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celia_thebookishhufflepuff 's review for:
Ordeal by Innocence
by Agatha Christie
I only have [b:And Then There Were None|16299|And Then There Were None|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391120695l/16299._SY75_.jpg|3038872] to compare this to in terms of [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589991473p2/123715.jpg]'s novels, but I have to say this one spoke to me far more than the former. It's an intriguing murder mystery, but at it's core it's a story about what makes a family.
The premise is that Jack Argyle was wrongly accused of murdering his mother, and the man who served as his alibi was out of commission for two years due to various life circumstances, and so could not testify. In the meantime, Jack died of pneumonia while serving his life sentence. When Mr. Calgary brings the news that he was the man who drove Jack the night of the murder, however, the rest of the Argyle household - consisting of four adopted children now in adulthood, a father, a secretary, and a maid - have to deal with the case being reopened, and face the knowledge that the killer was one of them.
I mention that the five children (including Jack) were adopted because it is at the heart of the story. When searching the motives, each character has something that could easily incriminate them. Many resent being removed from their "real" parents during the war, and all believed that Mrs. Argyle was too in love with the idea of motherhood to truly provide for her kids in the way they needed.
This then provides reasonable evidence that each member of the household may well be the murderer. The characters go through greater distrust because each person is not "really" their relative. It builds a sort of psychological suspense, as well as an internal scorn of every person in the family.
One thing I think Christie perfected in this novel was the lack of incriminating evidence against one person. I will admit that I often find it hard to see what others find obvious in novels; I can't easily make predictions. However, I do not feel like even the most experienced armchair detective would have figured this one out easily. I, for one, had very firm convictions throughout the novel of who the murderer was. Despite this, however, the conclusion makes sense.
I am hoping to delve more into the world of mystery novels. I sometimes feel like I've been missing out on a lot by not having read them for a number of years. I am definitely glad that I won this novel, and that between this and [b:The Infinite Blacktop|38532150|The Infinite Blacktop (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #3)|Sara Gran|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523631136l/38532150._SY75_.jpg|58137013], my interest in mysteries has been rekindled.
Disclaimer:
The premise is that Jack Argyle was wrongly accused of murdering his mother, and the man who served as his alibi was out of commission for two years due to various life circumstances, and so could not testify. In the meantime, Jack died of pneumonia while serving his life sentence. When Mr. Calgary brings the news that he was the man who drove Jack the night of the murder, however, the rest of the Argyle household - consisting of four adopted children now in adulthood, a father, a secretary, and a maid - have to deal with the case being reopened, and face the knowledge that the killer was one of them.
I mention that the five children (including Jack) were adopted because it is at the heart of the story. When searching the motives, each character has something that could easily incriminate them. Many resent being removed from their "real" parents during the war, and all believed that Mrs. Argyle was too in love with the idea of motherhood to truly provide for her kids in the way they needed.
This then provides reasonable evidence that each member of the household may well be the murderer. The characters go through greater distrust because each person is not "really" their relative. It builds a sort of psychological suspense, as well as an internal scorn of every person in the family.
One thing I think Christie perfected in this novel was the lack of incriminating evidence against one person. I will admit that I often find it hard to see what others find obvious in novels; I can't easily make predictions. However, I do not feel like even the most experienced armchair detective would have figured this one out easily. I, for one, had very firm convictions throughout the novel of who the murderer was. Despite this, however, the conclusion makes sense.
I am hoping to delve more into the world of mystery novels. I sometimes feel like I've been missing out on a lot by not having read them for a number of years. I am definitely glad that I won this novel, and that between this and [b:The Infinite Blacktop|38532150|The Infinite Blacktop (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #3)|Sara Gran|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523631136l/38532150._SY75_.jpg|58137013], my interest in mysteries has been rekindled.
Disclaimer: