Crooked House

Title: Crooked House

Author: Agatha Christie

Published in: 1949

Date read: Not yet read

Score: /5

Genre: Crime, Detective, Mystery

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Crooked House," published in 1949, is a standalone novel by Agatha Christie that she herself considered one of her favourites. It is a brilliant and unsettling murder mystery that subverts the traditional detective story, focusing on a deeply dysfunctional family and a stunning, unexpected twist.

The story is narrated by Charles Hayward, a young diplomat who is engaged to be married to Sophia Leonides. Their plans are interrupted by the sudden death of Sophia’s grandfather, the immensely wealthy Greek patriarch Aristide Leonides, at his sprawling, crooked-looking mansion known as Three Gables.

The circumstances of his death are suspicious, and an autopsy reveals he was poisoned with his own medication. The family is shocked but also divided. The murder could have been committed by anyone living in the house, as everyone stands to inherit from the old man's immense fortune.

The residents of the "crooked house" are all suspects, forming a twisted and strange family:

Magda West: Aristide's flamboyant and dramatic daughter-in-law, a struggling actress.

Philip Leonides: Her husband, a writer.

Brenda Leonides: Aristide's much younger, beautiful, and a somewhat disliked second wife.

Laurence Brown: The quiet, scholarly tutor.

The three children: the cynical Eustace, the quiet Josephine, and their sister Sophia. Josephine, an unnervingly precocious child, is constantly taking notes in a little notebook, hinting that she knows more than she lets on.

Charles, determined to help his fiancée, finds himself drawn into the claustrophobic world of the Leonides family. He observes their relationships, their grievances, and their obvious greed, trying to find a motive for the murder. The police investigation, led by Inspector Taverner, is also at a dead end, as no single person seems to have committed the crime.

As the investigation progresses, another murder occurs, further deepening the mystery and suggesting that the killer is still among them. The atmosphere in the house becomes increasingly tense and paranoid. Christie expertly misdirects the reader, leading them to suspect one character after another, all while planting subtle clues that point to an unimaginable truth.

The climax of the novel is a stunning and truly shocking revelation of the murderer's identity. The conclusion is a masterful example of a misdirection, forcing the reader to re-evaluate every event and character from the beginning. "Crooked House" is a dark, psychological masterpiece that remains one of Christie's most chilling and unexpected works.

Comments:

Books that we've read by Agatha Christie (8):
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1) (1920), The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries, #1) (1922), The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot #2) (1923), The Man in the Brown Suit (Colonel Race, #1) (1924), The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4) (1926), The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple #1) (1930), The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple, #1) (1932), And Then There Were None (1939)