This is classic Christie---the country house, the discreet servants, and Hercule Poirot gathers them all in the library to expose the culprit. As usual, Dame Agatha has her way with us, sending us off in the wrong direction, maddeningly obscure clues, and a thoroughly suspicious bunch of characters.

Roger Abernethie's heirs are gathered to hear the will when flighty sister Cora drops the bombshell, "He Was murdered, wasn't he?" The next day Cora is found axed to death in her little cottage. We have a raft of suspects and Ms. Christie is careful not to give any of them a satisfactory alibi.

"After the Funeral" is vintage Christie. She was at the height of her powers (1953). The characterizations were surprisingly deft (usually not her strong suit.) Uncle Timothy, the malingerer, was overdone, but George, the clever ne'er do well had some great malicious lines. She has a marvelous sketch of a private detective, Mr. Goby who was "--small and spare and shrunken. He had always been refreshingly nondescript in appearance and he was now so nondescript as practically not to be there at all. Mr. Goby was not looking at Mr. Poirot because Mr. Goby never looked at anybody----he emphasized his last point by nodding significantly at the sofa."

This slyly humorous well done mystery was a pleasure to read. Did I figure out ahead of time whodunit? Don't even ask.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

It's no surprise that Agatha Christie is one of the most widely sold authors in the world. Unlike many other detective novels, "After the Funeral" kept me guessing down to the end. Ms. Christie's choice of murderer and motive turned out to be quite clever. All of her characters are richly drawn and well rounded. I loved this book and can't wait to read another.

Although this mystery is not among the more well-known Christies, it's certainly one of the best done. The characters are interesting, complex, and often quite humorous; the subtle clues are laid with care; and Christie really makes the novel's atmosphere come to life in her descriptions of Enderbury Hall and Cora's shabby cottage and sleepy town. Written in the 1950s, there is definetly a touch of nostalgia woven throughout the book -- hints of the changing post-war period, glimpses of years gone by. The novel's solution is spectacular, not only for the ingenious resolution of the puzzle but also because Christie really hits the nail on the head when she reveals the murderer's psychological justification for his/her acts. She has a deep understanding of the obsessions and quirks that, taken to extremes, motivate humans to commit terrible acts.

Michael Rogers, a man who lives with his own way, falls in love with Ellie Guteman, a 21 years old American girl, who turns out to be the richest girl in America. They get married and build house on Gypsy's Acre. Soon the newleyweds find out that they are supposed to pay more intention with the curse that falls upon the land.

I've been a fan of Christie since I was, like, 12 years old. I've read almost all of her crime novels and I must say, if you're a truly Christie fan, you won't get disappointed with this one.

Endless Night was more melodramatic than the others I've read. The murder wasn't come until half of the book and even so, there wasn't any rapid investigation like when she writes about Poirot and Miss Marple. But the ending was surely Christie's style

Readers of "Murder On The Orient Express", "Death On The Nile", "Crooked House" or other classic Christie titles may be surprised by this 1967 book. The basic plot idea has been used before by the authoress, and yet "Endless Night" is completely unlike any other book in Christie's whole canon. It is, however, without doubt one of her finest, and arguably the best she wrote in her later years. The atmosphere and pace are beautifully sustained, and the ending is positively remarkable. This is a quiet, chilling book; all of the "cosy" murder mystery element found in the Christie books of the 1930s are banished to create an even more sinister novel of very high quality. Essential reading for any Christie fan, and worth investigating anyway, because this really is a very fine book.

"Endless Night", written late in Agatha Christie's career, shows well her gifts for clever plot lines and spare but effective characterizations, as well as Christie's solid ability to remain current to the times in which she wrote, which spanned the end of the World War I through the early 1970s. Much has been written about Christie's genius for constructing original puzzles, but her writing in books like this makes such expositions superfluous.

The solution to this mystery is as ingenious as the solutions to the crimes in "Murder on the Orient Express", "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", and "Ten Little Indians." This book is truly a mystery lover's delight.

DO NOT READ ANY REVIEWS REVEALING THE PLOT DEVICE!!!! This is one of the true mystery novels that should be read for the delight of its construction!

Once again Agatha Christie returns us to the stately home of Chimneys from her previous novel. We are reintroduced to Bundle, George Lomax, Superintendent Battle, and others from that earlier work. Lord Caterham has leased his estate to a wealthy businessman for the hunting season, but becomes distraught when murder once again strikes his ill-fated home. The plot centers on the theft of a valuable scientific formula and a crime-fighting society known as the Seven Dials. Comic elements coupled with brilliant but improbable plotting make this a satifying Christie read, though not one of her best.

