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Available
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Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: "Writing Crooked House was pure pleasure and I feel justified in my belief that it is one of my best." �??Agatha Christie Described by the queen of mystery herself as one of her favorites of her published work, Crooked House is a classic Agatha Christie thriller revolving around a devastating family mystery. The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection. Suspicion naturally falls on the old man's young widow, fifty years his junior. But the murderer has reckoned without the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiancé of the late millionaire's granddaughter.
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Collection
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Collins Educational (2012), Edition: None, 224 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
In this stand-alone mystery, Charles Hayward meets and falls in love with Sophia Leonides when both are employed in Egypt shortly after World War II. Charles has another posting that will separate him for Sophia for two more years, and he announces his intention to propose to her as soon as he
This is a characteristic Christie country house mystery with a surprising twist at the end. I didn't see it coming. In the author's foreword, Christie admits that this book is one of her favorites. The characters include the murdered patriarch who controlled the purse strings, two sons and their wives, three grandchildren (the youngest of whom reminded me very much of Flavia de Luce), a very young second wife, a poor relative taken into the family fold, and the younger grandchildren's tutor. There are young lovers separated by suspicion and a missing will. I deducted points becauseno one really solves the mystery. They discover a letter that reveals the details of the crime that others were only beginning to suspect.
.”..Some people, I suspect, remain morally immature. They continue to be aware that murder is wrong, but they do not feel it. I don't think, in my experience, that any murderer has really felt remorse . . . And that, perhaps, is the mark of Cain. Murderers are set apart, they are 'different'--murder is wrong—but not for them--for them it is necessary—the victim has 'asked for it,' it was 'the only way.'”
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returns to England. Two years later, he arrives back in England to find the Leonides family mourning the death of its head, Sophia's grandfather, Aristide Leonides. While most people would assume that a man of his age (nearly 90) had died of natural causes, this doesn't prove to be the case. He was murdered. Sophia will not agree to marry Charles until the murder is solved, refusing to attach him to the suspicion that will hover over the family with an unsolved murder. Charles has no choice but to go to the family's estate and gather enough information to solve the crime. He'll have no trouble getting information from the police since his father is Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard.This is a characteristic Christie country house mystery with a surprising twist at the end. I didn't see it coming. In the author's foreword, Christie admits that this book is one of her favorites. The characters include the murdered patriarch who controlled the purse strings, two sons and their wives, three grandchildren (the youngest of whom reminded me very much of Flavia de Luce), a very young second wife, a poor relative taken into the family fold, and the younger grandchildren's tutor. There are young lovers separated by suspicion and a missing will. I deducted points because
.”..Some people, I suspect, remain morally immature. They continue to be aware that murder is wrong, but they do not feel it. I don't think, in my experience, that any murderer has really felt remorse . . . And that, perhaps, is the mark of Cain. Murderers are set apart, they are 'different'--murder is wrong—but not for them--for them it is necessary—the victim has 'asked for it,' it was 'the only way.'”
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LibraryThing member jguidry
This book was supposed to be Agatha Christie's favorite book she wrote. I can see why. It is classic Christie storytelling, but her ending is one of the best endings I have read. This book definitely shows her talent as a mystery-builder, not just a mystery writer.
LibraryThing member miss_scarlet
Unlike any other mystery novel I have read, I found this one slightly predictable and was able to guess the culprit. However, it is still an engrossing story.
LibraryThing member readafew
This is another book by Agatha Christie and the sleuth is not one of her famous recurring detective's. A kindly old rich man is murdered in his home surrounded by his family and loved ones. All of the suspects of course proclaim their innocence and devotion to the old man and can't think of any
This one did have a neat twist at the end, I might have seen it if I wasn't distracted by an accidental phrase I saw at the end of the book and made me think of the wrong person all the way through the book. It wasn't a very deep or tricky book but a fun short read.
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reason why someone would want to murder him, except for...This one did have a neat twist at the end, I might have seen it if I wasn't distracted by an accidental phrase I saw at the end of the book and made me think of the wrong person all the way through the book. It wasn't a very deep or tricky book but a fun short read.
