cocoonofbooks 's review for:

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

4.0

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If you account for the fact that this was 1920s Christie and therefore incredibly racist, this was a nice change of pace from some of her detective-heavy books, still full of suspense and plot twists. Although this is the first book featuring Superintendent Battle, he is not at the book's center, nor does he actually solve the crime in the end. There are a lot of interrelated plot threads happening at the same time, and I admittedly glossed over some of the political drama at times, but I was still able to follow everything and understand the solution (and related reveals). You can see in this early work how Christie already had set ideas about the most "romantic" characters: the devil-may-care rake and the not-like-other-girls, adventurous and also stunningly attractive young woman with multiple suitors. There were definitely parts I rolled my eyes at in this one, but the mystery itself was an enjoyable puzzle (or set of puzzles).