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Agatha Christie #1
A Talent for Murder
Discover the real-life mystery centered on the queen of crime herself: Agatha Christie. In this tantalizing new novel, Christie’s mysterious ten-day disappearance serves as the starting point for a gripping novel, in which Christie herself is pulled into a case of blackmail and murder.
“I wouldn’t scream if I were you. Unless you want the whole world to learn about your husband and his mistress.”
Agatha Christie, in London to visit her literary agent, is boarding a train, preoccupied with the devastating knowledge that her husband is having an affair. She feels a light touch on her back, causing her to lose her balance, then a sense of someone pulling her to safety from the rush of the incoming train. So begins a terrifying sequence of events—for her rescuer is no guardian angel, rather he is a blackmailer of the most insidious, manipulative kind.
“You, Mrs. Christie, are going to commit a murder. But, before then, you are going to disappear.”
Writing about murder is a far cry from committing a crime, and Agatha must use every ounce of her cleverness and resourcefulness to thwart an adversary determined to exploit her expertise and knowledge about the act of murder to kill on his behalf.
In A Talent for Murder, Andrew Wilson ingeniously explores Agatha Christie’s odd ten-day disappearance in 1926 and weaves an utterly compelling and convincing story around this still unsolved mystery involving the world’s bestselling novelist.
“I wouldn’t scream if I were you. Unless you want the whole world to learn about your husband and his mistress.”
Agatha Christie, in London to visit her literary agent, is boarding a train, preoccupied with the devastating knowledge that her husband is having an affair. She feels a light touch on her back, causing her to lose her balance, then a sense of someone pulling her to safety from the rush of the incoming train. So begins a terrifying sequence of events—for her rescuer is no guardian angel, rather he is a blackmailer of the most insidious, manipulative kind.
“You, Mrs. Christie, are going to commit a murder. But, before then, you are going to disappear.”
Writing about murder is a far cry from committing a crime, and Agatha must use every ounce of her cleverness and resourcefulness to thwart an adversary determined to exploit her expertise and knowledge about the act of murder to kill on his behalf.
In A Talent for Murder, Andrew Wilson ingeniously explores Agatha Christie’s odd ten-day disappearance in 1926 and weaves an utterly compelling and convincing story around this still unsolved mystery involving the world’s bestselling novelist.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
205 people are currently reading
5035 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Wilson
15 books110 followersAbout himself:
"I'm a journalist and author. My work has appeared in the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, the Sunday Times, the Independent on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the New Statesman and the Evening Standard magazine."
Source:
"I'm a journalist and author. My work has appeared in the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, the Sunday Times, the Independent on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the New Statesman and the Evening Standard magazine."
Source:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 449 reviews
May 25, 2017
Agatha Christie wrote some tantalising crime thrillers back in her day, and here Andrew Wilson makes her a victim to a plot not unlike one of her own. It's all about the mystery, and it really drives the story forward. Agatha is ambushed by a strange man at the train station; she is given a proposition that confuses her and secretly intrigues her. Indeed, for this man wants her to commit a murder.
Writing about murder is one thing, actually committing it yourself is another thing altogether. She becomes torn between her morals and her family. For this man has a powerful hold on her; he knows exactly who she is, where she lives and how to hurt those she loves. He is an imposing figure, an authoritative man who is commanding and uncompromising. He will use violence against her too, and quickly reveals himself to be a trusted doctor. He's a worthy foe, and he wants her to disappear, so she has a lot to deal with.
Despite giving the appearance of being utterly unprepared to deal with such an assault, Agatha is not without her own guile. She's extraordinarily clever; she knows how the criminal mind works and can easily see where she is being lead. She also has experience with poison. She learnt the basics of it to make her writing more informed. She seems conservative and ordinary, which, in part, becomes her greatest weapon because she has just been drastically underestimated. She's written about men like this herself; she knows what to expect from them and has some ideas of her own for dealing with them. So a deadly game begins, one I found tense and intriguing.
A police body hunt also commences, as Agatha is considered dead by the officer in charge of her disappearance. The story becomes a speculative narrative, a possible and entertaining explanation of what could have happened when she did actually go missing in real life in December 1926. She was gone for ten whole days, and nobody really knows what happened. She would never speak of it herself, so all we have is speculation. Wilson also digs into the unexplainable death of a young reporter assigned with researching the case, providing a tense and detailed plot about what connected all these people together. Historically speaking, there are many lingering questions about what happened to Agatha during these ten days. This novel provides a conspiracy theory, a massive what if that seems eerily possible. We will never have our answers, but what Wilson provides are some clever fictional ones.
I've not read any of Agatha Christie's actual novels, but after reading this I want to. Wilson drew upon many of the themes and characters. As our cunning doctor here recognises, he's a caricature of one of her most famous villains: Doctor Sheppard. He became obsessed with Agatha Christie's writing and tried to relive parts of it, that much so he tried to take control of her life. So this is highly recommended for fans of Christie or for those who just enjoy a good crime novel. It's out in July!
-I received an arc of this book from The Bookbag in exchange for an honest review.
Writing about murder is one thing, actually committing it yourself is another thing altogether. She becomes torn between her morals and her family. For this man has a powerful hold on her; he knows exactly who she is, where she lives and how to hurt those she loves. He is an imposing figure, an authoritative man who is commanding and uncompromising. He will use violence against her too, and quickly reveals himself to be a trusted doctor. He's a worthy foe, and he wants her to disappear, so she has a lot to deal with.
Despite giving the appearance of being utterly unprepared to deal with such an assault, Agatha is not without her own guile. She's extraordinarily clever; she knows how the criminal mind works and can easily see where she is being lead. She also has experience with poison. She learnt the basics of it to make her writing more informed. She seems conservative and ordinary, which, in part, becomes her greatest weapon because she has just been drastically underestimated. She's written about men like this herself; she knows what to expect from them and has some ideas of her own for dealing with them. So a deadly game begins, one I found tense and intriguing.
A police body hunt also commences, as Agatha is considered dead by the officer in charge of her disappearance. The story becomes a speculative narrative, a possible and entertaining explanation of what could have happened when she did actually go missing in real life in December 1926. She was gone for ten whole days, and nobody really knows what happened. She would never speak of it herself, so all we have is speculation. Wilson also digs into the unexplainable death of a young reporter assigned with researching the case, providing a tense and detailed plot about what connected all these people together. Historically speaking, there are many lingering questions about what happened to Agatha during these ten days. This novel provides a conspiracy theory, a massive what if that seems eerily possible. We will never have our answers, but what Wilson provides are some clever fictional ones.
I've not read any of Agatha Christie's actual novels, but after reading this I want to. Wilson drew upon many of the themes and characters. As our cunning doctor here recognises, he's a caricature of one of her most famous villains: Doctor Sheppard. He became obsessed with Agatha Christie's writing and tried to relive parts of it, that much so he tried to take control of her life. So this is highly recommended for fans of Christie or for those who just enjoy a good crime novel. It's out in July!
-I received an arc of this book from The Bookbag in exchange for an honest review.
