Crooked House & Endless Night

by Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser (Reading)

Here are two stand-alone novels from the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie. From the sprawling Leonide family to dark moors, no one can spin a mystery quite like she can.Crooked HouseThe Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion--that is, until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection. Suspicion naturally falls on the old man's young widow, fifty years his junior. But the murderer has reckoned without the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiance of the late millionaire's granddaughter.Endless NightStrapped by a chauffeur's wages, Michael Rogers is in want of a better life that seems out of reach. Especially elusive is a magnificent piece of property in Kingston Bishop--until a chance meeting with a beautiful heiress makes his dreams possible. Marrying her is the first step, and building the perfect home is the next. Unfortunately, Michael ignored the local warnings about the deadly curse buried in the tract of land, and living out his dreams may exact a higher price than he ever imagined.Endless Night was praised as one of Agatha Christie's most unusual forays into gothic, psychological suspense. A novel of fate, chance, and the nature of evil was a personal favorite of the author's as well.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Agatha Christie, Historical

1 pages, MP3 CD

Published October 16, 2012

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crooked House

Crooked House is a standalone mystery that features young Charles Hayward, the son of a superintendent of Scotland Yard and promising diplomat, as the amateur inquirer working alongside the police in the murder of his fiancee's grandfather. There is a whimsy to this story the way the 'Crooked House' nursery rhyme meandered through the story of the odd and eccentric Leonides' family. The mystery is baffling and the reveal a stunner and quite revolutionary in my mind considering the author's usual villains. The author deceives, but she does play fair with readers who want a chance at solving it. I enjoyed Charles and Sophia who were at the center and liked getting the tale from Charles' POV.

Endless Night

Endless Night is also a standalone. It is a standout atmospheric domestic thriller before that genre became a 'thing'.

“Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night”

Michael Rogers is a rolling stone who gets the idee fixe about a rundown house locally dubbed 'Gypsy Acres' and wants a dynamic Continental architect to design the home after the old one is torn down. He is a chauffeur and could never afford even a cursed tumbled down estate, but then he runs into young heiress, Elly, who catches his dream and they marry.
It is a halcyon marriage until Elly's friend Greta arrives...

I saw the movie with Hayley Mills as Elly when I was a child. It gave me the chills and especially when the twist takes place. Finally, I've had the chance to come back for the book and it starts out slow, but getting to know Michael made it worth it especially what comes after he meets Elly. Quite the surprising psychological piece especially compared to Christie's other works. I didn't love this one, but I felt total respect for a well put together plot.


Talented Hugh Fraser voiced the books and did a fantastic job with the tone, the characters, and keeping me right in the moment. Love when he narrates Agatha Christie's books.

Both these books really showcased Christie's prodigious talent and though they won't be my favorites, I was glad to revisit them.

[Rose Holguin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed these from a friend, but had a tricky time getting into the stories - then I tried the audiobook. Bingo! Finally got into the stories and discovered the beauty of Christie's genius in Endless Night..

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I re-listened to Crooked House, which was kind of interesting to experience again (especially in light of having watched the terrible movie). It was pretty good.

Endless Night I did not really enjoy--I chose these sets doing kind of a genre study on mysteries and I wanted another standalone Christie. I don't know that this could be categorized as a mystery, but the mystery element comes very late in the narrative and doesn't stay for long. The twist felt a bit stale although I recognize Christie was a much earlier adopter of it than many of the things I've already seen. I'm sure Christie was going more for an examination of human nature overlaid with supernatural but the result was a pretty forgettable book in my opinion.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crooked House was entertaining, though I knew who the murderer was as soon as they were introduced. I don’t normally, and prefer not to, but it was still a fun listen - 3 stars. I consume Agatha Christie as a guilty pleasure, for the typically cheesy entertainment value of Marple, Poirot, Tuppence and Tommy… I don’t know if I have ever considered them more than 3 stars. And maybe it was due wholly to Hugh Fraser’s adept narration of this audio book recording of Endless Night that bumped it to 3.5 stars for me; it’s hard to say for sure. In any case, I found the monophonic epistolary format of Endless Night refreshing and interesting compared to the other works I have read by Christie.

[Ra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two standalone novels by a skillful master. I had read both long ago in Arabic translation and my enjoyment was perhaps heightened by half remembered plots, that allowed me to watch how Ms. Christie interwove her narrative with foreshadowing, and dropped clues to what is coming next. There are never any red herrings and the truth is almost out there for you to see, but she is so clever. And a very good observer of human nature.

The reading is also very good and was definitely a plus to enjoying this double treat.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piece of genuine Gothic storytelling from Christie.
Michael Rogers is a chauffeur and ruthlessly materialistic. He wants a slice of the world he sees as he drives his enormously rich employees from one mansion/ banquet/holiday to another. Rogers 'falls in love' with spectacularly rich Ellie and gets exactly what he desires. Or what he thinks he desires. Significant use of the sweet delight/endless night of William Blake helps hold this study of evil together

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Endless Night more than Crooked House; however, it was cool to hear the callback to the nursery rhyme that they quoted in The Conjuring 2.

Agatha Christie was such an interesting person - I'd love to read a biography of her life. If anyone can recommend a good one to me, please do so!

This one is worth a read particularly because of Endless Night - great story! I didn't see where it was going, and I was very surprised and entertained by the twist.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crooked House was a great murder mystery. I wasn't that into Endless Night - some of Christie's weird sexist tropes felt like they were on display, but it did pick up in the end and overall I enjoyed it.

[Jaydrienne Starkyak · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I found "Endless Night" to be more of an "Endless Bore" and wish someone would have told me that I only really needed to listen to the last hour or so.

[Yelena · Rating 4 out of 5]

audio

[Cheriwinkle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Crooked House was an interesting enough read. Endless Night was certainly an amazingly inventive story, but I didn’t like it at all.

[Idamus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crooked House. 3 stars, not surprised at who did it, that was my first and only suspect.
Endless Night. DNF.

[Marybeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crooked House was a good story, but I never even finished Endless Night. I just couldn't connect with the narrator and stopped reading about a third of the way through.

[Jenn G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad listen. I definitely liked Crooked House over Endless Night. Both very good though.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I preferred Endless Night to Crooked House, and I'm wondering if Ms. Christie was nerdy for inheritance law. If so, love that for her.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duration: 11:59:35

[Lynette Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m an Agatha Christie fan, but Endless Night seemed, well, endless. I did enjoy Crooked House.

[Alonna Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading (listening) to Crooked House. May have missed a few things, but I would love to go back and re-listen to fully comprehend the story. Endless Night is one of Christie’s more darker stories... still always gives me pause. “Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night” Chilling, no?