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Ariadne Oliver #5
ვილა "ჩალისფერი ცხენი"
ახალგაზრდა ისტორიკოსი, მოგოლთა მმართველობის პერიოდის არქიტექტურის მკვლევარი მარკ ისთერბრუკი უცნაური მოვლენების მოწმე ხდება - პატივსაცემი მღვდლის მკვლელობა, ერთიმეორის მიყოლებით ავადმყოფობით სიკვდილის რამდენიმე შემთხვევა, თანაც ერთი და იმავე სიმპტომით. მაგრამ ეს უცნაურად არავის ეჩვენება - ადამიანი გაცივდა, გრიპი ფილტვების ანთებით გაურთულდა, რა არის ამაში ახალი და საეჭვო?! ამავე აზრს იზიარებს პოლიცის ინსპექტორი ლეჟენიც, მაგრამ რაზე მიანიშნებს მოკლული მამა გორმანის ფეხსაცმელში ნაპოვნი ქაღალდის ნაგლეჯი, ზედ გვარების ჩამონათვალით?! იქ ჩამოთვლილი ყველა ადამიანი ხომ ერთიმეორის მიყოლებით გარდაიცვალა?! რატომ მიდის კვალი ყოველ ჯერზე ვილა "ჩალისფერ ცხენში"? ეს მისტიკაა თუ ვერაგი თაღლითობა? ამის გარკვევა მოუწევთ მარკ ისთერბრუკსა და მის მეგობარ ქალს, ჯინჯერ კორიგანს
247 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
Agatha Christie
6,090 books77.5k followersAgatha 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,749 reviews
May 14, 2025
4.5 Stars
The Pale Horse is a spooky little mystery that dabbles with the idea of a cabal of criminals who kill for money using supernatural means.
Can it be done?
Three kooky sisters in a village claim to have powers beyond what mortal men can comprehend.
Nobody takes them seriously, of course.
But when a nice old priest is killed after a dying woman makes her last confession to him and asks him to make things right, it sets off a chain of events that has a whole lot of people asking if perhaps there isn't more to the urban legend of The Pale Horse than meets the eye.
I really liked Mark and the cast of characters that surrounded him. The amateur detectives are always fun to watch, and he and Ginger made a great team. This is also one of the examples of when Christie gets romance right, as she is also fairly well known for popping up at the last moment with some kind of horrible romantic jump scare.
If you read a lot of her books, this won't surprise you, but Christie liked to throw out little nods to her other books. This time around, I thought they were particularly well done because the stories mentioned just fit the spooky atmosphere of this so well.
Mark, David's friend, tells a story that mentions the psychotic little old lady from By the Pricking of My Thumbs. And it was so well done that it gave me the shivers.
There was also mention of someone possibly being hypnotized into eating a candle just like the girl who was possessed in The Fourth Man: A Short Story.
That ending!
There's no way you're going to guess whodunnit. Unless maybe you have some sort of supernatural powers?
I mean, the villain just popped up so far out in left field that I was kind of standing there with my jaw hanging open. What?
I don't know if it was a good reveal or a stupid one. But either way, there weren't any clues (that I noticed) that could have pointed in that direction.
However, this was a lot of fun to read.
Recommended!
The Pale Horse is a spooky little mystery that dabbles with the idea of a cabal of criminals who kill for money using supernatural means.
Can it be done?
Three kooky sisters in a village claim to have powers beyond what mortal men can comprehend.
Nobody takes them seriously, of course.
But when a nice old priest is killed after a dying woman makes her last confession to him and asks him to make things right, it sets off a chain of events that has a whole lot of people asking if perhaps there isn't more to the urban legend of The Pale Horse than meets the eye.
I really liked Mark and the cast of characters that surrounded him. The amateur detectives are always fun to watch, and he and Ginger made a great team. This is also one of the examples of when Christie gets romance right, as she is also fairly well known for popping up at the last moment with some kind of horrible romantic jump scare.
If you read a lot of her books, this won't surprise you, but Christie liked to throw out little nods to her other books. This time around, I thought they were particularly well done because the stories mentioned just fit the spooky atmosphere of this so well.