April 29, 2018
2.5*
I had high hopes for this book. Andrew Wilson wrote an excellent biography of Patricia Highsmith, and I looked forward to seeing his research and writing skills applied to this ambitious projects which sought to feature Dame Agatha Christie as the protagonist in her very own mystery: the mystery of her disappearance for 11 days in December 1926.
A Talent for Murder starts out with Agatha standing on the platform in a London Underground station, contemplating the impending breakdown of her marriage and her husband's affair with a younger woman.
Wherever I turned my head I thought I saw her, a woman people described as striking, beautiful even.
That would never have been my choice of words.
Of course, when I looked again across the glove counter or perfume display it was never her, just another dark-haired woman trying to make the best of herself. But each of these imagined glimpses left a piece of scar tissue across my heart. I told myself to stop thinking of her - I would simply pretend the situation did not exist - but then I caught sight of another pale-faced brunette and the dull ache in my chest would flare up again and leave me feeling nauseous.
Suddenly, she feels disorientated and anxious, and cannot shake the feeling that someone is trying to push her onto the rails.
It is a great start to the book. Not only does Wilson create the very atmosphere of a crowded tube platform, but he also starts the story by recreating a scene from Christie's own story The Man in the Brown Suit. And while I read this part with the knowledge of how the scene develops in Christie's book it added some anticipation to see how Wilson would handle the scene.
As it turn out, he chose to make alterations and introduce a character that would have been more at home in Strangers on a Train (by Highsmith). I thought the idea of introducing a sociopath from Highsmith's world into the world of Agatha Christie was fun, exciting and somewhat of a geeky dream as it would allow to play around with a bit of a face-off between the seriously messed up minds of Highsmith's imagination and the mostly proper and twee characters of Christie's creation.
Seriously, I loved that idea. And I really liked the way that Wilson made the effort to emulate Christie's dialogues and give the book a real 1920s feel to it.
This is no mean feat. So many authors fail at this.
And, yet, A Talent for Murder did not manage to impress me. The plot that followed the initial scenes in London were contrivances that somewhat ignored Christie's own character and thus were just too unbelievable. The idea that Christie, even in her unravelling state of mind, could be blackmailed into committing a crime of the sort proposed in this book, was just too unrealistic. And I mean really too unrealistic. Agatha may have plumbed the depths of human villainy in her novels, but it is a fundamental mistake to presume that an author who can dream up a plot is also capable of living it.
Anyway, from this point on, the plot developed in ways which made very little sense, with characters acting ways that were inconsistent and showed that maybe the author had either rushed through some of the decisions or tried just a little too hard to shoe-horn real life events in Dame Agatha's biography into the life of the fictional characters - and let me say that I believe some of them were anachronistic.
Now, if a reader is able to disconnect the real Agatha from this book, or does not know or care much about the real Agatha, this book would probably work a treat. I mean, there really are some great ideas in this, that is, if the reader can also ignore some of the silly plot decisions. However, I was not able to do this. If the book proposes to be based on the real Agatha, then I find it difficult not to compare the proposed character with the real one. Maybe I'm just too much of a fan. I take the same issue with pastiches and fan-fiction based on other favourite characters - real and fictional - of mine.
As an example of one of the silly plot decisions, and one of various where I could not make sense of a scene, was the idea that the fictional Agatha would seemingly lack basic knowledge about chemistry and pharmacy. This also seemed to show some sloppiness on the part of the author. As most of us readers will know - and I suppose readers pick up A Talent for Murder because they already have some knowledge of Agatha Christie's life and work - the real Agatha had a working knowledge of chemistry and poisons which she acquired when training with a pharmacists in her youth. It therefore just makes no sense that she would conjure up a plot with another character that slipped up a detail such as where to get the ingredients to make saline solution.
There were just a few too many moments like this in the book, and after a while this became jarring enough for me that it could no longer be compensated for with Wilson great writing style.
So, what I have concluded from my venture into this new series is the following:
1. I now know who'd win in a fight between Highsmith's and Christie's fictional characters, and
2. Fiction based on my favourite crime writers is something I really should not seek out. Wilson's book, the first in a series, is not the first to try this and it is not the first of similar premises that I have tried to read. A Talent for Murder follows in the steps of Jill Dawson's The Crime Writer which features Pat Highsmith and Nicola Upson's series, which is loosely based on the life and character of Josephine Tey.
I have not tried Jill Patterson-Walsh's books, yet, but chances are I should give them a miss.
I had high hopes for this book. Andrew Wilson wrote an excellent biography of Patricia Highsmith, and I looked forward to seeing his research and writing skills applied to this ambitious projects which sought to feature Dame Agatha Christie as the protagonist in her very own mystery: the mystery of her disappearance for 11 days in December 1926.
A Talent for Murder starts out with Agatha standing on the platform in a London Underground station, contemplating the impending breakdown of her marriage and her husband's affair with a younger woman.
Wherever I turned my head I thought I saw her, a woman people described as striking, beautiful even.
That would never have been my choice of words.
Of course, when I looked again across the glove counter or perfume display it was never her, just another dark-haired woman trying to make the best of herself. But each of these imagined glimpses left a piece of scar tissue across my heart. I told myself to stop thinking of her - I would simply pretend the situation did not exist - but then I caught sight of another pale-faced brunette and the dull ache in my chest would flare up again and leave me feeling nauseous.
Suddenly, she feels disorientated and anxious, and cannot shake the feeling that someone is trying to push her onto the rails.
It is a great start to the book. Not only does Wilson create the very atmosphere of a crowded tube platform, but he also starts the story by recreating a scene from Christie's own story The Man in the Brown Suit. And while I read this part with the knowledge of how the scene develops in Christie's book it added some anticipation to see how Wilson would handle the scene.
As it turn out, he chose to make alterations and introduce a character that would have been more at home in Strangers on a Train (by Highsmith). I thought the idea of introducing a sociopath from Highsmith's world into the world of Agatha Christie was fun, exciting and somewhat of a geeky dream as it would allow to play around with a bit of a face-off between the seriously messed up minds of Highsmith's imagination and the mostly proper and twee characters of Christie's creation.
Seriously, I loved that idea. And I really liked the way that Wilson made the effort to emulate Christie's dialogues and give the book a real 1920s feel to it.
This is no mean feat. So many authors fail at this.
And, yet, A Talent for Murder did not manage to impress me. The plot that followed the initial scenes in London were contrivances that somewhat ignored Christie's own character and thus were just too unbelievable. The idea that Christie, even in her unravelling state of mind, could be blackmailed into committing a crime of the sort proposed in this book, was just too unrealistic. And I mean really too unrealistic. Agatha may have plumbed the depths of human villainy in her novels, but it is a fundamental mistake to presume that an author who can dream up a plot is also capable of living it.
Anyway, from this point on, the plot developed in ways which made very little sense, with characters acting ways that were inconsistent and showed that maybe the author had either rushed through some of the decisions or tried just a little too hard to shoe-horn real life events in Dame Agatha's biography into the life of the fictional characters - and let me say that I believe some of them were anachronistic.