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LibraryThing member victorianrose869
April 11, 1999
Crooked House
Agatha Christie
Not a Ms. Marple or Poirot mystery, but an “independent”, about a young man whose fiancé-to-be asks him to help her figure out who murdered her rich old grandfather (with a little help from the young man’s father, an Inspector or something).
I love the title, and only wish I’d thought of it first.
Crooked House
Agatha Christie
Not a Ms. Marple or Poirot mystery, but an “independent”, about a young man whose fiancé-to-be asks him to help her figure out who murdered her rich old grandfather (with a little help from the young man’s father, an Inspector or something).
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There’s a house brimming with suspicious characters, like the very young widow and the old man’s grown children who shared the house with him. The murderer is someone you’d never expect, though! I love the title, and only wish I’d thought of it first.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
There is a forward in which Christie describes this as one of her favourite novels and a joy to write. It is certainly fun to read and is interesting because its not a Poirot or Miss Marple but personally I prefer some of her other books.
LibraryThing member Figgles
A tragedy as well as a murder story. It's a long time since I read this one and the poinancy of the murderers revalation is hard to beat. Comes once again with the theme of the need for the truth to enable the innocent to move on. Great story.
LibraryThing member ds_61_12
The head of a family is murdered. All his familymembers are suspects. The son of a policeman has a romantic tie to the family and gets involved in finding the murderer.
Good quality. Unexpected (?) ending.
Good quality. Unexpected (?) ending.
LibraryThing member bookwoman247
Aristide Leonides had come to England as an impoverished Greek youth, and had built a fortune - and a lavish but slightly unusual house. At 85, the loving, wise, benificent family patriarch was found dead.
Which member of the Leonides household could be crooked enough to have poisoned him?
I find
Which member of the Leonides household could be crooked enough to have poisoned him?
I find
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almost all of Agatha Christie's work to be very satisying reads, and this was no exception. Show Less
LibraryThing member woollymammoth
It's an Agatha Christie Book, they're all the same, but it's fun.
LibraryThing member moonshineandrosefire
In a sprawling mansion in the English countryside, the extremely affluent but extremely elderly owner lies dead on the floor of suspected barbiturate poisoning. An accident? Not likely when suspicion has already fallen on Aristide Leonides' luscious but grieving widow who is fifty years his junior
I really enjoyed this book very much. I had actually never read it before but it was a very quick and absorbing read. I give this book an A!
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and set to inherit his sizable fortune. It is also rumored that the lovely Widow Leonides is having an affair with the strapping young tutor who just happens to live on the family's estate. But Criminologist Charles Howard has his doubts about the entire Leonides' clan. He knows them intimately and also knows that in a household as shaky as Three Gables, nobody is on the level.I really enjoyed this book very much. I had actually never read it before but it was a very quick and absorbing read. I give this book an A!
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LibraryThing member FionaRobynIngram
I am a huge Agatha Christie (15 /09/1890—12/12/1976) fan. I have possibly all of her books, and nearly all the television and film versions of her works, starring a variety of Hercule Poirots (my best is David Suchet) and Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson and Julia McKenzie tops).
Recently I started rereading her work and began with Crooked House, one of the seven novels inspired by nursery rhymes. Agatha Christie described this as her favourite book. She says in the author’s foreword: “This book is one of my own special favourites. I saved it up for years, thinking about it, working it out, saying to myself, ‘One day when I’ve plenty of time, and want to really enjoy myself—I’ll begin it! … Crooked House was pure pleasure.’”
Three generations of the Leonides family live together under the roof of wealthy patriarch Aristide. His first wife died; her sister Edith has cared for the household since then. His second wife is the indolent Brenda, decades his junior, who exchanges love letters with the grandchildren's tutor, Laurence Brown. After Aristide is poisoned by his own eye medicine (eserine), his granddaughter Sophia tells narrator and fiancé Charles Hayward that they cannot marry until the killer is apprehended. Charles' father "The Old Man" is the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, so Charles investigates from the inside along with assigned detective, Chief Inspector Taverner. It seems that everyone could have a motive. The ridiculously young wife Brenda wants to be free to marry the tutor. Then there’s Roger, the eldest son who needs money to prop up his tottering business. Second son Philip has always been jealous of Roger. Not to mention their wives (Clemency and Magda), who could also have motive for various financial reasons. Josephine, Aristides’s precocious granddaughter, tells Charles that the police are stupid and she has already worked out who the killer is, along with copious notes and clues in her little black notebook. When Josephine is attacked and Nanny is mysteriously poisoned by hot chocolate after Brenda and the tutor are arrested, the danger escalates to a surprise finish.