~ * * * * ~
~ I liked this book very much, because the style and pacing are just different enough! Very different approach from the "who-dun-it" routine that is wonderful in her Poirot, and Miss Marple series, but can get a little wearying if you are reading a lot of Agatha Christies' best.
~ * * * * ~
The somewhat reluctant sleuths in this story are the fast young crowd who gather at "Chimneys" for a house party. It is somewhat easier to follow if you have read "Secret at Chimneys" first. However, I hadn't read it and this was still very entertaining. Superintendent Battle seems as inscrutable and impassive as ever. Lady "Bundle" is very endearing, as is her friend Bill, especially, as his feelings for her become more apparent.
When a member of their party is killed, and seven alarm clocks left inexplicably on the mantle, the young people grasp for clues: going to the Unsavory "Seven Dials" neighborhood.
~ - * * * * - ~
Unlike Poirot, who sits and lets his gray cells work, or Miss Marple, who finds similarities between any current case and remarkable incidents from her life in her small village: these bright dashing young heroes follow the trail head first, putting themselves in awkward positions!
~ - * * * * - ~
This is a nice, enjoyable, satisfying and entertaining mystery- in a style just different enough to be interesting! I really recommend this one for an Agatha Christie slight change of Pace!

I enjoyed this book both as a great depiction of England between the wars as well as a mystery. Unlike some of Dame Agatha's other works, here I genuinely was kept in suspense till the end as to the identity of the criminal. But even more interesting was the characters who make their second appearance after "The Secret of Chimneys" which was also entertaining, but less suspenseful. I loved reading about the adventures of Lord Caterham and Bundle again, both of whom are as funny and sharp as ever. I would definitely recommend the book to even those Christie fans who only prefer Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries - it's good enough to stand on its own.

The main telltale that this was first published in 1954, during the McCarthy era, is that the House Committee on Un-American Activities is treated by various UK spy establishment characters as though an accusation before the Committee really indicates that someone may be 'tarred with that brush' (only later did McCarthy's blacklisting gain the infamy it retains to this day). I doubt that had much to do with Christie's own opinions; it's just a convenient way to cast a little suspicion in a particular direction - which, of course, may just be Christie's cunning.

One of Christie's non-series efforts, _Destination Unknown_ may be somewhat self-revealing on other counts, in terms of the background of Hilary Craven, who enters the story and takes over the protagonist's role after the prologue establishes that scientists have been vanishing mysteriously all over the world - apparently voluntarily, and with no other common factor than first-class brilliance. Hilary becomes involved only by a chance-meeting with a UK agent, trailing Olive Betterton, the wife of the most recent vanished scientist Tom Betterton, as Olive travels to Morocco - supposedly to recover from strain, quite possibly to vanish herself.

The agent, buying toothpaste, notices Hilary buying far too many sleeping pills, and picks the lock of her hotel room to confront her. She's just lost her only child to meningitis, and her now-ex-husband deserted her for another woman. Like Christie in the wake of her own bitter divorce from her first husband, Hilary left England for bright sunlight and experiences in new places. But Hilary realized upon her arrival that what she really wants to escape will be with her wherever she goes: her own pain.

The agent takes an unusual tack at that point: "Has it *got* to be sleeping pills?" Hilary superficially resembles Olive Betterton, particularly her most noticeable feature: a striking shade of red hair. And Olive Betterton is now dying of injuries sustained in a freak accident, a passenger on a plane that by coincidence, Hilary was supposed to have been on. The agent persuades Hilary that if she's so bent on dying, playing the role of Olive Betterton - gambling that the unknown enemy is using a typical cellular organization with need-to-know - will be nearly as dangerous as the pills, with the benefit of possibly doing some good. The slight chance that she might survive will be her risk - by then, she might have changed her mind about dying.

Hilary, who's worth saving, accepts this with a laugh, and takes it on - helped along by the fact that the French colonial government (then running Morocco) had lost scientists of its own, and was willing to assist in the identity switch.

Rather than just one mystery, one can take the view that this espionage story has one mystery after another, from Hilary's point of view. Who among her fellow-travellers isn't what he or she seems - who is working for the other side? Who will contact her? And those who sent her said she might have some protection at journey's end - is anyone on *her* side?