Now, if a reader is able to disconnect the real Agatha from this book, or does not know or care much about the real Agatha, this book would probably work a treat. I mean, there really are some great ideas in this, that is, if the reader can also ignore some of the silly plot decisions. However, I was not able to do this. If the book proposes to be based on the real Agatha, then I find it difficult not to compare the proposed character with the real one. Maybe I'm just too much of a fan. I take the same issue with pastiches and fan-fiction based on other favourite characters - real and fictional - of mine.
As an example of one of the silly plot decisions, and one of various where I could not make sense of a scene, was the idea that the fictional Agatha would seemingly lack basic knowledge about chemistry and pharmacy. This also seemed to show some sloppiness on the part of the author. As most of us readers will know - and I suppose readers pick up A Talent for Murder because they already have some knowledge of Agatha Christie's life and work - the real Agatha had a working knowledge of chemistry and poisons which she acquired when training with a pharmacists in her youth. It therefore just makes no sense that she would conjure up a plot with another character that slipped up a detail such as where to get the ingredients to make saline solution.
There were just a few too many moments like this in the book, and after a while this became jarring enough for me that it could no longer be compensated for with Wilson great writing style.
So, what I have concluded from my venture into this new series is the following:
1. I now know who'd win in a fight between Highsmith's and Christie's fictional characters, and
2. Fiction based on my favourite crime writers is something I really should not seek out. Wilson's book, the first in a series, is not the first to try this and it is not the first of similar premises that I have tried to read. A Talent for Murder follows in the steps of Jill Dawson's The Crime Writer which features Pat Highsmith and Nicola Upson's series, which is loosely based on the life and character of Josephine Tey.
I have not tried Jill Patterson-Walsh's books, yet, but chances are I should give them a miss.
August 16, 2017
When Agatha Christie disappeared from circulation in 1926 her reasons were far different to what the police and her husband imagined. For she was being blackmailed by a most unscrupulous and dishonourable person. The eleven days Mrs Christie spent in hiding, as another person, were extremely difficult for her on many levels…
Evil comes in many forms – with Mrs Christie’s concerns of her beloved husband’s affair, the approach of this blackmailer hit her when she was at her lowest. What did he have over her? And what was it he was determined she would do? The safety of her family was at stake; especially her daughter Rosalind. She knew she couldn’t let evil touch her…
A Talent for Murder is the fictionalised story of the real-life disappearance of the novelist, Agatha Christie – a story she would never speak of. Author Andrew Wilson has blended fact with fiction, mixed with intrigue and old-fashioned mystery. A highly enjoyable novel which I have no trouble in recommending.
With thanks to Simon & Schuster AU for my copy to read and review.
Evil comes in many forms – with Mrs Christie’s concerns of her beloved husband’s affair, the approach of this blackmailer hit her when she was at her lowest. What did he have over her? And what was it he was determined she would do? The safety of her family was at stake; especially her daughter Rosalind. She knew she couldn’t let evil touch her…
A Talent for Murder is the fictionalised story of the real-life disappearance of the novelist, Agatha Christie – a story she would never speak of. Author Andrew Wilson has blended fact with fiction, mixed with intrigue and old-fashioned mystery. A highly enjoyable novel which I have no trouble in recommending.
With thanks to Simon & Schuster AU for my copy to read and review.
July 8, 2018
A Talent for Murder is a fictional account of the disappearance of Agatha Christie for ten days in 1926. I thought this was a clever interpretation and a true honest to goodness mystery. Andrew Wilson does justice to Agatha Christie and I look forward to reading more books by him.
March 18, 2018
I liked the idea more than I liked the story, to be honest. I found it a bit too far-fetched and I struggled with the book quite badly, took me several days to finish it since I didn't find the book that compelling to read, which meant reading a couple of chapters now and then, and letting other more interesting books come before this one. The whole blackmailing into committing a murder was, to be honest, a bit ridiculous especially since the "mastermind" wasn't especially scary, and the conclusion? Bah!
2 stars since I actually did manage to finish it and the beginning of the book was promising.
2 stars since I actually did manage to finish it and the beginning of the book was promising.
July 30, 2018
Having recently read a non-fiction book, “Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days,” about her disappearance in 1926. Although it was a fascinating read, I actually commented in my review of that book that the author was unable to really create a great deal of suspense, or mystery, about the actual events of Agatha Christie’s disappearance. In reality, it was really a cry for help, from a woman whose husband, Archie Christie, had fallen in love with another woman, Nancy Neele, and who was deeply hurt and unhappy. It is fair to say that events got out of hand and, so humiliated was Agatha Christie, by the media furore which unfolded that she emitted the entire event from her autobiography and interviewers were never allowed to ask about it.
Recently, there have been a number of books which attempt to either give fictional characters a new lease of life, or to put real life people in fiction. These have varied in terms of success. Author Josephine Tey has been used as an amateur detective by Nicola Upson, Poirot has been re-imagined, pretty unsuccessfully, by Sophie Hannah and Jill Paton Walsh has sympathetically extended the Lord Peter Wimsey novels. There have been other novels which have featured Agatha Christie as a character, but I do think this is one of the best. Andrew Wilson has taken the bare bones of the events surrounding Christie’s disappearance and created a crime novel, featuring many real people, which is sympathetic to Christie herself and an enjoyable read.
We begin with an uncertain Agatha Christie, who is returning from London when she is approached by Dr Patrick Kurs. What unfolds is a fiendish plot, in which Christie is blackmailed and threatened by a man who wants the crime writer to commit a murder on his behalf. Having just read a book about the real events, I was impressed at how much Andrew Wilson incorporated, while writing an entirely different version of events. As a fan of Christie, who is my favourite author, I also liked his sympathetic portrayal of her and thought he got her ‘voice’ really well. I was delighted to see that there will be a further adventure starring Christie planned – “A Different Kind of Evil” – and I look forward to reading it. This has lots of appeal to Christie fans and crime lovers alike.
Recently, there have been a number of books which attempt to either give fictional characters a new lease of life, or to put real life people in fiction. These have varied in terms of success. Author Josephine Tey has been used as an amateur detective by Nicola Upson, Poirot has been re-imagined, pretty unsuccessfully, by Sophie Hannah and Jill Paton Walsh has sympathetically extended the Lord Peter Wimsey novels. There have been other novels which have featured Agatha Christie as a character, but I do think this is one of the best. Andrew Wilson has taken the bare bones of the events surrounding Christie’s disappearance and created a crime novel, featuring many real people, which is sympathetic to Christie herself and an enjoyable read.
We begin with an uncertain Agatha Christie, who is returning from London when she is approached by Dr Patrick Kurs. What unfolds is a fiendish plot, in which Christie is blackmailed and threatened by a man who wants the crime writer to commit a murder on his behalf. Having just read a book about the real events, I was impressed at how much Andrew Wilson incorporated, while writing an entirely different version of events. As a fan of Christie, who is my favourite author, I also liked his sympathetic portrayal of her and thought he got her ‘voice’ really well. I was delighted to see that there will be a further adventure starring Christie planned – “A Different Kind of Evil” – and I look forward to reading it. This has lots of appeal to Christie fans and crime lovers alike.
