.
The
novel is skillfully crafted; the reader is subtly led to believe each guest is
the murderer of the others. They are stranded on the island and the tension is
ratcheted as each falls victim. Christie uses partial omniscience and extensive
dialogue. Too good to reveal the ending.
The Word is Murder is the second novel
I’ve “read” by Anthony Horowitz. The first, Magpie
Murders, was my first listen on Audible and a Book Selection in my blog of
November 2017. Not only did it get me hooked on Audible, but interestingly, in
the blog, I compared him to Agatha Christie!
In The Word is Murder we are introduced to
former Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne. I understand he may be the focus
of a new series by Horowitz. Hawthorne is a “former” inspector because his
unorthodox methods got him fired from Scotland Yard. He is a brilliant
investigator of somewhat mythical status however, so Scotland Yard continues to
use him on difficult cases.
In a
fun twist, the author himself is a character in the novel. Hawthorne is
investigating a baffling case and wants Horowitz to write about it. Very
reluctantly, he agrees. The case involves a woman who enters a funeral home and
arranges her own funeral. Six hours later, she is murdered in her home. Once
again, Horowitz allows us to be the sleuth along with him as a reluctant
side-kick to Hawthorne. Horowitz’s droll wit is a perfect pairing with
Hawthorne’s caustic, take-no-prisoners personality. Another great who-done-it.
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