Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: In Agatha Christie's gripping international thriller Destination Unknown, a woman at the end of her rope chooses a more exciting way to die when she embarks upon an almost certain suicide mission to find a missing scientist. When a number of leading scientists disappear without a trace, concern grows within the international intelligence community. And the one woman who appears to hold the key to the mystery is dying from injuries sustained in a plane crash. Meanwhile, in a Casablanca hotel room, Hilary Craven prepares to take her own life. But her suicide attempt is about to be interrupted by a man who will offer her an altogether more thrilling way to die. . . ..
User reviews
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Unusual Chrisitie story, that doesn't feature any of her series detectives.
A suicidal woman is recruited to help look for a batch of missing scientists.
Has the Chrisites charm of World War england, and the usual 'England rules' colonialism of the time. Not her best work, but interesting and
A suicidal woman is recruited to help look for a batch of missing scientists.
Has the Chrisites charm of World War england, and the usual 'England rules' colonialism of the time. Not her best work, but interesting and
Show More
different from many of her more famous pieces. Show Less
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Book on CD read by Emilia Fox
A brilliant young scientist has disappeared from Paris. The international community is concerned, as he is only one of several scientists who have recently dropped from sight. His wife, Olive Betterton, may know more than she is willing to say, but she lies in a
This is a cold-war spy thriller that is obviously dated. The characters and plot include the aforementioned brilliant scientists, double agents, an evil genius mastermind, an exotic locale, a secret laboratory, a beautiful heroine, and a strong handsome hero. Christie was a master at writing a suspenseful thriller, and all the hallmarks of her craft are here. But the plot is so dated and the spy / evil genius theme so over-the-top by today’s standards as to be laughable. I wound up thinking Get Smart rather than James Bond.
Emilia Fox does a pretty good job of the “normal” characters. She even has a great brassy American accent for one tourist Hilary encounters. But her evil genius character is just laughable. Makes me wonder if Christie intended this to be a campy take-off of the spy thriller genre.
A brilliant young scientist has disappeared from Paris. The international community is concerned, as he is only one of several scientists who have recently dropped from sight. His wife, Olive Betterton, may know more than she is willing to say, but she lies in a
Show More
Moroccan hospital bed, dying from injuries sustained in a plane crash. Meanwhile, Hilary Craven is in the grips of depression – her daughter has died, her husband has left her. She has nothing to live for … until British secret agent Jessop offers her a chance to help her country.This is a cold-war spy thriller that is obviously dated. The characters and plot include the aforementioned brilliant scientists, double agents, an evil genius mastermind, an exotic locale, a secret laboratory, a beautiful heroine, and a strong handsome hero. Christie was a master at writing a suspenseful thriller, and all the hallmarks of her craft are here. But the plot is so dated and the spy / evil genius theme so over-the-top by today’s standards as to be laughable. I wound up thinking Get Smart rather than James Bond.
Emilia Fox does a pretty good job of the “normal” characters. She even has a great brassy American accent for one tourist Hilary encounters. But her evil genius character is just laughable. Makes me wonder if Christie intended this to be a campy take-off of the spy thriller genre.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Ludi_Ling
This is one of those books that I shouldn't even like, but happen to adore. And not just because it's a Christie book. It is very much a child of its times - it is diffuse with the paranoia of the 1950's Cold War, puts conspiracy theory in a fast car and runs away with it. Every twist and turn
And yet... This is a book that I could read over and over and thoroughly enjoy it. Taken with just the right pinch of salt, a gung-ho attitude and a healthy suspension of disbelief, this is a rewarding romp of a book that makes no serious demands of its reader, nor does it take itself too seriously. Its characters are a pastiche of various noir B-movie types; its plot is eerily reminiscent of The Big Four, but with a tighter, more engaging plot. It does not pretend to be anything more than it is - a light, entertaining, if slightly fantastical read.
Show More
manages to outdo the next, becoming more and more incredible and nonsensical as the story progresses. There is no way a plot as convoluted and over-wrought as this could ever happen in real life. The plot holes are more gaping than the Grand Canyon.And yet... This is a book that I could read over and over and thoroughly enjoy it. Taken with just the right pinch of salt, a gung-ho attitude and a healthy suspension of disbelief, this is a rewarding romp of a book that makes no serious demands of its reader, nor does it take itself too seriously. Its characters are a pastiche of various noir B-movie types; its plot is eerily reminiscent of The Big Four, but with a tighter, more engaging plot. It does not pretend to be anything more than it is - a light, entertaining, if slightly fantastical read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mrtall
Destination Unknown, a kind of conspiracy-driven thriller, is not Agatha Christie at her best. Many of the world's top young scientists are disappearing mysteriously, and a bereft, suicidal young woman is commissioned by an unnamed secret agency to go undercover to help track them down.