This was the first time I’d read the book and it was great. The pace is good, the characters real (we have all met them somewhere along life’s path) and the suspense chilling. I am quite good at guessing the killer in various crime books, but this one stumped (and shocked) me completely. Charles is excellent as the sometimes-bumbling amateur sleuth. Sophia is sharp-witted and courageous. There’s a Roger and a Magda in every family. The family are at once torn apart and cling together in this time of adversity and stalking danger. Highly enjoyable! (A lesson about making a watertight will included!)
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According to the Guinness Book of records, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. Often referred to as the “Queen of Crime,” she is also regarded as a master of suspense, plotting, and characterisation.Recently I started rereading her work and began with Crooked House, one of the seven novels inspired by nursery rhymes. Agatha Christie described this as her favourite book. She says in the author’s foreword: “This book is one of my own special favourites. I saved it up for years, thinking about it, working it out, saying to myself, ‘One day when I’ve plenty of time, and want to really enjoy myself—I’ll begin it! … Crooked House was pure pleasure.’”
Three generations of the Leonides family live together under the roof of wealthy patriarch Aristide. His first wife died; her sister Edith has cared for the household since then. His second wife is the indolent Brenda, decades his junior, who exchanges love letters with the grandchildren's tutor, Laurence Brown. After Aristide is poisoned by his own eye medicine (eserine), his granddaughter Sophia tells narrator and fiancé Charles Hayward that they cannot marry until the killer is apprehended. Charles' father "The Old Man" is the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, so Charles investigates from the inside along with assigned detective, Chief Inspector Taverner. It seems that everyone could have a motive. The ridiculously young wife Brenda wants to be free to marry the tutor. Then there’s Roger, the eldest son who needs money to prop up his tottering business. Second son Philip has always been jealous of Roger. Not to mention their wives (Clemency and Magda), who could also have motive for various financial reasons. Josephine, Aristides’s precocious granddaughter, tells Charles that the police are stupid and she has already worked out who the killer is, along with copious notes and clues in her little black notebook. When Josephine is attacked and Nanny is mysteriously poisoned by hot chocolate after Brenda and the tutor are arrested, the danger escalates to a surprise finish.
This was the first time I’d read the book and it was great. The pace is good, the characters real (we have all met them somewhere along life’s path) and the suspense chilling. I am quite good at guessing the killer in various crime books, but this one stumped (and shocked) me completely. Charles is excellent as the sometimes-bumbling amateur sleuth. Sophia is sharp-witted and courageous. There’s a Roger and a Magda in every family. The family are at once torn apart and cling together in this time of adversity and stalking danger. Highly enjoyable! (A lesson about making a watertight will included!)
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LibraryThing member CurrerBell
I read almost all of Poirot and Miss Marple ages ago, but very few of Christie's stand-alones, and I got this one because it was at a large discount on Kindle.
I'll give it three-and-a-half. As one other reviewer put it, there's great poignancy to the revelation of the murderer. Still, though, for
I'll give it three-and-a-half. As one other reviewer put it, there's great poignancy to the revelation of the murderer. Still, though, for
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someone who isn't that good at guessing Christie endings, I sort of saw this one coming. Show Less
LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley
Narrated by Charles Hayward whose fiancée, Sophia, won't marry him until the murderer of her grandfather, Aristide, is found. It's the autumn of 1947 and Sophia lives with her family - three generations of Leonides - in the family home 'Three Gables' or the 'crooked house'. Charles' father is
I didn't see this one coming at all - once again Christie's murderer is unexpected as is the motive.
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Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard, who is investigating along with Chief Inspector Taverner. Also making inquiries is Sophia's twelve-year-old sister Josephine, who is obsessed with detective stories and spies continually on the rest of the household, writing down her observations in a secret notebook. All the family members had motive and opportunity, and none has an alibi. I didn't see this one coming at all - once again Christie's murderer is unexpected as is the motive.