Mark, David's friend, tells a story that mentions the psychotic little old lady from By the Pricking of My Thumbs. And it was so well done that it gave me the shivers.
There was also mention of someone possibly being hypnotized into eating a candle just like the girl who was possessed in The Fourth Man: A Short Story.
That ending!
There's no way you're going to guess whodunnit. Unless maybe you have some sort of supernatural powers?
I mean, the villain just popped up so far out in left field that I was kind of standing there with my jaw hanging open. What?
I don't know if it was a good reveal or a stupid one. But either way, there weren't any clues (that I noticed) that could have pointed in that direction.
However, this was a lot of fun to read.
Recommended!
February 5, 2020
”And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him…”
A certain Mrs. Davis dies suddenly in a boarding house. Her death is not remarkable, but the list of people’s names that she shared with a priest before dying turns out to be very interesting indeed. This list includes the names of some people who have recently died of natural causes, or was it? When the priest is found murdered, the police are confounded by how it all ties together.
Mark Easterbrook (who will be played by Rufus Sewell in the upcoming BBC adaptation of the book) finds himself drawn into this fascinating series of events. He says the writing on his book is going very well when anyone asks him, but in reality, I think he would use any excuse to escape writing further about the history of the Moguls’ way of life. If the writer is bored with the subject, how can a reader possibly find what he’s written interesting? The Moguls simply can not compete with a real live murder mystery.
There is a nice foreshadowing as he goes to the theatre with his pseudo girlfriend Hermia Redcliffe. ”One needs some really good food and drink after all the magnificent blood and gloom of Macbeth. Shakespeare always makes me ravenous.” Watching or reading Shakespeare does always produce an appetite for me as well, but what is interesting about the mention of Macbethis that, during the course of his impending investigation, he is about to meet three witches.
He hears through an unreliable source (good time girl Poppy) that, if someone wants someone done away with, she needs to see the three women at The Pale Horse Pub. Rather brazen, don’t you think? If you are in the murder for hire business, to operate under the name The Pale Horse is almost an admission of guilt. It is all poppycock anyway; you can’t use witchcraft to kill someone. Voodoo, a sect of witchcraft, if one is to believe the more sensationalized presentations. But doesn’t one have to believe in Voodoo for a Voodoo curse to work? Doesn’t one have to believe in witchcraft for it to work?
When Easterbrook meets these three women, he is certainly unnerved. As he starts to assemble the evidence, he begins to question his own beliefs and wonders if he has stumbled upon something beyond the pale of his understanding. Despite the hazards, it is either putter about with this investigation or return to the dry desert of the Moguls. He chooses to continue to poke about.
Of course, this is an Agatha Christie novel, so one must expect there will be twists and turns. No worries, she doesn’t disappoint.
She has this interesting passage about the dangers of life and our destructive tendencies towards the planet: ”In the end, perhaps, not only great natural forces, but the work of our own hands may destroy it. We are very near to that happening at the moment…” This would have special resonance with people who happened to pick this book up to read during The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. The book was published in 1961 in the UK, but was published a year later in the US. Living under the threat of nuclear annihilation was all too real in 1962.
There are other nice foreshadowing elements that I won’t discuss that are actually clues to the resolution, but only become clear for me at the end. I read the bulk of this book in an afternoon, so all the evidence was freshly presented to me as I reached the conclusion. I can see the way she uses misdirection, but also plants seeds that sprout into flowers of understanding during the reveal.
Another interesting aspect of this novel is that it is considered the fifth Ariadne Oliver novel. She is a writer of mysteries who is a background character in several Hercule Poirot novels. I was unaware of the use of this recurring character, but alas, she only has a few scenes in this novel. One is a humorous discussion with Mark of the frustrations with trying to write clever mystery novels. I did want to see more of Ariadne, but unfortunately she isn’t imperative to the plot.
