Murder in Agatha Christie’s Library
I’m starting off January by picking up series that have been on my radar for a while. While I’ve read other books by Colleen Cambridge, I hadn’t picked up her Phyllida Bright Mysteries despite having the first three. I’m glad I fixed that since I enjoyed Murder at Mallowan Hall.
This book introduces us to Phyllida, who is the housekeeper for Agatha Christie. The two met during the Great War, and Phyllida has come to her friend for employment. I feel like there is more to Phyllida’s backstory, but it is teased without being addressed, at least in this book. But we didn’t need it since there is a good mystery here.
Agatha and her second husband, Max Mallowan, are throwing a house party when an unexpected guest arrives in the middle of a summer storm. The man says he is a reporter who has an interview lined up with the famous author. While Agatha doesn’t remember it, she instructs Phyllida to set him up in one of the guest rooms, at least for tonight. But the next morning, Phyllida finds the man dead in the library. She doesn’t think the police are up to solving the crime, so she jumps in to find a few clues for them. But who was the victim? And who would want to kill him?
Anyone familiar with Agatha Christie’s works in general will be delighted with this mystery. It plays into some of those familiar elements, the unexpected guest, the murder during a storm, and, of course, the limited number of suspects. Naturally, these are also acknowledged with a wink and a nod, which I loved.
The mystery is well done overall, with plenty of suspects, clues, and red herrings. It is laid out and pieced together in a way that would make Agatha Christie proud. I was satisfied when I reached the ending.
I really felt like we got to know a few of the characters. Since most of the book is told form Phyllida’s point of view, we really got to know her. In fact, that’s my only real complaint. We got too much of her inner thoughts, and it made the book feel like it took longer to read. Some of them could have been cut out without hampering the story overall.
That time could have been used to flesh out some of the other characters. I felt like the suspects were a little flat. This was true across the board, so it didn’t ruin the suspense of the mystery.
The book is set in the 1930’s. The book doesn’t get into the events of the time, but it does bring the day to day life of the period to life, especially for those who were servants.
I mentioned earlier that a few scenes are told from other characters’ points of view. It’s always clear when we switch, and it makes sense. In fact, one of those scenes wouldn’t have been nearly as wonderful if we’d seen it from Phyllida’s point of view.
Fans of Agatha Christie will really enjoy these books. Even I, who hasn’t read as many as I should have, enjoyed the nods contained in Murder at Mallowan Hall. I hope to get to the next book in the series sooner rather than later.
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