November 21, 2017
Pretty Dreadful. The the facts about this period are well documented which forces a framework for the story. But her character doesn't fit if you have read any of the biographies or her autobiography. The "villain" is just too twirling moustache cliché. And the plot is dribble. No twist, no mystery, no whodunit. It is just a set up vehicle for what I assume will be a series bad mysteries starring Dame Agatha. The two plot threads didn't appear to tie up; you could remove the Una / Davison plot and it would make no difference, it serves only to demonstrate a bit of research and provide a link to build further episodes on.
A complete waste of electrons.... A least no trees were killed to provide my copy. It gets two stars because I finished it and goodreads won't allow 1.5*
If you want a good author turned detective series try the Josephine Tay books by Nicola Upson
A complete waste of electrons.... A least no trees were killed to provide my copy. It gets two stars because I finished it and goodreads won't allow 1.5*
If you want a good author turned detective series try the Josephine Tay books by Nicola Upson
July 26, 2020
11 DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD!
On a dark winter´s night December 3rd 1926 Mrs. Agatha Christie disappears from her home.
Only her beloved Morris was found at the bottom of a pit, giving very few clues to what might have happened to the crime author.
A few personal belongings and an outdated driver´s license were left in the car, but otherwise there were no traces of Mrs. Christie.
Despite the massive (wo)manhunt which was almost immediately initiated neither new clues or, as many feared, a body was found.
This book tells us what really happened … brace yourself, the truth is evil.
A light summer-read, but an entertaining one which do take all known facts into consideration and builds a nice plot upon these facts.
On a dark winter´s night December 3rd 1926 Mrs. Agatha Christie disappears from her home.
Only her beloved Morris was found at the bottom of a pit, giving very few clues to what might have happened to the crime author.
A few personal belongings and an outdated driver´s license were left in the car, but otherwise there were no traces of Mrs. Christie.
Despite the massive (wo)manhunt which was almost immediately initiated neither new clues or, as many feared, a body was found.
This book tells us what really happened … brace yourself, the truth is evil.
A light summer-read, but an entertaining one which do take all known facts into consideration and builds a nice plot upon these facts.
February 2, 2022
2.5 rounded up to 3. I didn’t like this author’s version of how Agatha Christie’s missing 11 days may have happened.
October 24, 2017
Not the most compelling read,i'm afraid.As much as I adore Christie,and learning more about her life with an added thrill would be such fun,this was not it.The whole premise seemed really good,but the implausible execution was a let down.
March 20, 2018
I’m fairly new to the world of Agatha Christie, having just read two of her books in recent months. So I wasn’t at all aware of the events this novel is inspired by. In December 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared without a trace. Ten days later, she was found in a hotel in Harrogate but since Agatha has never talked about that period of her life, the mystery surrounding her disappearance still remains today.
Andrew Wilson has taken that premise and delivered a story that not only oozes atmosphere but is also quite dark and disturbing. Because Agatha Christie is being blackmailed do commit a murder. Writing about it is one thing, actually doing the crime is something entirely different. Will Agatha do this heinous act? Or will her wit allow her to find a way out of this most horrendous situation?
While the story is mostly told from Agatha’s point of view, we are also introduced to the detective charged with finding her and Una Crowe, a wanna-be journalist who would love nothing more than to solve this case and find a way to move on from her father’s death. With such a delightful cast of characters and fabulous settings, I quickly found myself completely immersed.
At first I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It seemed rather weird to have a fictional story centred around the great lady of crime herself. But Andrew Wilson really brought her to life, portraying her not just simply as this author of detective stories but as a remarkably intelligent woman whose priority is protecting her family. I adored the little mentions of books she’s written, especially as the “bad guy” seemingly took inspiration from one of her characters. Since I’ve not read that particular book, that bit may have gone over my head a bit but I’m sure that to those of you who have read it, it will add that little something extra. Speaking of the “bad guy”, he is quite possibly the most vile and despicable character I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.
A Talent for Murder had me hooked from the first page and I found it brilliantly absorbing. I love that the author included the facts at the end of the novel, pages I refused to read before I had finished the story and some things really surprised me. This is the first in a series, with a second instalment due in May, and I must say I can’t wait to get my hands on that one. I thoroughly enjoyed this offering and I’d like to think Mrs Agatha Christie would have done so as well.
Andrew Wilson has taken that premise and delivered a story that not only oozes atmosphere but is also quite dark and disturbing. Because Agatha Christie is being blackmailed do commit a murder. Writing about it is one thing, actually doing the crime is something entirely different. Will Agatha do this heinous act? Or will her wit allow her to find a way out of this most horrendous situation?
While the story is mostly told from Agatha’s point of view, we are also introduced to the detective charged with finding her and Una Crowe, a wanna-be journalist who would love nothing more than to solve this case and find a way to move on from her father’s death. With such a delightful cast of characters and fabulous settings, I quickly found myself completely immersed.
At first I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It seemed rather weird to have a fictional story centred around the great lady of crime herself. But Andrew Wilson really brought her to life, portraying her not just simply as this author of detective stories but as a remarkably intelligent woman whose priority is protecting her family. I adored the little mentions of books she’s written, especially as the “bad guy” seemingly took inspiration from one of her characters. Since I’ve not read that particular book, that bit may have gone over my head a bit but I’m sure that to those of you who have read it, it will add that little something extra. Speaking of the “bad guy”, he is quite possibly the most vile and despicable character I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.
A Talent for Murder had me hooked from the first page and I found it brilliantly absorbing. I love that the author included the facts at the end of the novel, pages I refused to read before I had finished the story and some things really surprised me. This is the first in a series, with a second instalment due in May, and I must say I can’t wait to get my hands on that one. I thoroughly enjoyed this offering and I’d like to think Mrs Agatha Christie would have done so as well.
July 18, 2018
Taking Agatha Christie's famous 11-day disappearance as its starting point, this is a fictional insertion that rewrites this episode in the vein of her own books... sort of. In the afterword, Wilson discusses what is based on biographical fact: Christie's sense of betrayal at her first husband's affair, her grief at the death of a beloved parent - and then comes up with a plot which is a slightly strange mix of Golden Age romp with accents which are far more grave.
I felt slightly uncomfortable with the tone of this book: it isn't suggesting for a moment that Christie disappeared for the reason given here, but the combination of over-the-top evil villain (who all but swirled his moustaches!) with real deaths and threats didn't quite sit easily together in my eyes.
Whatever my misgivings, this is hugely readable as Christie's own dilemma is interspersed with the activities of a young couple with slight shades of Tommy and Tuppence (without the romance/marriage) or those other game gals who populate her fiction - though, again, there's a jarring end to these adventures. There's an intimation at the end that Agatha Christie will become a detective working for the Foreign Office or MI6...
I felt slightly uncomfortable with the tone of this book: it isn't suggesting for a moment that Christie disappeared for the reason given here, but the combination of over-the-top evil villain (who all but swirled his moustaches!) with real deaths and threats didn't quite sit easily together in my eyes.