The movie is going to eventually be released on Amazon Prime, but I don’t have a date for when that will happen. As an Agatha Christie fan, you can choose to wait and watch the movie, or you can do as I like to do and read the book before watching the movie to analyze the plot decisions made by the writer of the screenplay compared to the original.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
A certain Mrs. Davis dies suddenly in a boarding house. Her death is not remarkable, but the list of people’s names that she shared with a priest before dying turns out to be very interesting indeed. This list includes the names of some people who have recently died of natural causes, or was it? When the priest is found murdered, the police are confounded by how it all ties together.
Mark Easterbrook (who will be played by Rufus Sewell in the upcoming BBC adaptation of the book) finds himself drawn into this fascinating series of events. He says the writing on his book is going very well when anyone asks him, but in reality, I think he would use any excuse to escape writing further about the history of the Moguls’ way of life. If the writer is bored with the subject, how can a reader possibly find what he’s written interesting? The Moguls simply can not compete with a real live murder mystery.
There is a nice foreshadowing as he goes to the theatre with his pseudo girlfriend Hermia Redcliffe. ”One needs some really good food and drink after all the magnificent blood and gloom of Macbeth. Shakespeare always makes me ravenous.” Watching or reading Shakespeare does always produce an appetite for me as well, but what is interesting about the mention of Macbethis that, during the course of his impending investigation, he is about to meet three witches.
He hears through an unreliable source (good time girl Poppy) that, if someone wants someone done away with, she needs to see the three women at The Pale Horse Pub. Rather brazen, don’t you think? If you are in the murder for hire business, to operate under the name The Pale Horse is almost an admission of guilt. It is all poppycock anyway; you can’t use witchcraft to kill someone. Voodoo, a sect of witchcraft, if one is to believe the more sensationalized presentations. But doesn’t one have to believe in Voodoo for a Voodoo curse to work? Doesn’t one have to believe in witchcraft for it to work?
When Easterbrook meets these three women, he is certainly unnerved. As he starts to assemble the evidence, he begins to question his own beliefs and wonders if he has stumbled upon something beyond the pale of his understanding. Despite the hazards, it is either putter about with this investigation or return to the dry desert of the Moguls. He chooses to continue to poke about.
Of course, this is an Agatha Christie novel, so one must expect there will be twists and turns. No worries, she doesn’t disappoint.
She has this interesting passage about the dangers of life and our destructive tendencies towards the planet: ”In the end, perhaps, not only great natural forces, but the work of our own hands may destroy it. We are very near to that happening at the moment…” This would have special resonance with people who happened to pick this book up to read during The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. The book was published in 1961 in the UK, but was published a year later in the US. Living under the threat of nuclear annihilation was all too real in 1962.
There are other nice foreshadowing elements that I won’t discuss that are actually clues to the resolution, but only become clear for me at the end. I read the bulk of this book in an afternoon, so all the evidence was freshly presented to me as I reached the conclusion. I can see the way she uses misdirection, but also plants seeds that sprout into flowers of understanding during the reveal.
Another interesting aspect of this novel is that it is considered the fifth Ariadne Oliver novel. She is a writer of mysteries who is a background character in several Hercule Poirot novels. I was unaware of the use of this recurring character, but alas, she only has a few scenes in this novel. One is a humorous discussion with Mark of the frustrations with trying to write clever mystery novels. I did want to see more of Ariadne, but unfortunately she isn’t imperative to the plot.
The movie is going to eventually be released on Amazon Prime, but I don’t have a date for when that will happen. As an Agatha Christie fan, you can choose to wait and watch the movie, or you can do as I like to do and read the book before watching the movie to analyze the plot decisions made by the writer of the screenplay compared to the original.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
November 26, 2017
Imagine: a Christie I hadn't read. Ever. But I've re-read enough Christie in my adult life to know that sometimes she works well, sometimes less so. Which would this be?
It turns out, a strange mix of classic Christie, modern Christie, Christie commentary and something unfinished that makes it a most odd kind of book.
