Murder Will Out

Agatha Christie Investigates #1

by Alison Joseph

1923. The Great War is over, but the ghosts of the dead still linger. Agatha Christie was one of the lucky ones - her husband returned from the conflict - and for her, and her local neighbours, life has resumed. Agatha is beginning to gain some notoriety for her crime writing and she is busy working on her latest novel. But then her neighbour tells her there has been a real ‘murder at the vicarage’ - a young man, Cecil Coates, has been poisoned, and due to Christie’s expertise in the crime genre, the neighbourhood wants her to investigate. At first Agatha is reluctant to get involved. After all, she is a writer, not a detective. But then Robert Sayer, godson of her neighbour, and one of the main suspects in the case, appeals to her directly for help, and she finds herself being drawn in… What secrets and lies are lying beneath the village’s tranquil exterior? Can Agatha Christie use her imagination to draw the murderer out? ‘Murder Will Out’ is the first in a new series of murder mysteries, in which famous authoress Agatha Christie takes time out from writing to investigate real crime.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Cozy

158 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2014

About the author

Alison Joseph was born and brought up in London. She studied French and Philosophy at Leeds University, and then worked in local radio in Leeds as a producer and presenter. She moved back to London in 1983 and worked for a Channel 4 production company, making short documentaries. In 1985 she set up her own company, Works on Screen. Productions included Through the Devil's Gateway, a series about women and religion presented by Helen Mirren, which was broadcast by Channel 4 in 1989. A book of the series was published by SPCK. Sister Agnes became a reality with the publication of Sacred Hearts in 1994. This was followed by The Hour of Our Death (1995), The Quick and the Dead (1996), A Dark and Sinful Death (1997), The Dying Light (1999) and The Night Watch (2000). All the Sister Agnes books are published by Endeavour Press and Allison & Busby in the UK, and the first three are also available in German.
Other novels include Dying to Know (published by Endeavour Press), featuring D I Berenice Killick. Alison is also the author of two novellas in which (a fictional) Agatha Christie is the detective. They are Murder Will Out and Hidden Sins, both published by Endeavour Press. The third is due out Autumn 2016.

Alison has also written short stories for Radio 4, for YOU magazine, for Critical Quarterly and for various women's magazines, as well as abridging novels for Radio 4's Book at Bedtime and The Late Book, including the award-winning production of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. She is the author of about twenty-five plays for BBC Radio 4. Her most recent short story is Samir's Lament, available on Kindle Singles.

Alison lives in London.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Agatha Christie is my favourite author of all time, I found this mystery, which features her as the sleuth, irresistible. All Agatha wants to do is concentrate on writing her new novel, when neighbour Sylvia Ettridge calls to ask for her help. Her godson, Robert Sayer, is curate at the vicarage and there has been a murder there. Robert’s friend, Cecil, who was staying at the vicarage has been found poisoned and Sylvia seems to think that Agatha can solve the crime.

Agatha is not a willing participant in this view of her as a detective. However, once she begins to investigate, she finds that she is drawing conclusions which lead her to the killer. There are lots of possible suspects, and a plot worthy of a Christie novel itself – with mysterious graves, long lost legacies, links to a clinic in the East End of London and motives which include both love and greed…

If an author uses real people into their novels, it is important that they treat the subject they are writing about with respect. Agatha here is one that lovers of her novels will recognise and there are lots of lovely bookish clues about future plots and characters, as well as hints about her life at the time – from the beginning of her writing success to her husband’s obsession with her royalties. At times, I found the sheer amount of characters a little confusing to, but this was a fun read and I would certainly read the next in the series – and hope there is one.

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie as a detective is an interesting concept and definitely something different for Alison Joseph after her successful series of novels featuring Sister Agnes. I enjoyed this well written village mystery in which Agatha becomes reluctantly involved in investigating a poisoning at the vicarage. There is a complex web of old scandals, feuds and relationships and Agatha must unravel these before she finds the solution.

This is a quick read but I think the author has caught the essence of Agatha Christie and created in her a delightful character. If you enjoy Nicola Upson's recreation of Josephine Tey as an amateur detective then you may enjoy this story too.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a clever idea to have main character Agatha Christie be asked to investigate a murder in a vicarage as she is writing her own novel with a similar plot. Agatha solves the case, and ends up with inspiration for a new "detective" for her book...the one and only Miss Marple! I did struggle a bit with keeping the numerous characters straight, and I cringed at the abundance of typographical errors.

[Gardener0126 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable mystery

This book really reminded me of the old fashioned English village mystery. Whatcha Christie is the amateur detective, who also happens to be an author of mystery novels.
I did find it a bit difficult to keep the children characters straight and although the conclusion was plausible, the author kept some clues to herself and didn't reveal them until the end. Never the less it was an enjoyable, easy to read cozy mystery.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death stalks the vicarage...