Whatever my misgivings, this is hugely readable as Christie's own dilemma is interspersed with the activities of a young couple with slight shades of Tommy and Tuppence (without the romance/marriage) or those other game gals who populate her fiction - though, again, there's a jarring end to these adventures. There's an intimation at the end that Agatha Christie will become a detective working for the Foreign Office or MI6...
March 29, 2019
Ich hätte zwischendurch nicht erwartet, diesen Roman mit vier Sternen zu bewerten, muss aber sagen, dass er wirklich äußerst unterhaltsam war. Mit der Sprache hatte ich bis zum Schluss meine Probleme, aber das kann tatsächlich an der Übersetzung liegen, war jedenfalls etwas holprig zu lesen.
Den vierten Stern gab es eindeutig dafür, dass die Auflösung realistisch und nicht perfekt konstruiert ist, wie sonst oft in Kriminalromanen. Es ist mir häufig zu unrealistisch, wenn alle für die Handlung relevanten Personen irgendwann mal in Lebensgefahr schweben, dann aber im letzten Moment gerettet werden können, damit tatsächlich nur die Bösewichte sterben, das ist hier absolut nicht so, was ich als sehr erfrischend empfand!
Den vierten Stern gab es eindeutig dafür, dass die Auflösung realistisch und nicht perfekt konstruiert ist, wie sonst oft in Kriminalromanen. Es ist mir häufig zu unrealistisch, wenn alle für die Handlung relevanten Personen irgendwann mal in Lebensgefahr schweben, dann aber im letzten Moment gerettet werden können, damit tatsächlich nur die Bösewichte sterben, das ist hier absolut nicht so, was ich als sehr erfrischend empfand!
January 30, 2020
Doesn’t portray Agatha Christie well at all.
August 30, 2018
Andrew Wilson's book intrigued me because I have a fondness for Agatha Christie. Although I have read several of her book, love the series based on them, I don't really know much about her life. So for one, it was surprising to learn that in December 1926 she had disappeared for 11 days and it's still a mystery why that had happened. She claimed it was a case of amnesia but who knows for sure?
In this book the author pieces the facts together with the help of his imagination and creates a story that would fit perfectly in Mrs Christie's books, if not her life. But what are the facts?
Mrs Christie's mother had died early 1926. Her husband, Colonel Archibald Christie, was having an affair and later would divorce her and marry his lover, Nancy Neele. Before her disappearance, Mrs Christie had a row with her husband, who went to spend the night with friends. She left a letter to her secretary saying that she was travelling north. Her abandoned car was found at Newlands Corner, her driving license and some clothes inside. On the 11th day of her disappearance she was found in a Yorkshire hotel, registered as Mrs Teresa Neele from South Africa.
Taken all these facts, Andrew Wilson took a spin on it and turned it into a mystery novel with just the right elements: a crooked doctor set out to kill someone, who's blackmailing Agatha Christie into committing the crime for him. He threatens to expose her husband's affair to the media if she didn't follow his orders. After all, who would find a connection between them if they have never even met before?
The story is told from another person's perspective: Miss Una Crowe. Truth is, Miss Crowe was an actual living person just like Agatha Christie, and the author added her as a self-made journalist, who wanted to look into Mrs Christie's disappearance.
All in all, I enjoyed this book very much. It felt true to Agatha Christie's book, and that's how I looked at it: fiction, and a story about fictional characters. Even though some of them are real, I don't know enough about them to know what they really were like. But as main characters, I liked them.
The ending made me interested in the second book, so I definitely added the sequel to my reading list. Agatha Christie, in 1928, went to Baghdad on the Orient Express, and that's where it is set. What mysteries await her there that she needs to solve using her detective novelist skills?
In this book the author pieces the facts together with the help of his imagination and creates a story that would fit perfectly in Mrs Christie's books, if not her life. But what are the facts?
Mrs Christie's mother had died early 1926. Her husband, Colonel Archibald Christie, was having an affair and later would divorce her and marry his lover, Nancy Neele. Before her disappearance, Mrs Christie had a row with her husband, who went to spend the night with friends. She left a letter to her secretary saying that she was travelling north. Her abandoned car was found at Newlands Corner, her driving license and some clothes inside. On the 11th day of her disappearance she was found in a Yorkshire hotel, registered as Mrs Teresa Neele from South Africa.
Taken all these facts, Andrew Wilson took a spin on it and turned it into a mystery novel with just the right elements: a crooked doctor set out to kill someone, who's blackmailing Agatha Christie into committing the crime for him. He threatens to expose her husband's affair to the media if she didn't follow his orders. After all, who would find a connection between them if they have never even met before?
The story is told from another person's perspective: Miss Una Crowe. Truth is, Miss Crowe was an actual living person just like Agatha Christie, and the author added her as a self-made journalist, who wanted to look into Mrs Christie's disappearance.
All in all, I enjoyed this book very much. It felt true to Agatha Christie's book, and that's how I looked at it: fiction, and a story about fictional characters. Even though some of them are real, I don't know enough about them to know what they really were like. But as main characters, I liked them.
The ending made me interested in the second book, so I definitely added the sequel to my reading list. Agatha Christie, in 1928, went to Baghdad on the Orient Express, and that's where it is set. What mysteries await her there that she needs to solve using her detective novelist skills?
June 14, 2017
Agatha Christie was the original gone girl. In 1926 she mysteriously disappeared for a number of days, either to punish and cast aspersions on to her cheating spouse or otherwise. She herself has never discussed the event and famously omitted it in her autobiography. There were only a scarcely few facts about that time from several eyewitnesses and it is onto that scant framework Wilson has draped his fictional imagining of what might have taken place. I have to admit conceptually these sort of stories tend to slightly awe me with their cleverness. This one actually left something to be desired plot wise, it almost wasn't quite mysterious or sinister enough...though surely it must have been more so for the times. I would have liked something darker, stranger, more unimaginable. It was quite good as is, but a mystery written about possibly the greatest mystery writer of all time should really have more of a wow factor, it seems. Otherwise, entertaining quick enjoyable read. Thanks Netgalley.
September 20, 2018
This is a fictional mystery starring the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, herself, set during her real 10 day disappearance in 1926, the motives or details for which she never publicly disclosed. Andrew Wilson weaves a fun and interesting mystery (involving some of Christie's own often used plot points, such as blackmail and poison) around this disappearance. I especially enjoyed all the biographical facts the author manages to incorporate into the story, but the mystery itself fell a bit flat overall. I feel like you had to really suspend your disbelief for some of what was happening, especially in the second half of a book and I just wasn't invested in the story as I hoped I would be. It's definitely worth a read if you're a long-term Christie fan like me, but if you're new to murder mysteries, have a look at Agatha Christie's own bibliography instead.
April 5, 2017
In 1926 Agatha Christie was at the peak of her writing powers, to the world she was the creator of that little Belgian detective Hercule Poirot who had recently appeared in the soon to be classic crime novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, she lived a lifestyle many would desire, and life seemed to be treating her well. However, things were not as wonderful, as one would imagine, she had recently lost her mother, she was struggling to finish her new novel and her husband Archie was having an affair and wanted a divorce. And so, on the 3rd of December Agatha Christie disappeared from her home and was not found for 10 days, there was huge public outcry at her disappearance and a massive police hunt was carried out.