And gradually, a sea-change takes place for Hilary herself as she plays the part of Olive Betterton, the dead woman she's traded places with, although she knows that what peace of mind she's found is still a precarious, precious thing - even if she'll live to enjoy it.

The colorful Belgian detective with the waxed mustache and the egg-shaped head uses his little gray cells to solve 14 of his most baffling cases. It is an interesting read; but none of the crimes were proven beyond a reasonable doubt

"Poirot Investigates" is a collection of short stories featuring the Belgian detective. His friend Captain Hastings relays the varied tales, ranging from crimes of robbery to kidnapping to murder. It even includes one of Poirot's failures, where he didn't solve the crime correctly ("The Chocolate Box"). Thoroughly enjoyable for all of Dame Agatha Christie's fans.

All of these stories (narrated by Hastings) first appeared in _The Sketch_ (a magazine) throughout 1923; all have been adapted by A&E. I've sorted them by original publication date.

"The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" - (14 March, 1923) Locked-room theft. Hastings, having had a windfall, persuades Poirot to join him on holiday at the Grand Metropolitan in Brighton. When a fellow guest's pearls are stolen, nobody seems to have had opportunity both to steal and conceal them.

"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim" - (28 March, 1923) Locked-room disappearance: the senior partner of a financial firm went for a walk, just before meeting a competitor in his own home - but Davenheim was never seen again. Japp bets Poirot a fiver that he can't solve it without leaving his flat, even if he gets all the information Japp does.

"The Adventure of 'The Western Star'" - (11 April, 1923) Movie star Mary Marvell has been receiving mysterious letters, saying that her husband's wedding gift to her - a fabulous diamond - is actually one of a pair, the stolen eyes of an idol. And now she and her husband, Gregory Rolf, are negotiating a deal to film at Yardly Chase - where the Star of the East is the most famous gem of Lord Yardly's collection. (Incidentally, the Valerie Saintclair and Lord Cronshaw cases mentioned in passing can be found in _The Under Dog_).

"The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor" - (18 April, 1923) An insurance company hires Poirot to check on the death of a man who, on the verge of bankruptcy, had taken out a lot of life insurance just before his death. (Poirot, with his love of psychology, actually stoops so low as to test suspects with word-association games here.)

"The Kidnapped Prime Minister" - (25 April, 1923) Set during WWI, after _The Mysterious Affair at Styles_ but before Hastings became Poirot's roommate. The kidnapping occurred just after an assassination attempt and just before a major peace conference; the government is afraid that without him, they'll get "a premature and disastrous peace." Poirot wonders why, after trying to shoot him, the kidnappers are now making an effort to keep him alive. Contrast this case with another kidnapping much later in Poirot's career: "The Girdle of Hyppolita" in _The Labours of Hercules_ (Christie's ability to flesh out characters and make the reader care about the victim had increased greatly by then).

"The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" - (2 May, 1923) Poirot would have loved to investigate the theft of the London & Scottish Bank's bonds during their transfer to New York, if it hadn't happened on an ocean liner (he's prone to seasickness). Fortunately, the problem has come to *him*.

"The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" - (9 May, 1923) Hastings and his friend Gerald Parker (who continually makes real estate deals in London, constantly moving about) meet the Robinsons at a dinner party, and the question is, why is their landlord virtually giving them a furnished flat in fashionable Knightsbridge?

"The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge" - (16 May, 1923) Locked-room. Poirot, laid up with influenza, solves this from his sickbed as Hastings and Japp provide him with data; Roger and Zoe Havering have called on him to investigate the death of Roger's rich uncle.

"The Chocolate Box" - (23 May, 1923) Though narrated by Hastings, this time he is merely relaying the story that Poirot is telling *him*: a story from Poirot's career as a policeman in Belgium, before WWI.

"The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" - (26 September, 1923) Soon after the discovery of Tut's tomb, another excavation near Cairo found the tomb of an 8th dynasty pharaoh (much earlier than Tut). And when members of the expedition begin dying tragically, and the papers pounce on the idea of a curse, one of the widows hires Poirot to sort out fact from fancy, since her son has now taken his father's place.

"The Veiled Lady" - (3 October, 1923) Just as Poirot laments that the criminal underworld fears to do anything interesting with him around, a blackmail victim (hence the veil, for discretion) engages him to retrieve a compromising letter. The story plays out in a way inviting comparison with Doyle's "The Case of Charles Augustus Milverton".