1923. The Great War is over, but the ghosts of the dead still linger. Agatha Christie was one of the lucky ones - her husband returned from the conflict - and for her, and her local neighbours, life has resumed. Agatha is beginning to gain some notoriety for her crime writing and she is busy working on her latest novel. But then her neighbour tells her there has been a real ‘murder at the vicarage’ - a young man, Cecil Coates, has been poisoned, and due to Christie’s expertise in the crime genre, the neighbourhood wants her to investigate. At first Agatha is reluctant to get involved. After all, she is a writer, not a detective. But then Robert Sayer, godson of her neighbour, and one of the main suspects in the case, appeals to her directly for help, and she finds herself being drawn in… What secrets and lies are lying beneath the village’s tranquil exterior? Can Agatha Christie use her imagination to draw the murderer out?

‘Murder Will Out’ is the first in a new series of murder mysteries, in which famous authoress Agatha Christie takes time out from writing to investigate real crimes.

I enjoyed this nicely woven, well plotted and written mystery starring the Queen of Crime herself, Mrs Agatha Christie. And delivered in the true style of a Christie mystery.

This is the first of what I hope will be a continuing series of Mrs Christie murder mysteries.

If you like the review and would like to read reviews on other books I have read, visit my blog at www.finalchapterreadersgroup.wordpres... like, comment and follow.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clever concept and some passages of nice writing. Some of the characters, especially the women, are credibly portrayed and developed. On the other hand, the narrative became convoluted in places and I share other readers’ confusion over the continual swapping between first and surnames in addressing characters. It was difficult enough keeping the cast clearly in mind without that additional hurdle.

The cleverness of the concept, however, and the strength of the portrayal of Agatha leave me with no regrets in having read it,

[Deepa T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure how I feel about the book - I was certainly confused at many spots. The characters did not seem fleshed out well, but it all ended quite all right. I’ll say, however, that the author has managed to capture the feel of Agatha Christie mysteries very well. Also I love that the inspiration for Miss Marple is mentioned here.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting idea - Agatha Christie is involved in solving a murder because her neighbours think that she should know all about detection, being a crime writer - but it didn't really work for me. I found it an easy read but I found it hard to suspend my disbelief.

[Gowri N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing isn't bad and I like the premise of Christie the author herself being pulled into real-life mysteries. But the author has over-complicated the plot. Too many characters, too many disconnected, confusing threads, a jerky narrative...

Overall, it just doesn't work.

[Rekha Rajgopal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very complicated storytelling. I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters.

Settings wise, the English country setting did pull me in.

I just read on to find out who did it. But overall was not a smooth read because the storytelling was not lucid.

[Wendy Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to concentrate a bit as I got a bit confused with the characters but that might have been my own fault for stopping and starting a bit at the beginning! Jolly good read once I got into it and last few chapters were very hard to put down

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this take on s cozy and I love anything that had to do with Agatha Christie! I can't recommend this wonderful little cozy enough.

I've already downloaded book 2 in the series 😉

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Susan Schnackenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but a bit dated and flat.

Too many characters introduced too quickly with way too little development. Eventually they were sorted out. That's just my opinion.

[Connie Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read

It was a very entertaining story that went quickly. The ending was a surprise and wasn't what I expected. Good ending.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Agatha Christie so I needed to read this book and it did not disappoint. I did keep thinking of marple though

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great short story to read outside on a perfect summer day. It was fun to have Agatha investigating and being her own character in her own story. I can't wait to read the others over the summer.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this quite simplistic - it was an easy read and I had a car journey so I stuck with it - the characterisations were a bit dull but I developed a desire to find out who did it

[Amit Kulkarni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her other mysteries are much better

[Verity W · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is set in 1923, during Agatha Christie's first marriage to Archie. She's busy writing her next novel when there's an actual murder in the village that she lives in and her neighbour is determined that Agatha is the perfect person to help solve it (and exonerate the neighbour's godson). This is a bit too long to be a novella, but it's not really proper novel length either. I think it's probably got too much plot for the length that it actually is - but it's quite hard to find the balance of enough plot to keep the reader guessing but not so much that it's confusing for the reader. I'm not sure why it needed to be hung off Agatha Christie, because it didn't feel that specific to Christie as a character - it could have been a fictional mystery writer getting dragged into a local murder.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable cozy murder story where the culprit is found by Agatha Christie

[Amrita Brahmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise, if let down by a somewhat predictable plot. Agatha Christie makes for a far more interesting character study than she does a detective, and one almost wishes this book explored her life and not mysteries.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who has never actually read an Agatha Christie novel, I was nevertheless interested in reading this cosy crime novel featuring Agatha Christie herself as the (reluctant) detective.