A Talent for Murder deals with Mrs Christie's disappearance, Andrew Wilson fills in her missing days by placing Agatha at the heart of a diabolical murder plot, devised by a man who many who place their trust in. Andrew Wilson has created a crime novel which sits nicely with the Christie canon. Entertaining, feasible plotting and an authentic narrative make this a highly enjoyable read.
A Talent for Murder deals with Mrs Christie's disappearance, Andrew Wilson fills in her missing days by placing Agatha at the heart of a diabolical murder plot, devised by a man who many who place their trust in. Andrew Wilson has created a crime novel which sits nicely with the Christie canon. Entertaining, feasible plotting and an authentic narrative make this a highly enjoyable read.
July 3, 2017
Hmm. This is an interesting one.
One one hand, it's an excellent summation of the facts of Agatha Christie's disappearance in 1926. Wilson has every bit of information at his fingertips, and he marshalls them very cleverly. I'm in awe of that aspect of the story!
But on the other, it is not a mystery story. There is no puzzle to solve, and no twist in the tale. What you expect to happen happens - and what you expect is very interesting! But it isn't surprising.
Wilson is up against it in this book: he's fictionalising a real human, Agatha Christie, who lives in many people's heads already. I know she lives in mine - and I know that my Agatha is not his. I'm fine with that, and as long as you're fine with that too I think this is worth a read. Just don't expect any shocks! 12+
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. Please do not use it in any marketing material, online or in print, without asking permission from me first. Thank you!*
One one hand, it's an excellent summation of the facts of Agatha Christie's disappearance in 1926. Wilson has every bit of information at his fingertips, and he marshalls them very cleverly. I'm in awe of that aspect of the story!
But on the other, it is not a mystery story. There is no puzzle to solve, and no twist in the tale. What you expect to happen happens - and what you expect is very interesting! But it isn't surprising.
Wilson is up against it in this book: he's fictionalising a real human, Agatha Christie, who lives in many people's heads already. I know she lives in mine - and I know that my Agatha is not his. I'm fine with that, and as long as you're fine with that too I think this is worth a read. Just don't expect any shocks! 12+
*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. Please do not use it in any marketing material, online or in print, without asking permission from me first. Thank you!*
August 16, 2020
A book that initially struggles to gain momentum, once it gets going this is a fun and engaging read. It does require the reader to suspend their disbelief for the main plot, but if you are able to ignore the implausibility of the story it is worth picking up.
The story starts slow and then grips you and won't let go. The characters are interesting, especially Una and Davison. The mystery itself is fairly straightforward with no real twist - the ending played out really well though and does pack an emotional punch.
All in all, a great quick read that I look forward to reading more of.
The story starts slow and then grips you and won't let go. The characters are interesting, especially Una and Davison. The mystery itself is fairly straightforward with no real twist - the ending played out really well though and does pack an emotional punch.
All in all, a great quick read that I look forward to reading more of.
September 30, 2017
Agatha Christie disappeared for sometime and there were no accounts for it. Was recommended this from a die hard Christie fan. Its a mash up of a mystery thriller with historical fiction aspect. While nothing amazing, it held my interest for the most part. I felt it read more like a script with poor dialogue attached. My gut feeling is that it will most likely appeal to Christie fanboys/girls.
March 22, 2018
Although I am a big fan of Agatha Christie and her novels, I don’t know much about her personal life and this novel gave me the chance to find out more about her so I’d like to thank Jess Barratt and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy of the book.
In December 1926, the Queen of Crime Agatha Christie was going through a lot both personally and professionally. On the personal side, she misses her mother who died two years earlier and she doesn’t accept that her husband is leaving her for another woman. On the professional side, the success of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has created expectations from her readers and she is struggling to finish her new novel, The Mystery of the Blue Train. She suddenly disappears and, even though the entire country is looking for her, she turns up in a hotel only ten days later. She doesn’t remember what happened and the mystery was never solved, but Andrew Wilson creates a fantastic fictional story of what happened during these ten days in A TALENT FOR MURDER.
The novel starts with Agatha Christie at a train station in London. She is first attacked, then saved, and then blackmailed by the same man, a Dr Kurs who wants her to commit the perfect murder. Fearing not only for her life, but also for the lives of the people she loves, Agatha Christie has no choice but to disappears for ten days and do everything that this man asks her.
In my mind, Agatha Christie is the genius behind the creation of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and other amazing and twisty stories, but here Andrew Wilson portrayed her as a mother who loves deeply her daughter and would do anything to protect her; as a wife in love with her husband who hopes he won’t leave her; as a daughter still grieving over her mother’s death; as a bestselling author who feels the pressure of the readers; and, finally, as a woman who underestimates herself, her character, and her look. Andrew Wilson depicts her as a smart woman with a great mind, but by portraying her fears, her hopes and her insecurities, he makes her more human.
The novel doesn’t focus only on Agatha Christie, but also on other characters that play a role in the story. Dr Kurs is portrayed as a diabolic and dark man, like a villain out of one of Agatha Christie’s mysteries. Then there is Superintendent William Kenward, the detective in charge of the investigation of Agatha Christie’s disappearance. He thinks that she is dead and that her husband has something to do with it and he wants to prove it. Although he seemed like a good man, I found him a little too pretentious and self-assured. And finally, my favorite character, Una Crowe. She is a young girl, turned journalist, who is investigating the author’s disappearance. I like her because she is determined, she wants to prove to the world that she is not just a rich girl with no ambition in her life, but she has brain and she knows how to use it.
Beautifully written and carefully plotted, A TALENT FOR MURDER is a gripping and captivating novel and it is out now, so I suggest you go out and buy it.
In December 1926, the Queen of Crime Agatha Christie was going through a lot both personally and professionally. On the personal side, she misses her mother who died two years earlier and she doesn’t accept that her husband is leaving her for another woman. On the professional side, the success of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has created expectations from her readers and she is struggling to finish her new novel, The Mystery of the Blue Train. She suddenly disappears and, even though the entire country is looking for her, she turns up in a hotel only ten days later. She doesn’t remember what happened and the mystery was never solved, but Andrew Wilson creates a fantastic fictional story of what happened during these ten days in A TALENT FOR MURDER.
The novel starts with Agatha Christie at a train station in London. She is first attacked, then saved, and then blackmailed by the same man, a Dr Kurs who wants her to commit the perfect murder. Fearing not only for her life, but also for the lives of the people she loves, Agatha Christie has no choice but to disappears for ten days and do everything that this man asks her.
In my mind, Agatha Christie is the genius behind the creation of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and other amazing and twisty stories, but here Andrew Wilson portrayed her as a mother who loves deeply her daughter and would do anything to protect her; as a wife in love with her husband who hopes he won’t leave her; as a daughter still grieving over her mother’s death; as a bestselling author who feels the pressure of the readers; and, finally, as a woman who underestimates herself, her character, and her look. Andrew Wilson depicts her as a smart woman with a great mind, but by portraying her fears, her hopes and her insecurities, he makes her more human.
