::READERS REVIEWS::

The Creeping Unknown - I know this book has an indifferent reputation and it is sometimes compared unfavorably to Christie's preceding thriller, THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD. But over the years I've come to prefer DU to BAGHDAD, maybe as I've grown older and more reflective. The insouciant and devil may care heroine of BAGHDAD, Victoria Jones, was once more appealing to me, and the social comedy of that book remains a delight. But now I am in a Hilary Craven state of mind. If you ask me, Hilary Craven is one of Christie's greatest accomplishments as a character, and her gradual transformation during the events of her "ritualized suicide" is so skillfully done it's hard to see how it could be improved.

At first she is a frightened, despondent mess, as a result of catastrophes in her personal life, a broken marriage, and the death of her only child, a little girl. She keeps obsessing about Brenda, the dead girl, and visualizing the pathetic tiny mound of her grave. She decides to commit suicide and nothing is going to stop her. Christie takes you deep inside Hilary's mind, and her decision seems perfectly rational and even moral, and then fate knocks at her door. In a way we've heard Christie tell this story before, because a would-be suicide turns into the hero of TOWARDS ZERO, and we get some idea of her philosophy on the subject--don't kill yourself because of the butterfly effect, and you never know when you might save someone else's life if only you live. DESTINATION UNKNOWN shows signs of Christie's interest in French existentialism, and the questions it asks are pretty deep ones. What is the price of personal freedom? Is freedom an illusion? In paradise--real or imagined--is there any freedom of choice? If humans are infinitely adaptable and can get used to anything, where is the spark that separates us from the animals? Is identity itself a learned response?

WILL SOMEONE LET THE WOMAN SPEAK? - What "improvements" have been made for the Greenway Ed edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead (SO MANY STEPS TO DEATH) editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further additions still in the Bantam, Berkley, Signet, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.

Usually a fan, but unimpressed - Let me start by saying I love Agathie Christie, she's one of my guilty pleasures. There's nothing cosier that sitting in a lovely warm living room reading an Christie novel while it's raining outside.

That being said, this novel is very odd and uninspiring. It's not one of her typical murder mysteries...and it's all very farfetched and just barely comes together in the end.

Fans of her usual material might seem a bit baffled by this 'novel'. This probably would have made a fine screenplay...but there's not enough coherence or guts to it, to make it a good novel as such. The characters also, are rather forgettable. The climax to the novel as well, is all rather odd and unimpressive.

A fast read notheless.

A classic Agatha thriller--which is perfect - A thriller type. Her knowledge of the middle east from her husband's excavations, Max Mallowan, puts her--and us--in the picture. Wonderful fun.

Often underrated by Agatha purists.

Rare Christie thriller - This 1955 novel is a departure from her more well known cosy series books. This one has none of her more familiar characters like Poirot or Marple, the setting is mostly the North African desert and centers on a James Bond type conspiracy complete with secret hideout and mysterious, fabulously wealthy mastermind.

Hilary Craven has been defeated by life, her daughter has died, her husband has left her and she has nothing left to live for. She has decided to leave England and in an out-of-the-way spot in Morocco end it all. Circumstances intervene and instead of a quiet end in a lonely hotel room Hilary finds herself cast in the role of secret agent.

This is a rather standard thriller type novel. Although a departure from Christie's usual fare there are still many of her more familiar motifs. The 'hero' is a single woman off on a adventure (like MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT), there is also a 'master criminal' (like the Tommy and Tuppence series or PASSENGER TO FRANKFURT) and much of the action takes place in an isolated, contained environment. As always in Christie's work the clues are all there for the reader to follow right up to the surprise ending.