It begins with Christie's traditional rather anonymous, milquetoast narrator, something along the lines of Roger Ackroyd. He is supposed to be working on his latest manuscript on Mogul architecture when he "had suffered from one of those sudden revulsions that all writers know.... --all the fascinating problems it raised, become suddenly as dust and ashes. What did they matter? Why did I want to write about them?" He takes a coffee in Chelsea, musing on the sinister noise of modern conveniences, when two of the 'off-beat' (and we chuckle a little at the naivete of the narrator) clientele get in a fighting match over a boy one has stolen from the other. I was struck by how present Christie seemed in his words, Mark's musing on writing, the lament of "contemporary noises," and dress styles of the new generation no doubt echoing her own.
Only a week later, Mark is reading the obituaries and realizes one of the young ladies who was in the fight has suddenly died, and will not be getting her kicks in Chelsea any longer. He feels sympathy, but then notes, "Yet after all, I reminded myself, how did I know that my view was the right one? Who was I to pronounce it a wasted life? Perhaps it was my life, my quiet scholarly life, immersed in books, shut off from the world, that was the wasted one. Life at second hand. Be honest now, was I getting kicks out of life?"
Really quite brilliant, both in hearing the author's experience and age coming through, and in justification for Mark's future actions. But not right away, of course. First he must pay a visit to his friend Ariadne Oliver. And once again, I heard Christie loud and clear: "Or, it might be someone wanting an interview--asking me all those embarrassing questions which are always the same every time. What made you first think of taking up writing? How many books have you written? How much money do you make. Etc. etc." Just as I was chuckling over that, she launches in the oddness of murder in real life compared to books:
"Say what you like, it's not natural for five or six people to be on the spot when B is murdered and all to have a motive for killing B-unless, that is, B is absolutely madly unpleasant and in that case nobody will mind whether he's been killed or not..."
'I see your problem,' I said. 'But if you've dealt with it successfully fifty-five times, you will manage to deal with it once again.'
'That's what I tell myself,' said Mrs. Oliver, 'over and over again, but every single time I can't believe it and so I'm in agony.'
Really, the beginning bit of the story feels so clearly Christie commentary, that though the murder came along by page twenty, I was enjoying the digression and insight. So I was all set to adore, the meta and the concrete blending so nicely, when it turns out that a large portion of the plot is the new-fangled notion of the psychology of the individual (echoes of Poirot) being convinced through a combination of psychology and superstitious belief that they are ill, soon becoming truly physically ill, only to finally die. That sort of pre-60s, recast 1900s mysticism. Yes, there is a séance.
Then she interjects herself again, in the form of a chemist who is very excited to be a witness to the murder, having practiced memorizing faces for just such an opportunity. Oh, Christie, you sly dog. I might have giggled when he came along.
The Pale Horse was, I believe, was close to her fifty-fifth book, and just lacked something for me in terms of plot translation. Add to that that the transitions between sections was particularly abrupt, it wasn't the charming, insightful read I first thought. The plot meandered for a bit, following the local coroner and detective, the coroner conveniently a friend of Mark's. There is more than a bit of atmospheric silliness at the end that completely failed to develop much of an atmosphere for me--had we been talking decades earlier, perhaps I could have taken it more seriously--but there were a solid couple of plot twists at the end that I appreciated. So, mark down as enjoyable, diverting; worthy of thoughts on a long career and social change, but not one to add to my own library.
Three-and-a-half stars, rounding up for authorial voice.
It turns out, a strange mix of classic Christie, modern Christie, Christie commentary and something unfinished that makes it a most odd kind of book.
It begins with Christie's traditional rather anonymous, milquetoast narrator, something along the lines of Roger Ackroyd. He is supposed to be working on his latest manuscript on Mogul architecture when he "had suffered from one of those sudden revulsions that all writers know.... --all the fascinating problems it raised, become suddenly as dust and ashes. What did they matter? Why did I want to write about them?" He takes a coffee in Chelsea, musing on the sinister noise of modern conveniences, when two of the 'off-beat' (and we chuckle a little at the naivete of the narrator) clientele get in a fighting match over a boy one has stolen from the other. I was struck by how present Christie seemed in his words, Mark's musing on writing, the lament of "contemporary noises," and dress styles of the new generation no doubt echoing her own.