"The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman" - (24 October, 1923) Dr. Hawker, a neighbour, is summoned from an evening at Poirot's by an emergency call from Count Foscatini, but nobody at his apartment building knows of anything wrong - and when the manager lets them in with a passkey, the Count is found dead in the empty flat, hit from behind by a marble statue.

"The Case of the Missing Will" - (31 October, 1923) Miss Violet Marsh's uncle disapproved of book-learning, especially for women. But she was his only relation, so upon his death, his will offered a sporting challenge: his house is at her disposal for a year, before going to charity. She engages Poirot to find the missing will. I also recommend Dorothy L. Sayers' "The Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will" (see _Lord Peter Views the Body_), in which an uncle chose to attack a quite different characteristic.

"The Lost Mine" - (21 November, 1923) As with 'The Chocolate Box', Hastings is relaying a story that Poirot has told him: the story of how Poirot came to earn a fee paid with 14000 shares in the Burma Mines, Limited.

Agatha Christie's life was a mystery all by itself. She loathed publicity and got nervous if asked to speak in public. She didn't like talking about her life either. In writing this book, Janet Morgan has had the privilege to consult the most private sources in reference to Christie's life and friends. The result is an extremely thorough biography, mostly written with quotes from Agatha Christie's own papers and letters. It is an entertaining book and a joy to read, although sometimes extensive. I would reccommend this book to anyone interested in having a wholesome picture of the life of A.C.

Osborne's thoroughness in cataloging Dame Agatha's eighty-plus re-titled, repackaged, and republished books and 147 stories in their myriad and varied collections is admirable. That alone makes this book worth buying, but his literary criticism detracts from a complete enjoyment of what is otherwise a pretty good read.

Throughout, Osborne reveals a tri-fold misunderstanding of the essence of fiction. Despite his own comment, "It is fortunate that fictional chronology can be flexible," he tediously cites examples in which it is not. Also, he assumes that each story should be consistent with the others, and that full explanations should be given for what he considers to be improbable occurrences. Let us consider each of these problems in turn.

Real Time

Rarely is fiction intended to occur in real time. Plays, novels or short stories often cover periods from a few hours to a lifetime, or longer. Regardless of the time taken to write or publish a work, it must always stand up on its own. The particular time period that elapses between the appearance of two works does not of itself imply the actual amount of time that the author intended should pass. For example, that Albert should be fifteen years old in Partners in Crime (1929) does not imply that he was only nine in The Secret Adversary (1922) as Osborne suggests (pp. 68-69). That real time is not intended is exemplified further when Miss Marple says in Nemesis (1971) that she met Jason Rafiel (A Caribbean Mystery, 1964), "just over a year ago. In the West Indies." The only chronology upon which we can rely is that provided by the author. We must take each story as a group of events in the characters' lives and avoid forcing our own sense of time on them.

Consistency and continuity

That Dame Agatha has given us clues to the actual whereabouts of her stories should be seen as remarkable, if not extraordinary. Fiction, after all, is constructed from the imaginings of the author. Unless we have been given clear evidence to the contrary, we must always assume that the people and places are made up. Because some authors appear to be more consistent from one story to another does not mean that all novelists must be. Fiction is fiction. It only has to be believable; it does not have to be true. Science fiction depends on this premise.

Of the apparent inconsistencies, Randall Toye (1980), author of The Agatha Christie Who's Who, graciously concedes that these caprices are "one more mystery for the readers of Agatha Christie to solve, a mystery for which you will have to rely on your own 'little grey cells.'"

Improbables

Osborne levies a number of criticisms at the plots themselves. In his entry for Sparkling Cyanide (p. 211), for example, he scoffs at the idea that a group of guests could leave a table, forget where they sat, and then re-seat themselves on the basis of the location of a purse. Perhaps in his own sterile study, this scenario seems implausible. However, it would be easy to become confused when everyone had left a large round table simultaneously and then tried, without such a landmark, to return to his or her own chair. Although it might feel a little awkward, in a low-lit room, after some drinks and dancing, a purse could be the only thing to indicate where people had sat earlier. Doubtless, Dame Agatha actually observed this confusion on some occasion.

