::READERS REVIEWS::

Towards Zero - Since I do not order audio books, I do no believe that this is one of mine. But if it is Christie, it is probably wonderful.

WILL SOMEONE LET THE WOMAN SPEAK? - What "improvements" have been made for the "Masterpiece" edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead 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 Signet, Bantam, Berkley, 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.

Laura Goth's review - Hugh Fraser is a good narrator for the usual well written book by Agatha Christie.

Big Agatha Christie fan. - Great story with all these people's lives crossing and meeting. Hugh Fraser as reader is just the icing on the cake.

Carefully plotted, suspenseful, and a personal favorite. - If Christie's Towards Zero (1944), published after The Moving Finger (1943) and before Death Comes As the End (1945), ranks as a personal favorite, it does so largely because it is one of Christie's novels which I return to repeatedly and find myself quickly engrossed, even though I know its ending.

Christie's power in Towards Zero is her ability to create a sinister air which permeates this novel written at the height of her career. While the absence of Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot may disappoint Christie fans, Superintendent Battle, whose role remains relatively marginal for much of the action of the novel, is the primary detective in the story. Like many of Christie's novels, Towards Zero is an English countryhouse murder mystery in which a limited number of suspects all congregate in one particular location.

Lady Tressilian's home, Gull's Point, overlooks a river which empties into Easterhead Bay. There, Lady Tressilian lives in relative peace with her companion, Mary Aldin, a sheepish young woman who acts as a secretary to Lady Tressilian. As the late summer approaches, Lady Tressilian finds herself hosting a series of guests, particularly her late husband's ward, Nevile Strange, accompanied by his new wife, Kay. Unfortunately, Nevile's first wife, Audrey, has also been invited. Christie, hardly prone to comedy comparable to a Noel Coward play, allows us to see the competing affections between these three characters. Why did Nevile leave his first wife whom everyone loved? Why does Kay find Audrey frightening? And why, after being rejected, does Audrey agree to come and visit Gull's Point at the latter end of the summer?

Eventually, we meet Mr. Treves, a kindly, well-meaning solicitor, whose considerable past experience allows him to speak with some authority on murderers and their victims. Unfortunately, after recounting an incident in which two children playing eventually lead to a fatality, an audience member finds Mr. Treves knowledge far too significant to ignore. Who among the guests at Gull's Point might be responsible for placing an "out of order" sign on an elevator so that an aging Mr. Treves would have to climb, much to his peril, flights of stairs? Christie's novel of suspense allows us briefly into the mind of the killer and while she never reveals anything that might give the end away, she manages to keep readers guessing until the last minute.

WILL SOMEONE LET THE WOMAN SPEAK? - What "improvements" have been made for the "Masterpiece" edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead 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 Signet, Bantam, Berkley, 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.

Big Agatha Christie fan. - Great story with all these people's lives crossing and meeting. Hugh Fraser as reader is just the icing on the cake.

Challenging puzzle that will keep you guessing to the end - This 1944 mystery begins with a group of criminologists discussing murder cases, one remarks that murder mysteries are written backwards, beginning with the crime when in fact, the real story begins much earlier.

The action then shifts to other characters as the countdown to zero hour begins. The diverse group includes a would be suicide; an athletic young man and his current and former wives; a planter from the Far East; and a wealthy invalid and her impoverished companion. We see these characters and others take the steps that ultimately lead then to an isolated seacoast estate and murder.

This is a Sgt. Battle mystery (The Seven Dials) and we are treated to some background information on him. Poirot is mentioned but only in passing. Christie, speaking through Battle, makes clear her feelings about the then current fad of psychology and those who attempt to apply it while only half understanding the theories.

The 60 year old story has worn well overall. A 21st century reader would be puzzled only by the stigma that some of the characters applied to divorce and the relatively unsophisicated forensic proceedures. This is, as is typical of Christie's work, well plotted, the clues are all there for the reader to follow through the maze of red herrings but nearly impossible to solve before the detective.

Towards Zero review - It was a good read or listen but it was short. I had hope for a longer version. I enjoyed the full cast drama.

ONE OF CHRISTIE'S BEST - I have read all of Agatha Christie's books and this is one of my very very favorites. The first time I read it, it chilled me to the bone. Re-reading it many years later, I found it to be just as good. The recounting of a murder taking place when several of the characters were children is particularly gripping and lays the foundation for things to come. This book is highly recommended to anyone of any age for entertainment and delight.

This is one of those books that, when you think of it later, you think "oh, that was a good one."