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LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
It is easy, these days, to think of the classic country house mystery as passé. Trite. Derivative. But there was a time when this style of story was as fresh and popular as tales of domestic noir are today and the best proponents of the art form could enthrall and surprise even those readers who
The setting is, of course, an English country house. When he first encounters Three Gables the book’s narrator, diplomat and son of the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Charles Hayward describes it as
It was incredible!…it had a strange air of being distorted…a cottage swollen out all proportion. It was like looking at a country cottage through a gigantic magnifying-glass. The slant-wise beams, the half-timbering, the gables, it was a little croooked house that had grown like a mushroom in the night!…It was a Greek restauranteur’s idea of something English.
Charles’ presence in the house is accepted easily as is the way of things in this type of story. I sometimes struggle to imagine any scenario of my own experience in which a virtual stranger would be given the kind of free reign that characters like Charles always receive when arriving on far-flung doorsteps but, as with all storytelling, you have to willingly suspend disbelief on at least some basic points. So, having ‘connections’ with the police and as the friend (and hopeful husband-to-be) of Sophia Leonides, whom he met in Egypt during the war, Charles is able to introduce the cast – or suspect pool if you prefer – to the reader in a surprisingly natural and believable way.
According to Christie she does not know how the Leonides family got into her head but once there “…like Topsy ‘they growed’“. It’s not hard to imagine that these people were with the author for some time before being brought to life on the page because they are more vivid than many of Christie’s characters. Even Aristide Leonides – who, in something of a departure for Christie, dies within the first dozen pages – is a fully-rounded individual. The Greek-immigrant patriarch of a relatively small family and the requisite number of hangers-on is very much a presence throughout the book. Variously loved, liked or respected by those around him, it is universally hoped that if the man has been murdered then ‘the right person’ is the culprit. Here, thankfully, no one seriously suggests the conveniently passing tramp, but most would be content to learn that any murder was committed by the octogenarian’s second, much, much younger, wife. Not that anyone genuinely hates Brenda Leonides but she is the closest thing to an outsider among the potential suspects and so would be the easiest murderer for the rest of the family to accept.
Of course everyone has a motive for wanting the old man dead but these are delicately teased out and some of them at least surprise with their sensitivity. Christie really does seem to have been giving more than her usual thought to the notion of exactly what it might be that would move someone to become a murderer. In some Golden Age puzzlers the reader is left with the sense that it doesn’t take much for the average person to start throwing poison around with abandon, but here Christie really explores the (far more likely) idea that becoming a murderer is not done with ease unless, perhaps, a person is mentally ill.
In the end CROOKED HOUSE is ‘just’ a deliberately puzzling whodunnit with a finite suspect pool and several twists designed to shock the reader. If that style of story is not your thing at all then there is probably nothing about this particular example that will make you change your mind. If, on the other hand, you don’t mind a classic whodunnit as long as it is well done then I highly recommend CROOKED HOUSE. It puts the vast majority of this type of tale, including some of Christie’s own, to shame in the way it is constructed and while it shares may tropes of the genre it does break with a few traditions. Most pleasingly from my perspective there is no awkward and unbelievable denouement (I can never quite buy the way those play out) and I think that even if the identity of the culprit is deduced beforehand, the actual resolution will surprise most readers satisfactorily.
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believed themselves experts in the genre. Agatha Christie penned dozens of variations on this theme but in CROOKED HOUSE, a novel she proclaims a personal favourite in her forward, she has outdone herself.The setting is, of course, an English country house. When he first encounters Three Gables the book’s narrator, diplomat and son of the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Charles Hayward describes it as
It was incredible!…it had a strange air of being distorted…a cottage swollen out all proportion. It was like looking at a country cottage through a gigantic magnifying-glass. The slant-wise beams, the half-timbering, the gables, it was a little croooked house that had grown like a mushroom in the night!…It was a Greek restauranteur’s idea of something English.