I won't recap the plot as it's all there in the blurb, but it takes place in the village of Sunningdale the early 1920s, when Christie would have been in her early thirties.

The sense of time and place was quite immersing; I never 'forgot' about the period setting as I have done with some less-well written novels set in the not-too-distant past. We learn just enough about the characters' backgrounds and personalities to make sense of the plot without going into too much detail (it's a short novel). I did however experience a little confusion over who was who from time to time, possibly because often the characters were referred to as Mr/Mrs-, and sometimes by their first names, which is entirely consistent with the setting.

I did not guess 'whodunnit', and the reveal at the end took me by surprise. I did not have any suspects in mind, although I picked up on some suspicious behaviour near the end, and one clue that I was sure was a red herring turned out not to be. The explanation and backstory did make sense retrospectively.

There were plenty of references to Agatha Christie's life and novels, which mostly went over my head, but I'm sure they would add even more enjoyment to fans. I am certainly tempted to try some of Christie's novels now.

Overall I found this to be a light, easy read. Nothing groundbreaking or very exciting, but certainly comforting and satisfying.

Note: I received this book free (no strings attached) from the publisher, Endeavour Press, as part of their online Historical Festival.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The conceit of this book is that (a youngish?) Agatha Christie is drawn into a real life murder investigation, because her neighbors assume she will want to be involved because of what she writes. She is reluctant, because she knows that her "stories" are a far different thing from real people. But the real people and their personalities draw her in, and in true cozy fashion, she solves the mystery for the detectives.

What I didn't like: I had a hunch about the culprit, but it was only a hunch, because Agatha figured things out based on documents she read that we weren't privy to and because of inter-relationships I couldn't always keep straight. Which leads to my second complaint: I kept getting confused about characters because it would frequently switch between formal/full names (as would seem appropriate for the era) and first names, often between a pair of characters on the same page. Good thing this kindle edition was x-ray enabled or I would have gotten lost! Also, there is also some attempt at connecting the real life events to the plot Agatha is working out / writing at the time, but it felt forced. Maybe if I were more familiar with the entire Christie canon it would be more meaningful. Does that mean the only good audience for the series is die-hard Christie fans that are willing to let the author be a character?

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy and delightful read, but I was hoping for more. For a book with Agatha Christie as the detective protagonist, I would have expected a play-fair puzzle mystery. Unfortunately, Ms. Joseph didn't really lay out all the clues yet at the same time, it seemed fairly obvious to me who the murderer was. Also, I found the characters a little one dimensional and even at times indistinguishable from one another. We are thrown right into the plot on page one and too many characters are introduced too quickly. I also felt that the Agatha Christie in this book was merely a character. She could have been any twenties mystery writer. There was no real mention of any of Christie's real books or characters (probably because the book is not authorized by the Christie estate) and other than mentioning her daughter and husband, there is little attempt to get inside Christie's life. What I love about Christie's books - the insightful look at English life and the often deadpan humor - is totally missing here. Perhaps it's unfair to compare this book to Christie's; I did enjoy the book but it was like a piece of chocolate, quickly eaten, enjoyed, and then forgotten.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie appears as the main character in this murder mystery along with her first husband Archie at a point where their marriage is starting to unravel with Archie spending increasing amounts of time workin in London even at weekends. This gives the novel a vague undercurrent of sadness. There are more optimistic flashes such as the germ of the idea of Miss Marple which is well written and plausible. It makes an interesting read and anyone who enjoys Nicola Upson's series of crime novels featuring Josephine Tey will probably enjoy this. It captures a flavour of Agatha Chritie's novels . The biggest fault is the hurried introduction of so many characters early on which makes it initially confusing and difficult to grasp who is connected and in what way. Overall an interesting read, particularly for Christie fans.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

1920's and Agatha Christie has settled in the English countryside with her family writing her next book. When she is pulled into a murder at the vicarage - Cecil Coates, a young man has been poisoned. Due to her successful writing her friends believe she can solve the mystery. But can she before another murder takes place and also unravel the secrets that the village is hiding
As a first book in a series it was entertaining, whether there will be more character development I wait and see; or whether Christie will move away where multiple murders is more plausible. than a small village.

[Paula R. C. Readman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book and well written with an interesting plot, but my problem with the book was the fact its main players were real life characters. To have such a famous crime writer as a solver of crimes in a fictional setting l found myself saying oh yes well that came from that book of Agatha Christie, which was off putting.

Yes a great book and l would read another one of her books.

[Puzzle Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agatha Christie as sleuth may sound like an iffy idea, but the author does a really good job with the idea. Well worth a look - full review here.

[Johanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmm, it was OK. It slid past my eyes and engaged me sufficiently to finish it but it was neither contemporary crime or classic cosy. If you want a good example of the author turned detective genre then I'd recommend the Josephine Tay mysteries