Only a week later, Mark is reading the obituaries and realizes one of the young ladies who was in the fight has suddenly died, and will not be getting her kicks in Chelsea any longer. He feels sympathy, but then notes, "Yet after all, I reminded myself, how did I know that my view was the right one? Who was I to pronounce it a wasted life? Perhaps it was my life, my quiet scholarly life, immersed in books, shut off from the world, that was the wasted one. Life at second hand. Be honest now, was I getting kicks out of life?"
Really quite brilliant, both in hearing the author's experience and age coming through, and in justification for Mark's future actions. But not right away, of course. First he must pay a visit to his friend Ariadne Oliver. And once again, I heard Christie loud and clear: "Or, it might be someone wanting an interview--asking me all those embarrassing questions which are always the same every time. What made you first think of taking up writing? How many books have you written? How much money do you make. Etc. etc." Just as I was chuckling over that, she launches in the oddness of murder in real life compared to books:
"Say what you like, it's not natural for five or six people to be on the spot when B is murdered and all to have a motive for killing B-unless, that is, B is absolutely madly unpleasant and in that case nobody will mind whether he's been killed or not..."
'I see your problem,' I said. 'But if you've dealt with it successfully fifty-five times, you will manage to deal with it once again.'
'That's what I tell myself,' said Mrs. Oliver, 'over and over again, but every single time I can't believe it and so I'm in agony.'
Really, the beginning bit of the story feels so clearly Christie commentary, that though the murder came along by page twenty, I was enjoying the digression and insight. So I was all set to adore, the meta and the concrete blending so nicely, when it turns out that a large portion of the plot is the new-fangled notion of the psychology of the individual (echoes of Poirot) being convinced through a combination of psychology and superstitious belief that they are ill, soon becoming truly physically ill, only to finally die. That sort of pre-60s, recast 1900s mysticism. Yes, there is a séance.
Then she interjects herself again, in the form of a chemist who is very excited to be a witness to the murder, having practiced memorizing faces for just such an opportunity. Oh, Christie, you sly dog. I might have giggled when he came along.
The Pale Horse was, I believe, was close to her fifty-fifth book, and just lacked something for me in terms of plot translation. Add to that that the transitions between sections was particularly abrupt, it wasn't the charming, insightful read I first thought. The plot meandered for a bit, following the local coroner and detective, the coroner conveniently a friend of Mark's. There is more than a bit of atmospheric silliness at the end that completely failed to develop much of an atmosphere for me--had we been talking decades earlier, perhaps I could have taken it more seriously--but there were a solid couple of plot twists at the end that I appreciated. So, mark down as enjoyable, diverting; worthy of thoughts on a long career and social change, but not one to add to my own library.
Three-and-a-half stars, rounding up for authorial voice.
June 17, 2021
El libro ideal para leer en pleno Halloween. Brujas, videntes... Agatha consigue llevarte a lo paranormal y creértelo, dándole después una explicación perfectamente lógica para solucionar el misterio.
March 15, 2020
I watched the new adaptation on Prime. I've also seen the ITV's two versions, a not-good 1990s film and the weirdly contorted Agatha Christie's Marple version; and oddly enough the book was cheap on Kindle a few years ago, so I gave that a peruse when I saw this version was coming; I should, at this point, be able to teach a workshop in Christie Adaptations.
The new one is very, very pretty. Rufus Sewell, as Mark Easterbrook, is very, very pretty. Mark's flat, the village of Much Deeping, his Lagonda 3-litre drophead coupé, all of it, very, very pretty. Deviations from the novel include doing away with Ariadne Oliver (*barely* present in the book, anyway!) and the Dane Calthorps and the peculiar appendix that is the Ginger/lawyer subplot; the ending isn't even remotely like the novel's, and is quite...murky. I will say that the scene where Easterbrook puts together the clues that lead to the solution was hair-raising, pitch-perfect Christie (even though it's absolutely nowhere in the book).