Charles’ presence in the house is accepted easily as is the way of things in this type of story. I sometimes struggle to imagine any scenario of my own experience in which a virtual stranger would be given the kind of free reign that characters like Charles always receive when arriving on far-flung doorsteps but, as with all storytelling, you have to willingly suspend disbelief on at least some basic points. So, having ‘connections’ with the police and as the friend (and hopeful husband-to-be) of Sophia Leonides, whom he met in Egypt during the war, Charles is able to introduce the cast – or suspect pool if you prefer – to the reader in a surprisingly natural and believable way.
According to Christie she does not know how the Leonides family got into her head but once there “…like Topsy ‘they growed’“. It’s not hard to imagine that these people were with the author for some time before being brought to life on the page because they are more vivid than many of Christie’s characters. Even Aristide Leonides – who, in something of a departure for Christie, dies within the first dozen pages – is a fully-rounded individual. The Greek-immigrant patriarch of a relatively small family and the requisite number of hangers-on is very much a presence throughout the book. Variously loved, liked or respected by those around him, it is universally hoped that if the man has been murdered then ‘the right person’ is the culprit. Here, thankfully, no one seriously suggests the conveniently passing tramp, but most would be content to learn that any murder was committed by the octogenarian’s second, much, much younger, wife. Not that anyone genuinely hates Brenda Leonides but she is the closest thing to an outsider among the potential suspects and so would be the easiest murderer for the rest of the family to accept.
Of course everyone has a motive for wanting the old man dead but these are delicately teased out and some of them at least surprise with their sensitivity. Christie really does seem to have been giving more than her usual thought to the notion of exactly what it might be that would move someone to become a murderer. In some Golden Age puzzlers the reader is left with the sense that it doesn’t take much for the average person to start throwing poison around with abandon, but here Christie really explores the (far more likely) idea that becoming a murderer is not done with ease unless, perhaps, a person is mentally ill.
In the end CROOKED HOUSE is ‘just’ a deliberately puzzling whodunnit with a finite suspect pool and several twists designed to shock the reader. If that style of story is not your thing at all then there is probably nothing about this particular example that will make you change your mind. If, on the other hand, you don’t mind a classic whodunnit as long as it is well done then I highly recommend CROOKED HOUSE. It puts the vast majority of this type of tale, including some of Christie’s own, to shame in the way it is constructed and while it shares may tropes of the genre it does break with a few traditions. Most pleasingly from my perspective there is no awkward and unbelievable denouement (I can never quite buy the way those play out) and I think that even if the identity of the culprit is deduced beforehand, the actual resolution will surprise most readers satisfactorily.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This was Agatha Christie's favourite among her novels, and as a reader it is easy to understand why. Christie is best known for her two sleuths, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, though this is a 'stand-alone' offering. The story is narrated by Charles Hayward, son of the Assistant Commissioner at
Towards the end of the Second World War Hayward had been based in Cairo where he had met, and fallen in love with, Sophia Leonides. Once the war is over they return to Britain and plan to be married. In the meantime Sophia returns to her family home in one of London's suburbs. As is so often the case throughout Christie's novels, three generations of the Leonides family live together in the house owned by wealthy patriarch Aristide Leonides. Shortly after her return home, however, Astride is dead, and it soon transpires that he has been murdered. As a consequence of the prominence of the victim, Scotland Yard becomes involved in the investigation and, predictably, Hayward is asked to help out.
When I was about thirteen or fourteen I read dozens of Agatha Christie's novels, one after another, in that slightly obsessive manner that adolescent boys so often have. I enjoyed them but devoured them simply at face value. Re-reading this one nearly forty years later I now recognise that there was a lot of social comment in her depictions of domestic life. There is a wry, understated satire to her works. Her books are, however, redolent of their time. For instance, Christie is perfectly happy to describe Josephine, the younger sister of Sophia, as 'a fantastically ugly child'. I doubt whether any modern novelist would care to be so brutal.
Christie's prose is never glossy but she has an almost journalistic knack of telling the story with the minimum of fuss. Her characterisations may now seem slightly clichéd, but she always maintains a simple verisimilitude. It is, however, with her plotting that she holds the reader's attention. This book is certainly no exception. The plot is tightly constructed, and the denouement comes as rather a shock, though the clues were all there.
