I love the 30’s, yet for me, Christie’s richest and most mature work appeared between 19. Murders, Death on the Nile, and And Then There Were None, but there was virtually nary a lemon in the basket. Among the best were Murder on the Orient Express, The A.B.C. The 1930s were Christie’s Golden Age, the time when she hit her stride and produced seventeen mysteries, many of them full on classics of the genre. The rest ranged from entertaining mysteries ( Styles, Murder on the Links) and thrillers ( The Man in the Brown Suit, The Seven Dials Mystery) to some odd hokum ( The Big Four) and stylish mediocrity ( The Mystery of the Blue Train). That decade produced one genuine classic – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), a fairly conventional village mystery even for its time, in every way except the finale.

The nine novels she wrote in the 20’s constitute Agatha Christie’s training period, and on retrospect, it was a bumpy ride. And yet, there were some shifts in her timeline that are deserving of mention. She had her penchant for semi-political thrillers, but most of the time she turned out whodunits. Where, then, to place Agatha Christie? Of the group mentioned above, her career aligned most closely to Carr’s. Finally, there were the authors, like Ellery Queen and Patrick Quentin, who divided their careers into significant periods and experimented often, with varying degrees of success. John Dickson Carr’s modernized his style and experimented a little with historical thrillers, but basically he remained the JDC of old until the bitter end. Some of them, like Gladys Mitchell, Rex Stout and Ngaio Marsh, may or may not have improved in their craft but seemed content to never vary their content or style. “Dispute not with her: she is lunatic” William Shakespeare, RICHARD IIIĭespite the fact that Golden Age detective fiction is enjoying a renaissance, and long forgotten authors have been excavated for our pleasure, it is the career writers, those who published across the decades, who are a mystery fan’s bread and butter. (And really, you should read this book before the movie comes out!)

If you have not read Crooked House yet, I hope you will join in after you have done so. WARNING: This post attempts to analyze and reflect upon a work of detective fiction, and as such, certain plot points will be discussed, including the solution to the murders.

Crooked house plot