In Dead Man's Folly, Osborne (p. 281) doubts that someone could change his appearance so as to become unrecognizable just by growing a beard, but, the narrative is quite clear - most of those who would have recognized him had moved away. Not only that, but war changes people - sometimes quite dramatically - literally aging their appearance by more years than the duration of the conflict. Noncombatants will never understand how war can change someone. More than that, we often see what we expect to see. If having been told that someone was killed during the war, why shouldn't we believe it? Indeed, a full beard would cover the most recognizable features of a man's face.

Improbables do not demand explanations. Just because a situation seems improbable to us, doesn't mean that it is. The available facts may not be all of the facts. Even when Dame Agatha does give us clues, most of us can't identify the murderer; and her alleged peccadilloes have done nothing to dissuade readers from buying hundreds of millions of her books.

Osborne's writing style

This review would be incomplete if it failed to mention Osborne's own struggle with words: split infinitives, the odd incomplete sentence, and excessively long constructions. Here is one example of the latter: "After some months, Agatha decided to join her husband in London where, after living briefly in service flats, first in Half Moon Street and then in Park Place, 'with noisy sessions of bombs going off all around,' they were about to move into their house in Sheffield Terrace, the people to whom they had rented it having asked if they could be allowed to relinquish the lease, as they wished to leave London" (p. 180).

Conclusion

A more complete table of contents would have been helpful so that entries about specific works could have been found easily. As it is, one has to look up the publication date at the back, and then search for it in the relevant section. Overall, the reader should use this book for reference only and ignore the rest of it.

THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF AGATHA CHRISTIE is a delightful look at the great author through her vast novels, plays, and short stories. The well-written reference book is structured around major events in Ms. Christie's life, but seen through the works that are published at that time. Charles Osborne keeps the tome fresh with intriguing explanations on various topics such as titles. For instance the "final" title of THEN THERE WERE NONE reflects social trends and political correctness over the decades in England and America, and to a lesser degree France. Fans of Ms. Christie will find this work quite fascinating, but so will most mystery buffs as well as historiographers.

Harriet Klausner

I've had this book for a few months now and am continuously referring back to it. This is a perfect book to have on hand while reading her collection of books. Charles Osbourne presents an overview of Agatha Christie's life and works his way chronologically through each book she wrote with new insights into the storylines and other happening in her life at the time of her writing the book. Mr. Osbourne does not reveal too much, so it is safe to read his accounts before reading her books.

This is a perfect companion book to her works.

Any reader of Agatha Christie would not appreciate this novel. If you have read her past works, guessing the whodunnit (which is half the reason why somebody reads a mystery novel) can be done blindfolded and by the time you have finished reading the fifth chapter. Miss Marple is good, as usual, but this book is extremely disappointing.

Strange things have been happening at Stonygates, the home of Carrie Louise Martin, an old friend of Miss Marple's. Carrie Louise's sister, Ruth Van Rydock, has asked Miss Marple to visit Carrie Louise and determine what the trouble is and to alleviate her worries about her sister.

Agatha Christie once again takes us into a family estate overrun with family members. This family is particularly complex because Carrie Louise has been married three times and there is a wide assortment of relatives including stepsons, a widowed daughter, grandchildren, and even a current husband. The husband is deeply involved with corrective training and has turned the family home into a school where first offenders come for counseling and attention. So to this already strained situation, Mrs. Christie includes psychologists and therapists and a situation ripe for murder.

Indeed, three murders occur and there is much unpleasantness before Miss Marple explains it all.

This story (also published under the title "Murder With Mirrors") was adapted for TV in 1991 with Joan Hickson in the role of Miss Marple and Jean Simmons as Carrie Louise.

This is one of Agatha Christie's finest mysteries. Although it is set in the post WWII era it is not dated like alot of mysteries of that era. One of Miss Marple's childhood friends is worried about her unworldly sister and sends her good friend Jane to find out what's wrong. The sister, Carrie, is very wealthy and has turned her estate into a type of reformatory school. It is suspected that Carrie is being poisoned, and alot of strange things are happening at the school. This is a great mystery and I recommend it highly.

This novel written in the twilight of Dame Agatha's long and illustrious career (1972) would have been better left on the cutting room floor. It was especially painful for me to read because I not long ago re-read her vibrant, lively and completely mystifying "Murder at the Vicarage" which was written in 1927. The comparison was depressing.

