Two by Agatha to almost finish the year's reading

74. The Sittaford Mystery

by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1931
Kindle book - 18
finished, 12/20/10

75. A Murder is Announced
fourth in the Miss Marple series
by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1950
Kindle book - 19
finished, 12/27/10

I'm going to do a combined book report for two reasons: one, the end of the year is fast approaching and I would like to complete my book reports for 2010 and two, these two, read one after the other, may just be my favorite Agatha Christie books yet. I use the word 'may' because so often when I finish one of her stories, I think that it is the best one so far; but these two really are both excellent books. I do know that A Murder is Announced is my favorite Jane Marple book. I wish Agatha had given her this much attention and time in all the other books in which she makes an appearance. I feel like I've really gotten to know her in this book. She is a fully drawn character, not just someone who pops in to give the solution to a mysterious death. And it really is quite possible that The Sittaford Mystery is my favorite Agatha book of all I've read. It begins, sounding like Great Britain in December 2010.

The scene that met his eyes was typical of the English countryside as depicted on Xmas cards and in old-fashioned melodramas. Everywhere was snow, deep drifts of it - no mere powdering an inch or two thick. Snow had fallen all over England for the last four days, and up here on the fringe of Dartmoor it had attained a depth of several feet.
Up here, in the tiny village of Sittaford, at all times remote from the world, and now almost completely cut off, the rigours of winter were a very real problem.

This is a perfectly delightful mystery with all the elements that we mystery readers love: snow, an isolated moor, a plucky young amateur detective trying to save her fiancé who is in jail for murder, and intriguing village characters. The story begins at a tea given by the Willets, mother and daughter, who have rented a house. No one in the village can figure out why they would want to live so far away from everything, but are happy to spend time in their company. The amusement of choice is a bit of 'table turning.' You may read more about this phenomenon here. The table begins to rock and spells out: 'Captain Trevelyan is dead.'

And then the word 'murder' appears. The time is 'twenty-five minutes past five.'There aren't any telephones in Sittaford, so Trevelyan's great friend, Major Burnaby sets out to trudge miles through the snow to see if the table spirit told the truth. And the reader is off on a great mystery adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed being along for the ride. My beloved Agatha Christie - A Reader's Companion by Vanessa Wagstaff & Stephen Poole offers this picture of early versions.

The top picture is a UK edition, while the bottom right is a US edition, with a different name. I'll never understand why all countries can't use the same title for a book! The Reader's Companion tells us that:

The name Sittaford came from Sittaford Tor, on Dartmoor, where Christie completed her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, after a visit to the Moorland Hotel.

A Murder is Announced begins in a novel, delightful manner. We follow the fellow who delivers newspapers around the village of Chipping Cleghorn and see what the villagers are reading. Into a mother and adult son household comes The Times and The Daily Worker. Two women receive the Daily Telegraph and the New Chronicle. This introduces the characters; and I expect that readers in 1950 knew just what the people were like by what paper they read. In addition to the large papers,

At all these houses, and indeed at practically every house in Chipping Cleghorn, he delivered every Friday a copy of the North Benham News and Chipping Cleghorn Gazette, known locally simply as 'The Gazette'.

This ensures that everyone in the village shall read this notice:

A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m. Friends please accept this, the only intimation.

Of course everyone simply must go to Little Paddocks to see just what this is all about. Many think it is a parlor game of murder. But when the lights go out and gunshots are fired, they see the game is real. When the lights come on, the shooter lies dead, and hostess Letitia Blacklock's ear is bleeding. And the mystery begins. Who is this man? Why did he try to kill Miss Blacklock? And why was it 'announced' beforehand?

The police receive a letter from Miss Jane Marple who is staying at a nearby hotel and there is:

Something she thinks we might like to know in connection with this Chipping Cleghorn business.

Because Sir Henry Clithering, retired Scotland Yard detective is helping out in the case, and because he knows Jane, her letter is taken seriously. He says of her:

She's just the finest detective God ever made.

As I noted previously, she is a fully involved character in this book. The Miss Marple characteristics are here - the way she really notices details, and the way she draws conclusions about people because they remind her of villagers in her own St. Mary Mead. When the police are about to close the case, she presents them with information that changes the course of the investigation. This is an intricate mystery involving interior design, past lives of the characters, important relationships, and people who may not be as they seem. Truly, an excellent mystery in every way.


Again from The Reader's Companion,

A Murder is Announced is the last jacket to have a pictorial design, as Christie preferred jackets without images that conflicted with her view of the contents.

So there you have it, my last two books by Agatha Christie in 2010. If you have an interest in her work, there's a wonderful ongoing challenge you may enjoy. It has no requirements, and no beginning or ending dates - just a group of people who want to read their way through the works of Agatha Christie. There are monthly compilations of reviews which appear on the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival. I keep track of my own progress in the Book Reports tab under the blog header photograph.