The novel doesn’t focus only on Agatha Christie, but also on other characters that play a role in the story. Dr Kurs is portrayed as a diabolic and dark man, like a villain out of one of Agatha Christie’s mysteries. Then there is Superintendent William Kenward, the detective in charge of the investigation of Agatha Christie’s disappearance. He thinks that she is dead and that her husband has something to do with it and he wants to prove it. Although he seemed like a good man, I found him a little too pretentious and self-assured. And finally, my favorite character, Una Crowe. She is a young girl, turned journalist, who is investigating the author’s disappearance. I like her because she is determined, she wants to prove to the world that she is not just a rich girl with no ambition in her life, but she has brain and she knows how to use it.
Beautifully written and carefully plotted, A TALENT FOR MURDER is a gripping and captivating novel and it is out now, so I suggest you go out and buy it.
October 31, 2018
I think this book is the 3rd or 4th one I’ve read in the last month to feature tetrodotoxin (obtained in puffer fish in its natural state & used to make “zombies”) as a plot element, and we saw it while watching a tv show the other night. Something in the zeitgeist.
This is the first in a series featuring Agatha Christie as the sleuth, and uses all the known facts about her 10 day disappearance and hangs a fairly outrageous story on them. The villain in the piece is evil incarnate, which may be part of the author’s interest, exploring the nature of
dark side of human nature, and how far a person must be pushed to commit murder. Christie as a character is at a low point of her life, her mother dead in recent past and her marriage on the rocks, and she spends much of the book as a victim which was unpleasant. She also was buried in guilt, and dwelled on sin, which may be accurate, but added to her victimhood. She had “a very fine mind” according to one of the characters in the book, but it took a while for her spine to match it. She needed some of Miss Marple’s steeliness. The solution to her dilemma felt a little deus ex machine for me. All in all, it was not was I was hoping for, but it was an interesting take on the circumstances of her disappearance & read quickly. There are at least two more books in the series, I read the first chapter of the second book and may read it in the midst of my continued quest to read all of AC’s mysteries with the Agatha Christie Lovers group. The author seems quite fascinated by marital infidelity, the Christies’ marital troubles were central to the plot of this book, and the second book starts out with another couple’s problems resulting in death on the way to the Canary Islands.
3.5 rounded up to 4, at least for now, for helping me to read something totally apart from the election madness and nearly daily violence of autumn 2018. English murder mysteries feel civilized and restful in comparison. Recommended for Christie fans, and English mystery fans.
This is the first in a series featuring Agatha Christie as the sleuth, and uses all the known facts about her 10 day disappearance and hangs a fairly outrageous story on them. The villain in the piece is evil incarnate, which may be part of the author’s interest, exploring the nature of
dark side of human nature, and how far a person must be pushed to commit murder. Christie as a character is at a low point of her life, her mother dead in recent past and her marriage on the rocks, and she spends much of the book as a victim which was unpleasant. She also was buried in guilt, and dwelled on sin, which may be accurate, but added to her victimhood. She had “a very fine mind” according to one of the characters in the book, but it took a while for her spine to match it. She needed some of Miss Marple’s steeliness. The solution to her dilemma felt a little deus ex machine for me. All in all, it was not was I was hoping for, but it was an interesting take on the circumstances of her disappearance & read quickly. There are at least two more books in the series, I read the first chapter of the second book and may read it in the midst of my continued quest to read all of AC’s mysteries with the Agatha Christie Lovers group. The author seems quite fascinated by marital infidelity, the Christies’ marital troubles were central to the plot of this book, and the second book starts out with another couple’s problems resulting in death on the way to the Canary Islands.
3.5 rounded up to 4, at least for now, for helping me to read something totally apart from the election madness and nearly daily violence of autumn 2018. English murder mysteries feel civilized and restful in comparison. Recommended for Christie fans, and English mystery fans.
October 8, 2017
It must seem like a good idea to write a crime novel in which a famous crime novelist is the chief protagonist. Jill Dawson has done it with Patricia Highsmith and now Andrew Wilson uses Agatha Christie. Both base their stories on an actual period in the author's lives. Unfortunately, I found both similarly underwhelming.
Andrew Wilson uses the true life events of 1926 when Agatha Christie mysteriously went missing. He further uses other real people and places involved in the mystery. The problem is that the planned murder that he then concocts as the reason for her disappearance is thoroughly implausible (even having a hint of similarity with Highsmith's Strangers on a train). The plot becomes so convoluted that any tension evaporates.
Andrew Wilson uses the true life events of 1926 when Agatha Christie mysteriously went missing. He further uses other real people and places involved in the mystery. The problem is that the planned murder that he then concocts as the reason for her disappearance is thoroughly implausible (even having a hint of similarity with Highsmith's Strangers on a train). The plot becomes so convoluted that any tension evaporates.
March 21, 2018
Agatha Christie engendrou inúmeros mistérios através dos seus livros, todos solucionados, mas há um enigma que permanece por ser desvendado ao fim de quase 100 anos
(...)
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May 11, 2017
In December 1926, mystery writer Agatha Christie disappeared from her home and her seven-year-old daughter Rosalind; 11 days later, she turned up in a hotel - safe and sound, but according to her, unable to recall what had happened. Later, biographer Andrew Norman reportedly wrote that she suffered from amnesia and was suicidal, and much speculation has come from other sources. Was it a publicity stunt to draw attention to her books? Was she distraught over learning of her husband (at the time) Archie's mistress, Theresa Neele?
To this day, the mystery of her disappearance remains unknown. The author, however, has given it his twist in this book - creating an engrossing account of the missing time in a work worthy of the late, great English crime novelist, playwright and writer of short stories that seems to me to be well-researched. A little far-fetched? Perhaps, but no more so than one of Christie's own novels.
The tale begins as Christie is saved from falling in front of an oncoming train. Or was she? It seems her "rescuer," a physician, has darker things in mind. His offer of comfort as they share tea in a cafe following the near-fatal accident quickly becomes an offer of another sort entirely. The not-so-good doctor, it seems, knows everything there is to know about Christie and her family - including her husband's infidelity. Unless she follows his plan to the letter - the first step of which is that she must disappear - he'll reveal all and possibly even cause physical harm to Christie's young daughter.
So begins her frightening journey into a fictional adventure that mirrors all too closely the intricate novels for which she is becoming well known. It is a journey filled with intrigue, cover-ups and murder; throughout, Christie's resourcefulness is put to the test as she tries to extricate herself from the tasks she's being blackmailed into doing without jeopardizing the lives of her family, friends, and even herself. How (and to what extent) she pulls that off is the stuff of this clever, well-researched novel. Well done!
To this day, the mystery of her disappearance remains unknown. The author, however, has given it his twist in this book - creating an engrossing account of the missing time in a work worthy of the late, great English crime novelist, playwright and writer of short stories that seems to me to be well-researched. A little far-fetched? Perhaps, but no more so than one of Christie's own novels.