I was very glad to have revisited this novel after so long, and I may well try my hand at several more from her prolific output.
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Scotland Yard, and himself an ex-copper, or at least a former inspect at the Special Branch. Towards the end of the Second World War Hayward had been based in Cairo where he had met, and fallen in love with, Sophia Leonides. Once the war is over they return to Britain and plan to be married. In the meantime Sophia returns to her family home in one of London's suburbs. As is so often the case throughout Christie's novels, three generations of the Leonides family live together in the house owned by wealthy patriarch Aristide Leonides. Shortly after her return home, however, Astride is dead, and it soon transpires that he has been murdered. As a consequence of the prominence of the victim, Scotland Yard becomes involved in the investigation and, predictably, Hayward is asked to help out.
When I was about thirteen or fourteen I read dozens of Agatha Christie's novels, one after another, in that slightly obsessive manner that adolescent boys so often have. I enjoyed them but devoured them simply at face value. Re-reading this one nearly forty years later I now recognise that there was a lot of social comment in her depictions of domestic life. There is a wry, understated satire to her works. Her books are, however, redolent of their time. For instance, Christie is perfectly happy to describe Josephine, the younger sister of Sophia, as 'a fantastically ugly child'. I doubt whether any modern novelist would care to be so brutal.
Christie's prose is never glossy but she has an almost journalistic knack of telling the story with the minimum of fuss. Her characterisations may now seem slightly clichéd, but she always maintains a simple verisimilitude. It is, however, with her plotting that she holds the reader's attention. This book is certainly no exception. The plot is tightly constructed, and the denouement comes as rather a shock, though the clues were all there.
I was very glad to have revisited this novel after so long, and I may well try my hand at several more from her prolific output.
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LibraryThing member hailelib
One of Agatha Christie's stand alone books and set in a multi-generation country house near London. A good mystery from the late forties told in the first person by Charles Hayward, who hopes to marry into the family of the recently deceased patriarch, Aristide Leonides. It kept my interest and I
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liked the twists in the story. Show Less
LibraryThing member BrokenTune
There was a crooked man
and he went a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence
beside a crooked stile.
He had a crooked cat
which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together
in a little crooked house.
Crooked House is a stand-alone novel. I.e. it does not feature any of Christie's established
The story tells of a young couple, Charles and Sophia, who decide to postpone any decisions on getting married until after the war. Once the time has come the engagement is again interrupted by a death in Sophia's family.
From then on, trust is put to the test and motives are questioned. Everyone is a suspect and it is left to the couple to discover whom they can believe, or if they can at all.
What is interesting with this story is the finding out who the murderer is almost takes a backseat to getting to know the characters of Sophia's relatives. What an interesting bunch of eccentrics! They are all suffering from a past dominated by the misanthropic grandfather who claimed to have killed two people in his youth.
It's a marvellously dark story and it is easy to see why it was one of Dame Agatha's favourite mysteries.
and he went a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence
beside a crooked stile.
He had a crooked cat
which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together
in a little crooked house.
Crooked House is a stand-alone novel. I.e. it does not feature any of Christie's established
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sleuths (Marple, Poirot, Tommy & Tuppence, etc.).The story tells of a young couple, Charles and Sophia, who decide to postpone any decisions on getting married until after the war. Once the time has come the engagement is again interrupted by a death in Sophia's family.
From then on, trust is put to the test and motives are questioned. Everyone is a suspect and it is left to the couple to discover whom they can believe, or if they can at all.
What is interesting with this story is the finding out who the murderer is almost takes a backseat to getting to know the characters of Sophia's relatives. What an interesting bunch of eccentrics! They are all suffering from a past dominated by the misanthropic grandfather who claimed to have killed two people in his youth.
It's a marvellously dark story and it is easy to see why it was one of Dame Agatha's favourite mysteries.
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LibraryThing member smik
In an author's foreword Agatha Christie says this was a plot she had thought through for many years.
The action takes place just after the second world war near London. Charles Hayward and Sophia Leonides had met two years earlier in Egypt and were determined to meet again after the war was
They are back in London and have arranged to meet when Charles learns that Sophia's grandfather has been murdered. Charles' father, a member of Scotland Yard, suggests that Charles try to get an "inside" view of the family, talk to family members, to see if one is a murderer. We see events from Charles' point of view, and it is he who finally assembles the evidence, although in a sense a family member beat him to it.