The Agatha Christie's Marple version hewed more closely to the ending of the novel. It was actually very good, and the two-hour episode was darn good at creating the eerie atmosphere needed to sell the misdirection at the heart of the story.
The 1990s movie was flat, uninspired. The whole thing reeked of budget woes.
The book...a 1961 publication so squarely in Christie's best years...is delightfully twisty. The plot is not the point, as when is it ever in a Christie book; the plot makes her point: we destroy others to live, whether or not we know it, and leave a wake of carnage that only a change in perspective reveals. It is masterful, and beautifully hidden in plain sight.
Enjoy the read for what it is; then, without letting your inner book-snob turn you into a harsher critic than is called for, enjoy the new films. Yes, the text is changed; no, the story is not. The point is still very much the point and it's still turned around to stab you as well as the other victims.
The new one is very, very pretty. Rufus Sewell, as Mark Easterbrook, is very, very pretty. Mark's flat, the village of Much Deeping, his Lagonda 3-litre drophead coupé, all of it, very, very pretty. Deviations from the novel include doing away with Ariadne Oliver (*barely* present in the book, anyway!) and the Dane Calthorps and the peculiar appendix that is the Ginger/lawyer subplot; the ending isn't even remotely like the novel's, and is quite...murky. I will say that the scene where Easterbrook puts together the clues that lead to the solution was hair-raising, pitch-perfect Christie (even though it's absolutely nowhere in the book).
The Agatha Christie's Marple version hewed more closely to the ending of the novel. It was actually very good, and the two-hour episode was darn good at creating the eerie atmosphere needed to sell the misdirection at the heart of the story.
The 1990s movie was flat, uninspired. The whole thing reeked of budget woes.
The book...a 1961 publication so squarely in Christie's best years...is delightfully twisty. The plot is not the point, as when is it ever in a Christie book; the plot makes her point: we destroy others to live, whether or not we know it, and leave a wake of carnage that only a change in perspective reveals. It is masterful, and beautifully hidden in plain sight.
Enjoy the read for what it is; then, without letting your inner book-snob turn you into a harsher critic than is called for, enjoy the new films. Yes, the text is changed; no, the story is not. The point is still very much the point and it's still turned around to stab you as well as the other victims.
September 24, 2024
Classic Agatha Christie with a distinctly modern flavour!
Father Gorman attends to one of his parishioners who, with her dying breath, asks for forgiveness and gives him a list of names with a wish that the evil be "Stopped ... it must be stopped ... You will see?" When Father Gorman was found murdered later that night, the police suspect that the murderer failed to find the crumpled list of names stuffed in Gorman's shoe and that the list was likely the reason he had been murdered. This list of names and a series of serendipitous events, happenstance conversations and fortuitous meetings put Mark Easterbrook, Dame Agatha Christie's ever-present amateur sleuth, onto the trail of a gang of ruthless murders for hire. But Easterbrook is terrified to discover that the murders seem to be committed by a coven of three odd witches dispatching their victims for a fee with a malevolent brew of witchcraft, psychic arts, black magic and the mere power of suggestion.
THE PALE HORSE retains many of the characteristics of Agatha Christie's earliest cozy mysteries - country fêtes and bazaars, afternoon tea, parish vicars and their long-suffering wives and the obligatory parlour room confrontation with the suspects. Agatha Christie even allows herself a cameo appearance in the novel in the person of twittering author Ariadne Oliver. But THE PALE HORSE also has a much more modern flavour as an aging Dame Christie brings her craft into London of the early sixties - Soho, Chelsea coffee bars, discussions of avant garde productions of Shakespearean plays in ways the bard would never have imagined, a more graphic approach to violence and brutality and a somewhat grudging if critical acceptance of the popular culture of London's younger people.
But the ending, whether you think of it as vintage mystery or new age police procedural, is classic Agatha Christie - a beautiful blind-side twist that no reader will see coming until it's right on top of you!
Highly recommended and thoroughly entertaining!