Hercule Poirot is teamed with Mrs. Oliver, a crime novelist, to find the truth of a 15-20 year old murder/suicide. Mrs. Oliver's goddaughter, Celia is the daughter of the couple who supposedly entered this pact. For the first one-half of the book, we are not advanced an inch in any direction. Many people are interviewed (the "elephants" of the title) and most have vague memories of the couple, as does Mrs. Oliver herself. Mrs. O's dithering is not artlessly charming, for we are as confused as she. Saddest cut of all, the red herrings are not "herrings" at all. They are giant signposts. Rather than Poirot gracefully unraveling the mystery on the last page, the reader has left him in the dust 50 pages ago. The prose has a distinctly purplish hue.

According to the publisher, "Elephants Can Remember" was originally published as "Five Little Pigs." I do not recommend this book, because it does not do Dame Agatha justice. There are 75 titles to choose that will far better reflect her abilities and why she earned the title "Queen of Crime."

It could have been solved in half the time. But it is not, and to appreciate or understand this novel, readers must place it in the proper context.

The problem was at first vague; Ariadne Oliver was asked by a stranger if the mother of Ariadne's goddaughter killed the father, or was it vice-versa. The deaths were actually some twenty years or more before. As the stranger was the mother to a man who was contemplating marriage to Ariadne's goddaughter, she could be partially forgiven for her apparent concern. Of course one of the things Ariadne did was to call on Hercule Poirot, and together they embarked on elephant-chase to pry for secrets from the past.

"Elephants can remember" was published in 1972, that is 52 years after the first Poirot novel "The Mysterious Affairs at Styles". Many people did not even live that long. Agatha Christie aged her characters along with the years, and therefore there were cases that were different from bodies being found all over the place.

Other similar novels before this whereby Christie's detectives investigate deaths long in the past included Dumb Witness, Five Little Pigs, Mrs McGinty's Dead, Ordeal By Innocence, and Nemesis. The common theme among them was that the investigator(s) had to depend on memories of various people who might not even be present; but from their recollections, clues were found to provide either the definitive picture of the culprits or the definitive picture of the crime. What a lot of impatient readers would find irritating was having to sift through the useful information from the useless. Elephants is such another tale.

Mystery veterans would probably have been able to jump to the solution before Poirot's grand finale, but would they have been able to unravel the threads in the manner necessary? Proofs have to be gathered, and evidence, motivation, etc were all the necessary persuasions for Elephants before they would give up their secrets.

The meat and drink of this novel is more than solving the mystery of who killed who, but to recapture the atmosphere, the mood, the aura of that time in the past, and to be able to put events in their proper perspectives. Also no less important was Poirot's being able to relate the past (in its correct perspective) and its impact on the present in order for persuade the elephants to give up their secrets.

Twenty years before this novel opens, a tragic double-death has occurred. Alistair Ravenscroft and his wife Margaret were found shot to death near their home. The deaths were declared suicides at the time. Now, years later, their daughter Celia is engaged to be married. Her future mother-in-law wants to know more about the cirumstances of the death and if the wife killed the husband or the husband killed the wife. She does not want some inherited proclivity to murder to affect her son. Celia turns to her godmother, Ariadne Oliver, who once again enlists the help of her old friend Hercule Poirot. Together they track down a list of "elephants," people with long memories who never forget past events. The officer who had been in charge of the case, a wig stylist, two French governesses, and a family friend each remember some piece of information that Poirot can collect and assemble as he uncovers secrets long buried and brings the truth to light.

This is Mrs. Oliver's final appearance in a Christie novel and also the last Poirot book Agatha Christie wrote, although readers will see him again in "Curtain" which she wrote during the 1940's but was not published until 1975.

A man traveling by plane, minding his own business suddenly enters a dangerous world. A woman approaches him while on the airplane and asks him to lend her his passport and boading ticket. He reluctantly hands her the supplies and starts her dangerous plan. In the midst of this plan, Sir Stafford Nye's life seems to be cloudy while he entered a net of international chaos. The only way out of this mess is to overpower the obsessive, crazy Countess von Waldsausen. This man is well strickened on world domination by manipulation and arming of the planet's youth. This brings many promises to back up the Nazi domination.
Passenger to Frankfurt is a very clever yet mysterious book to read. The characters had crazy names that are hard to pronounce but that made people remember them. The many characters seem hard to remember but in the end, Christie pulls everyone in and all the situations together. She has complex vocab and a unique style of writing. The idea of her story plot was creative with a little fun. Reading her book was different than any book I've ever read becuase of her style of portraying problems and solutions. I, personally enjoyed reading her book simply, because it was unusual.