This is a book that keeps the reader guessing, although I have to admit that about a quarter of the way from the end I was pretty sure I knew who the murderer was. That's when, true to form, Agatha Christie threw a final red herring on the path.
There's some interesting discussion of what makes a murderer. Charles' father who is a Scotland Yard Commander, believes that most murders are committed by family members because it is oily situations that the depth of hatred and frustration that precedes murder will occur. When the identity of the murderer is revealed he says he had known it for some time.
The action takes place just after the second world war near London. Charles Hayward and Sophia Leonides had met two years earlier in Egypt and were determined to meet again after the war was
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over.They are back in London and have arranged to meet when Charles learns that Sophia's grandfather has been murdered. Charles' father, a member of Scotland Yard, suggests that Charles try to get an "inside" view of the family, talk to family members, to see if one is a murderer. We see events from Charles' point of view, and it is he who finally assembles the evidence, although in a sense a family member beat him to it.
This is a book that keeps the reader guessing, although I have to admit that about a quarter of the way from the end I was pretty sure I knew who the murderer was. That's when, true to form, Agatha Christie threw a final red herring on the path.
There's some interesting discussion of what makes a murderer. Charles' father who is a Scotland Yard Commander, believes that most murders are committed by family members because it is oily situations that the depth of hatred and frustration that precedes murder will occur. When the identity of the murderer is revealed he says he had known it for some time.
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LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
This is narrated by a young man called Charles who wants to marry a girl called Sophia. Unfortunately her family is caught up in a murder enquiry.
I found the family involved rather interesting, as they’re supposed to be a typical Greek origin family. They live in a rather oddly designed spacious
Inevitably there are caricatures: Sophia’s mother Magda is a classic drama queen, and her uncle is vague and clueless. There’s a maiden aunt who raised the grandchildren, a large and benevolent ‘nannie’, a morose teenage boy, and a talkative girl who wants to be a detective…however, I found both Charles and Sophia to be quite well developed, and the book is very readable.
Inevitably this novel, first published in 1949, feels rather dated. However, both conversation and the story move at a good pace, and it’s a well-told tale. I surprised myself by guessing 'whodunit', but wasn't entirely certain until the final chapter.
The ending is a little abrupt and somewhat morbid, but given the era, not unreasonable.
I found the family involved rather interesting, as they’re supposed to be a typical Greek origin family. They live in a rather oddly designed spacious
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manor house; Sophia is the oldest of the grandchildren. Inevitably there are caricatures: Sophia’s mother Magda is a classic drama queen, and her uncle is vague and clueless. There’s a maiden aunt who raised the grandchildren, a large and benevolent ‘nannie’, a morose teenage boy, and a talkative girl who wants to be a detective…however, I found both Charles and Sophia to be quite well developed, and the book is very readable.
Inevitably this novel, first published in 1949, feels rather dated. However, both conversation and the story move at a good pace, and it’s a well-told tale. I surprised myself by guessing 'whodunit', but wasn't entirely certain until the final chapter.
The ending is a little abrupt and somewhat morbid, but given the era, not unreasonable.
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LibraryThing member Silvernfire
I first read this book as a teenager, when I was going through a murder mystery phase. I'm happy to say it satisfied my adult self as well. The first time through, I was only interested in finding out who the murderer was and why they'd done it. Decades later, I remembered who the murderer was, so
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this time, I paid attention to how the story was put together and what the clues were. The book's not all that long, but Christie made each character so distinctive that you don't need a long story to get to know them. It's not Great Literature, but it's a crisp little mystery and was worth the read. Show Less
LibraryThing member TomDonaghey
Whatever you do, do not read a 1954 book by William March unless you do it after reading this review. and of course, this book itself. The Crooked House of the title refers more to the people living in the vast estate rather than the building itself.
The book is set after WWII and it involves a
No alibis of course, and toss in a rewritten will and the result is turmoil, back-biting and, of course, moe than one murder. This is a rather fun outing without the regular detectives. It is a stand alone which is one of Miss Christie’s better efforts. Plus it endures well and comes a few years before that first book I was talking about. Since it was snowing all day today (in the middle of April?) I thought this would make a nice addition to my “stay apart” library.
