Mostly Murders

“I’m completely bewildered,” said Bundle. “Nothing is what it seems.”

Young Gerry Wade is a heavy sleeper and always late for breakfast, much to the chagrin of his hostess, Lady Coote. One day his friends decide to play a prank on him by filling his bedroom with alarm clocks, but much to their shock, it turns out that Gerry Wade passed on that very night as a tragic result of taking too much sleeping draught.

But why would a healthy young man who never had trouble sleeping be taking any amount of sleeping draught at all? And why were there seven alarm clocks lined up on the mantelpiece in the dead man’s room? Lady Eileen, known as Bundle, isn’t convinced that Gerry’s death was an accident, and when Ronnie Devereux, a friend of Gerry, is shot dead, Bundle teams up with Jimmy Thesiger in an attempt to expose a mysterious organisation known as The Seven Dials.

A book full of twists and turns. As always, Agatha Christie delivers witty humour and sharp observations as she paints her character portraits of the British upper class with rich and powerful men who are subtly controlled by their wives, harmless and useless heirs who happily flitter around life aimlessly and completely depend on their servants, who are the actual heart and brains of the household. Bundle stands out among them as intelligent, independent and capable, giving anyone looking for a strong female lead their money’s worth and more.

Mystery – Agatha Christie