The Secret of Chimneys
By Agatha Christie Ulverscroft Large Print, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4448-0286-3
Genre: Crime, Mystery
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - March 12, 2012
First published in 1925, The Secret of Chimneys is one of Agatha Christie's earlier works and it involves a little bit of everything, including murder, blackmail, thievery, espionage, and a shooting or two. In The Secret of Chimneys, Christie introduces one of her lesser known detectives, Inspector Battle, as well as the exuberant Lady Eileen 'Bundle'.
This complex, and witty tale starts out innocently enough. Anthony Cade comes to England after agreeing to perform two rather mundane tasks for an old friend. First, he is to deliver a manuscript, written by Count Stylptich, to a London publisher. Secondly, he is to return a packet of letters written by Virginia Revel, to the authoress herself. Two easy tasks that turn out to be harder to accomplish that Cade ever imagined. Shortly after arriving in the country, he finds himself embroiled in a murder that eventually leads Cade to a palatial country estate know as the Chimneys. There he becomes involved with a group of jewel thieves, a handful of spies, several people who are incognito, another murder, and of course, with untold dangers!
At Chimneys, Cade discovers that he has taken center stage in a dangerous game that will determine whether or not the Herzoslovakia monarchy is restored. When Detective Battle of Scotland Yard arrives on the scene to sort out the most recent murder, he tries to help Cade extricate himself from the quagmire of intrigue that he had been caught in. Cade knows that all the events he has witnessed are tied together, somehow, to Count Stylptich's manuscript, but it takes the help of Battle, and Revel to discover the truth.
The Secret of Chimneys is a classic Christie mystery, complete with a cast of memorable, and eccentric characters, devious plot twists, and a mystery on an international scale. This story also incorporates what, today, would be some politically incorrect stereotypes. While this may annoy some, on the whole these stereotypes add to the ambiance of the story and they help to transport the reader back to the age in which the story takes place - a time when such stereotypes where part of the everyday parlance. The Secret of Chimneys will keep you guessing, on several levels, about just what is going on, and who the bad-guys, or the good-guys for that matter, really are. The Secret of Chimneys is a perfect book to read on a lazy afternoon when you want to add a little, but not too much, excitement to your life!
The Secret of Chimneys can be purchased directly from Ulverscroft.
Click Here for a complete list of all the books written by Agatha Christie.
Related Reviews:
Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories, by Agatha Christie.
A collection of eight thrilling short stories featuring a variety of detectives, including Parker Pyne, Hercule Poirot, and the strange team of Harley Quin and Mr. Satterthwaite.
And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie.
Ten guests are invited to Indian Island by a mysterious figure who accuses each guest of murder, a crime which each is, in their own way, guilty of. With unrelenting regularity, the guests are murdered, one by one, all by methods outlined in old children's rhyme. This is one of Christie's best mysteries!