The book is set after WWII and it involves a
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woman who had worked for the Foreign Office (think spy) and the son of a Police Inspector. When Sophia’s grandfather is discovered to have been ingeniously poisoned, Charles Haywood is on the case, doing what his father might have done in similar circumstances. There is a large compliment of suspects including grandfather’s much younger wife who stands to inherit a huge fortune. Larry Brown, tutor for the children, and perhaps the younger wife’s lover, hangs about the place. Josephine, the precocious daughter and Edith, the grandfather’s unmarried sister-in-law are here along with a near-do-well son and his wife and a few others.No alibis of course, and toss in a rewritten will and the result is turmoil, back-biting and, of course, moe than one murder. This is a rather fun outing without the regular detectives. It is a stand alone which is one of Miss Christie’s better efforts. Plus it endures well and comes a few years before that first book I was talking about. Since it was snowing all day today (in the middle of April?) I thought this would make a nice addition to my “stay apart” library.
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LibraryThing member xicanti
This was one of Agatha Christie's own favourite books, and I can see why. It was a lot of fun to read.
LibraryThing member jess_reads_books
The Leonides are a wealthy family, living in a sprawling mansion in England known as "Three Gables" or the Crooked House. The Second World War has brought all of the family members to live under one roof. Despite the hardships of the war, the Leonides have more than most could ask for thanks to the
Charles Hayward met Sophia Leonides, granddaughter of Aristide, before he went away to fight in the war. Now that he has returned, he desperately wants to ask for Sophia's hand in marriage, but she will not allow it until the murderer has been caught. Charles teams up with his father and the Scotland Yard to track down the killer. Charles must get to know each member of this crooked family in order to marry the woman he loves. Who can be trusted in a family where everyone is out to make themselves look good?
Agatha Christie does it again in CROOKED HOUSE! The reader is instantly drawn the Leonides family, which is filled with one interesting personality after another. Along with Charles, the reader must determine who they can trust and who is full of lies. Each family member has something to hide and those truths must come to light before the murderer is revealed. The ending to CROOKED HOUSE will leave you in shock! I highly recommend this novel to any reader looking to get to know more of Christie's work or simply an interesting mystery!
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head of the household, Aristide. Things turn upside down when Aristide suddenly dies from a fatal barbiturate injection masquerading as his daily insulin injection. Suspicion immediately falls on Aristide's young widow, Brenda, who is responsible for his injections. Brenda has never been accepted by the Leonides family because of the twenty year age difference between her and her former husband, which leads the family to believe she was solely after his money.Charles Hayward met Sophia Leonides, granddaughter of Aristide, before he went away to fight in the war. Now that he has returned, he desperately wants to ask for Sophia's hand in marriage, but she will not allow it until the murderer has been caught. Charles teams up with his father and the Scotland Yard to track down the killer. Charles must get to know each member of this crooked family in order to marry the woman he loves. Who can be trusted in a family where everyone is out to make themselves look good?
Agatha Christie does it again in CROOKED HOUSE! The reader is instantly drawn the Leonides family, which is filled with one interesting personality after another. Along with Charles, the reader must determine who they can trust and who is full of lies. Each family member has something to hide and those truths must come to light before the murderer is revealed. The ending to CROOKED HOUSE will leave you in shock! I highly recommend this novel to any reader looking to get to know more of Christie's work or simply an interesting mystery!
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LibraryThing member DrLed
Synopsis: Two people meet in a foreign country, but decide not to marry until they both return to England. However, the marriage still can't happen because her grandfather is killed. The only people who could have done it are the family and some old retainers. The very young, second wife, and the
Review: This was a rather interesting story that reminded me of 'The Bad Seed'.
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tutor are suspected, but the police think there could be someone else.Review: This was a rather interesting story that reminded me of 'The Bad Seed'.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1949-03
1949
Physical description
11 inches
ISBN
0007451652 / 9780007451654
Other editions
Crooked House (with audio CD) by Agatha Christie (Paperback)