The tale begins as Christie is saved from falling in front of an oncoming train. Or was she? It seems her "rescuer," a physician, has darker things in mind. His offer of comfort as they share tea in a cafe following the near-fatal accident quickly becomes an offer of another sort entirely. The not-so-good doctor, it seems, knows everything there is to know about Christie and her family - including her husband's infidelity. Unless she follows his plan to the letter - the first step of which is that she must disappear - he'll reveal all and possibly even cause physical harm to Christie's young daughter.
So begins her frightening journey into a fictional adventure that mirrors all too closely the intricate novels for which she is becoming well known. It is a journey filled with intrigue, cover-ups and murder; throughout, Christie's resourcefulness is put to the test as she tries to extricate herself from the tasks she's being blackmailed into doing without jeopardizing the lives of her family, friends, and even herself. How (and to what extent) she pulls that off is the stuff of this clever, well-researched novel. Well done!
August 20, 2020
For eleven days in 1926, 36 year old Agatha Christie infamously disappeared after a row with her husband, Archie Christie. This novel provides a fictional account of what really happened during that time.
Essentially, this is a thriller novel. We know from near the beginning the identity of the bad guy. It is not a spoiler to say that he basically blackmails Agatha Christie by threatening to release details of her husband’s affair to the press. He also tells her he has friends in low places that will harm her daughter if she doesn’t comply. He is a fan of hers, you see and admires her ability to craft murder plots. Naturally, he wants her to engage in just such a murder plot to kill his own wife.
The author takes great pains to weave his story around the actual known facts of Agatha’s disappearance, including her excuses for it after it was over. Virtually all of the historical people involved play roles here as well, including the police investigators. But since no real facts are known of her reasons for the disappearance, the playing field is pretty wide open. And so a small subplot is introduced in the novel involving a spy agency who is trying to recruit her to work for them. This subplot serves to jump start the rest of the series where I understand she does, indeed, perform investigative services for them.
So, while I enjoyed the novel, I thought there were times when it seemed a little too predictable. Agatha also sometimes comes across as too much of a victim and even wishy-washy about how she makes her decisions on what to do next. Outside of using her knowledge of poisons, she doesn’t display any sort of craftiness in diffusing the situation and in fact, she actually causes an unnecessary death. Perhaps that is a realistic vision of what the actual Agatha Christie might do in a similar situation but I do hope she starts to become a little more clear-headed in future installments.
Essentially, this is a thriller novel. We know from near the beginning the identity of the bad guy. It is not a spoiler to say that he basically blackmails Agatha Christie by threatening to release details of her husband’s affair to the press. He also tells her he has friends in low places that will harm her daughter if she doesn’t comply. He is a fan of hers, you see and admires her ability to craft murder plots. Naturally, he wants her to engage in just such a murder plot to kill his own wife.
The author takes great pains to weave his story around the actual known facts of Agatha’s disappearance, including her excuses for it after it was over. Virtually all of the historical people involved play roles here as well, including the police investigators. But since no real facts are known of her reasons for the disappearance, the playing field is pretty wide open. And so a small subplot is introduced in the novel involving a spy agency who is trying to recruit her to work for them. This subplot serves to jump start the rest of the series where I understand she does, indeed, perform investigative services for them.
So, while I enjoyed the novel, I thought there were times when it seemed a little too predictable. Agatha also sometimes comes across as too much of a victim and even wishy-washy about how she makes her decisions on what to do next. Outside of using her knowledge of poisons, she doesn’t display any sort of craftiness in diffusing the situation and in fact, she actually causes an unnecessary death. Perhaps that is a realistic vision of what the actual Agatha Christie might do in a similar situation but I do hope she starts to become a little more clear-headed in future installments.
July 19, 2017
There has always been great intrigue surrounding the disappearance of novelist Agatha Christie during December 1926. She was missing for eleven days, after her car was discovered abandoned. It was a time of much upheaval for Mrs. Christie, as she had recently lost her mother, her husband Archie was having an affair and had asked for a divorce, and the writing of her latest book was not going well. She had gained fame already as a novelist writing detective fiction and her creation of the strange Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920. Much speculation surrounds the disappearance of the novelist, but Agatha Christie herself never discussed it or explained it.
In A Talent for Murder, author Andrew Wilson creates a story explaining what happened during those eleven days of the police searching and the country wondering what had become of Agatha Christie. It is a dark tale in which the creator of stories finds herself a character in a madman's evil scheme. She is unable to confide in anyone in order to protect her loved ones, including her daughter Rosalind, and thus, Agatha faces the manipulation of this demented puppet master alone. His plans for her include the commission of a murder by Agatha, as he relies on her advanced knowledge of certain methods of death. Agatha is caught in a nightmare from which she fears she will never wake.
Andrew Wilson has given readers a great story that utilizes Agatha Christie's talent for creating murder mysteries in a twisted tale of revenge. It is a smart, fascinating account of one of the literary world's greatest mysteries. It is dark, but the atmosphere is well set for an evil of this magnitude. Like so many of the unexplained in history, it's captivating to read what might have been.
In A Talent for Murder, author Andrew Wilson creates a story explaining what happened during those eleven days of the police searching and the country wondering what had become of Agatha Christie. It is a dark tale in which the creator of stories finds herself a character in a madman's evil scheme. She is unable to confide in anyone in order to protect her loved ones, including her daughter Rosalind, and thus, Agatha faces the manipulation of this demented puppet master alone. His plans for her include the commission of a murder by Agatha, as he relies on her advanced knowledge of certain methods of death. Agatha is caught in a nightmare from which she fears she will never wake.
Andrew Wilson has given readers a great story that utilizes Agatha Christie's talent for creating murder mysteries in a twisted tale of revenge. It is a smart, fascinating account of one of the literary world's greatest mysteries. It is dark, but the atmosphere is well set for an evil of this magnitude. Like so many of the unexplained in history, it's captivating to read what might have been.
July 3, 2017
A Talent for Murder is the fictitious account of the missing days of Agatha Christie in the late 1920's which puts the popular mystery writer in the thick of a crime where she's the both victim and perpetrator. This one had a cozy mystery feel to it, like a day time midday movie; well written with little by way of 'dark' crime (one character excluded) and a clever blending of fact and fiction (some of the events described in the book actually happened, though any link to Christie in the real world can't be made). I've not read any books buy Agatha Christie so wont attempt to comment on comparisons to this and her crime mysteries but will say A Talent for Murder has quite the 1920's mystery feel about it - atmospheric and a nice throwback to an earlier period in crime fiction. 4 stars.
January 17, 2021
21/2stars. I liked the beginning, found the premise interesting as it is about those ten days when Agatha Christie disappeared, which no one knows anything about.
I must say that i lost interest half way into the novel. I listened to an audiobook that was well read, by two readers. Only the woman’s voice was normal, while the man’s voice boomed and you had to rush to turn the sound down.
I must say that i lost interest half way into the novel. I listened to an audiobook that was well read, by two readers. Only the woman’s voice was normal, while the man’s voice boomed and you had to rush to turn the sound down.
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