There's
The book is set mostly in North Africa, but even this potential for exoticism goes unfulfilled; mostly, the principals hang about at hotels full of other Europeans.
The one point of real interest here is Christie's depiction of communism and fellow travelers.
There's
Show More
little to recommend here, as the story proceeds mechanically and ends in a rather silly scene that's reminiscent of an investigation into spiking the punch at a school dance, rather than cracking a nefarious scheme to rule the world, etc, etc.The book is set mostly in North Africa, but even this potential for exoticism goes unfulfilled; mostly, the principals hang about at hotels full of other Europeans.
The one point of real interest here is Christie's depiction of communism and fellow travelers.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MissWoodhouse1816
Once again, Agatha Christie created a brilliantly complex thriller. It's a nice change from her straightforward mysteries, with some unique characters mixed in with all of her standard ones.
LibraryThing member riverwillow
This is a Christie conspiracy thriller, in which scientists (and other brilliant minds) are disappearing across the world. Hilary Craven, bereaved and newly divorced, gets caught up in the investigation at the request of a unlikely looking spy.
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
This had a different feel to the other Agatha Christies I have read. It's a thriller more than a murder mystery. People mysteriously disappearing, people turning out to be not quite what they seem, and once the disappearances are explained, the interest doesn't end there. A highly enjoyable journey
Show More
into the unknown, as the title suggests. Not one of Agatha Christie's most well known books, but definitely worth a read. Show Less
LibraryThing member nocto
Not a Christie I'd heard of before and not a regular mystery. Good first half, I like the way someone about to commit suicide is offered a mission with a good chance of death instead. The plot goes gradually downhill in the second half really. This is a kind of spy thriller which falls somewhere
Show More
between vintage and dated. Having finished it I am more inclined towards "vintage" for the good descriptive aspects of travelling in the 1950s rather than "dated" for some of the plot devices, I was at least pleased it didn't fall into the whole "oh no not the communists" pit that I it teetered on the edge of for a while. Not a book I'd recommend to anyone else really, but not one I regret picking up. Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
Throughout her writing career Agatha Christie showed interest in the darker political forces that she thought challenged the democratic world..
We saw this emerge in the post World War One novels particularly those that featured Tommy and Tuppence.
The spectre of Communism is a common theme from the
In DESTINATION UNKNOWN renowned Western scientists have been disappearing, thought kidnapped by Communist forces.
The setting is post World War Two and after the establishment of the Iron Curtain. The British secret service is trying to find out what has happened to Tom Betterton, a renowned nuclear physicist. When his wife of 6 months is killed in an aircaft accident in the Middle East, they seize the opportunity to substitute a young British woman for her. They believe Betterton's wife was on her way to meet up with her missing husband. The substitute, Hilary Craven, is asked to follow the same itinerary and see what eventuates.
And so there follows a rollicking if unlikely thriller where Hilary eventually catches up with the missing husband and a number of other missing scientists.
None of the usual Christie sleuths appear in this novel and there are also some rather predictable romantic elements.
We saw this emerge in the post World War One novels particularly those that featured Tommy and Tuppence.
The spectre of Communism is a common theme from the
Show More
Russian Revolution onwards and it is obvious that Christie felt the need to raise awareness of what she saw as a threat among her readers.In DESTINATION UNKNOWN renowned Western scientists have been disappearing, thought kidnapped by Communist forces.
The setting is post World War Two and after the establishment of the Iron Curtain. The British secret service is trying to find out what has happened to Tom Betterton, a renowned nuclear physicist. When his wife of 6 months is killed in an aircaft accident in the Middle East, they seize the opportunity to substitute a young British woman for her. They believe Betterton's wife was on her way to meet up with her missing husband. The substitute, Hilary Craven, is asked to follow the same itinerary and see what eventuates.
And so there follows a rollicking if unlikely thriller where Hilary eventually catches up with the missing husband and a number of other missing scientists.
None of the usual Christie sleuths appear in this novel and there are also some rather predictable romantic elements.
Show Less
LibraryThing member otterlake
Is it just me, or is they a faint whiff presaging Ayn Rand....scientists disappearing to be able to work for the good of humanity? whether that be behind the iron curtain, in mid-america, or so other destination.
LibraryThing member BookAngel_a
I enjoyed the mystery of it all, but it was a little too much of a spy/Communist plot for my tastes. I prefer murder mysteries over espionage in the majority of cases. I did like the satisfying ending, though.
LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
An exciting thriller, based in the 1950s, involving some missing scientists. A depressed woman agrees to impersonate someone's wife, and sets off, with little idea of where she's going, in the hope of being led to the unknown destination where he might be.
It's not a typical Agatha Christie mystery,
Recommended.
It's not a typical Agatha Christie mystery,
Show More
but I thought the characterisation rather better than normal for this author, and the story very well-written. Inevitable racist language here and there, and some complex politics and dated science, but in general, a much better book than I would have expected. Lots of twists and turns in the last chapters, most of which I had not expected. Recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
Not a mystery in the sense of solving a conventional crime. Important (or at lest promising) scientists are vanishing all over the world . British Intelligence persuades Hilary Craven, a young woman on the verge of suicide, to instead take the risk of impersonating the wife of the British scientist
Show More
Thomas Betterton. He ha vanished 6 months before, ad his wife is dying after a plan crash in Morocco while (it is thought) se was on her way to join him. Hilary undertakes the impersonation and finds it is true --she and a party of scientists are assembled as apparent tourists in Morocco and then supposedly killed in a fake plane crash; actually they are taken away to a hidden base which is not (as originally BI had thought) run by the Soviets. The book has a resemblance to Christie's later work Passenger to Frankfort, though there the protagonists were older. Show Less
LibraryThing member mirihawk
While one cannot agree with Ms.Christie about the psychology of women, the book itself was interesting and kept my attention from start to finish. It was read well by Ms. E. Fox.
LibraryThing member bcrowl399
What a great story! Agatha Christie is so good at storytelling and creating suspense.
LibraryThing member smik
Once again a re-read of a novel I previously read for the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. My original review
This novel echoes themes present much earlier in Christie's novels such as Tommy and Tuppence and THE BIG FOUR and even earlier stories. (THE BIG FOUR's central theme was that of a master
DESTINATION UNKNOWN explores the possible defection of Western European scientists, with a prominent business man sponsoring their defection.
This idea of a mastermind who threatened the existence of democratic countries is one that never left Agatha Christie's writing, and reoccurs often enough for it to be something Christie really believed in.
To modern readers this theme probably seems a little far fetched but to readers 70 years ago, the threat seemed very real. Communism seemed a real threat to the capitalist world - the "red under the bed". Has that changed?
Things to talk about:
A missing scientist - brain drain.
A breakthrough invention in nuclear energy - a benefit or a threat?
A mad philanthropist - what motivates philanthropy?
possible threat of a global virus
the battle of ideologies between East and West
new "world order" after World War II, dissatisfaction by idealists with the results of the war.
the meaning of life - the "heroine comes back from the brink of suicide
the idea of the world becoming "smaller" because of technology like faster planes.
the concept of cooperation by the Western Powers - not just Britain being affected.
life is more than work. The idea that work in captivity is still like being in jail even if all you need is provided.
Anything else my group should discuss?
This novel echoes themes present much earlier in Christie's novels such as Tommy and Tuppence and THE BIG FOUR and even earlier stories. (THE BIG FOUR's central theme was that of a master
Show More
criminal or a gang of organised criminals responsible for a variety of international catastrophes mistakenly attributed to other causes.) This was a theme that was transposed into the period after World War Two, the period of the Iron Curtain, when Communist Russia seemed to pose a threat to the Western democracies. It was a theme that occupied other authors like Ian Fleming and George Orwell and was supported by the defection from the early 1950s onwards of British diplomats and agents. Only a short step from them to scientists and others.DESTINATION UNKNOWN explores the possible defection of Western European scientists, with a prominent business man sponsoring their defection.
This idea of a mastermind who threatened the existence of democratic countries is one that never left Agatha Christie's writing, and reoccurs often enough for it to be something Christie really believed in.
To modern readers this theme probably seems a little far fetched but to readers 70 years ago, the threat seemed very real. Communism seemed a real threat to the capitalist world - the "red under the bed". Has that changed?
Things to talk about:
A missing scientist - brain drain.
A breakthrough invention in nuclear energy - a benefit or a threat?
A mad philanthropist - what motivates philanthropy?
possible threat of a global virus
the battle of ideologies between East and West
new "world order" after World War II, dissatisfaction by idealists with the results of the war.
the meaning of life - the "heroine comes back from the brink of suicide
the idea of the world becoming "smaller" because of technology like faster planes.
the concept of cooperation by the Western Powers - not just Britain being affected.
life is more than work. The idea that work in captivity is still like being in jail even if all you need is provided.
Anything else my group should discuss?
Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Top scientists are disappearing from Western nations, among them Thomas Betterton. His young bride insists she knows nothing about it, but British intelligence suspects otherwise. When Mrs. Betterton dies in an accident in Morocco, as fate would have it, a suicidal young Englishwoman with similar
This stand-alone Christie is more spy novel than murder mystery. Some readers will likely find the cold war plot dated, yet with a few minor changes it could resemble contemporary conspiracy theories.
Show More
features is persuaded to assume Mrs. Betterton’s identity. As Hilary Craven is drawn deeper into danger, she finds a renewed will to live.This stand-alone Christie is more spy novel than murder mystery. Some readers will likely find the cold war plot dated, yet with a few minor changes it could resemble contemporary conspiracy theories.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Figgles
A latish Christie thriller with a preposterous plot, however it's a fun ride as we follow Englishwoman Hilary Craven on a trajectory from near suicide in a Moroccan hotel, through recruitment to the British Secret service, to a mad James Bond type villains lair and finally a journey's end in a
Show More
lovers meeting. There's some cringeworthy moments (particularly near the end) but all it all it's still an entertaining read. Show Less
LibraryThing member delphimo
Agatha Christie ventures out of her usual Poirot or Marple mystery to reveal kidnapped scientists working in an unknown destination. The story reads like a spy novel with clandestine meetings and locations. Hilary Craven has lost her daughter and her husband and now contemplates suicide. But a
Show More
British secret agent stops Hilary and urges her to join his group. Hilary Craven becomes Olive Betterton, the wife of one of the missing scientists. The scientists have converged at a location possibly in Africa to discover medical secrets for an extremely rich man. All comforts follow these scientists, except freedom. Thomas Betterton, one of the scientists, cannot function under this controlled atmosphere. His productivity falls. What will happen to him? A very intriguing idea! Agatha Christie presents a very dramatic story. Show Less
LibraryThing member nordie
I started to listen to this (2011) and remembered that I had read this a long time ago.
Olive's husband disappears from Paris, and as a scientist just after the war, his disappearance makes people nervous. Olive travels to Morrocco to escape things, but ends up fatally injured in a plane crash,
Meanwhile Hilary Cravern sits in a hotel room planning her suicide after her daughter has died and her husband has left her. As she has a passing resemblance to Olive (Same height and age, red coloured hair) she is persuaded to embark on a probable suicide mission to find out where all these scientists have disappeared to.
]Much of the book is spent then in covering Hilary's journey and the corresponding search for her in the wide expanse of North Africa
Audible version read by Emilia Fox, who performed a satisfactory role, though her American was a little less jarring than her European accents
Olive's husband disappears from Paris, and as a scientist just after the war, his disappearance makes people nervous. Olive travels to Morrocco to escape things, but ends up fatally injured in a plane crash,
Show More
Meanwhile Hilary Cravern sits in a hotel room planning her suicide after her daughter has died and her husband has left her. As she has a passing resemblance to Olive (Same height and age, red coloured hair) she is persuaded to embark on a probable suicide mission to find out where all these scientists have disappeared to.
]Much of the book is spent then in covering Hilary's journey and the corresponding search for her in the wide expanse of North Africa
Audible version read by Emilia Fox, who performed a satisfactory role, though her American was a little less jarring than her European accents
Show Less
LibraryThing member katzenfrau
I finished reading So Many Steps To Death. It's a spy thriller (sigh) that AC wrote in 1954, which is her "sweet spot" so far as good writing goes, and indeed--for an AC spy thriller, it was positively readable. Like all of them (and unlike her mysteries) it has to be taken with a large dose of
Show More
suspension-of-disbelief, but it was readable. Show Less
LibraryThing member MissBrangwen
This is only the second spy thriller that I have read (the other one being "The 39 Steps") and I neither have much experience with this genre, nor am I particularly interested in it. I only read this because it was written by Agatha Christie. And well, I really enjoyed it!
Hilary Craven has nothing
Of course most of the story is rather improbable, but reading it was gripping and fun and I read it almost in one sitting.
Hilary Craven has nothing
Show More
to live for as her daughter has died and her husband has left her, when she is recruited by the secret service and agrees to impersonate the wife of a brilliant scientist who has vanished, as have several other scientists recently. The book was written in 1954 and it is firmly set in its time against the backdrop of the Cold War. Soon Hilary is off to Morocco and the adventure unfolds.Of course most of the story is rather improbable, but reading it was gripping and fun and I read it almost in one sitting.
Show Less
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2005)
Original publication date
1954
ISBN
N/A