Paul Weiss
Father Gorman attends to one of his parishioners who, with her dying breath, asks for forgiveness and gives him a list of names with a wish that the evil be "Stopped ... it must be stopped ... You will see?" When Father Gorman was found murdered later that night, the police suspect that the murderer failed to find the crumpled list of names stuffed in Gorman's shoe and that the list was likely the reason he had been murdered. This list of names and a series of serendipitous events, happenstance conversations and fortuitous meetings put Mark Easterbrook, Dame Agatha Christie's ever-present amateur sleuth, onto the trail of a gang of ruthless murders for hire. But Easterbrook is terrified to discover that the murders seem to be committed by a coven of three odd witches dispatching their victims for a fee with a malevolent brew of witchcraft, psychic arts, black magic and the mere power of suggestion.
THE PALE HORSE retains many of the characteristics of Agatha Christie's earliest cozy mysteries - country fêtes and bazaars, afternoon tea, parish vicars and their long-suffering wives and the obligatory parlour room confrontation with the suspects. Agatha Christie even allows herself a cameo appearance in the novel in the person of twittering author Ariadne Oliver. But THE PALE HORSE also has a much more modern flavour as an aging Dame Christie brings her craft into London of the early sixties - Soho, Chelsea coffee bars, discussions of avant garde productions of Shakespearean plays in ways the bard would never have imagined, a more graphic approach to violence and brutality and a somewhat grudging if critical acceptance of the popular culture of London's younger people.
But the ending, whether you think of it as vintage mystery or new age police procedural, is classic Agatha Christie - a beautiful blind-side twist that no reader will see coming until it's right on top of you!
Highly recommended and thoroughly entertaining!
Paul Weiss
February 25, 2026
The Pale Horse is one of the solid mysteries by our queen of crime. The story is slow going, but the mystery plot is well-executed. The story is built steadily, even though action happens in the last third. The mystery is cleverly handled, and I was honestly surprised by the identity of the criminal. I didn't see it coming. I'm not sure if I missed any clues pointed in that direction in the middle because my mind wandered for a good bit. :) Still, the revelation pleasantly surprised me. My only complaint is that Christie didn't provide a detailed explanation about the role of the accomplices and how they became connected to the criminal; the brief account at the end felt insufficient.
This mystery novel is more or less a standalone, although Goodreads categorizes it under Ariadne Oliver. The story is told from the point of view of the protagonist, Mark Easterbrook, the amateur investigator. There is limited police procedure, but to compensate for that, Inspector Lejeune makes a fair number of appearances. However, the misconception that this was an Ariadne Oliver novel gave way to disappointment because her presence felt negligible except for her role in imparting a vital piece of information that helps elucidate the mystery. I picked this story because of its reference to Ariadne Oliver. I have read all the other novels in which she appears and have found her delightful. So her scarce appearance was disappointing.
I enjoyed the story, overall. It was a good mystery novel, and Mark Easterbrook was a good amateur sleuth. And although I missed Ariadne Oliver, there were some interesting characters to keep me going.
Having said that, I'd like to share a quote that struck me deep.
More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/
This mystery novel is more or less a standalone, although Goodreads categorizes it under Ariadne Oliver. The story is told from the point of view of the protagonist, Mark Easterbrook, the amateur investigator. There is limited police procedure, but to compensate for that, Inspector Lejeune makes a fair number of appearances. However, the misconception that this was an Ariadne Oliver novel gave way to disappointment because her presence felt negligible except for her role in imparting a vital piece of information that helps elucidate the mystery. I picked this story because of its reference to Ariadne Oliver. I have read all the other novels in which she appears and have found her delightful. So her scarce appearance was disappointing.
I enjoyed the story, overall. It was a good mystery novel, and Mark Easterbrook was a good amateur sleuth. And although I missed Ariadne Oliver, there were some interesting characters to keep me going.
Having said that, I'd like to share a quote that struck me deep.
Killing people. It makes you feel powerful and larger than life. It makes you feel you're God Almighty. But you're not. You're only a nasty bit of goods that's been found out. And when that fact's been presented to you suddenly your ego just can't stand it.
More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/
January 23, 2020
Re-read in light of new tv adaptation coming out in Feb 2020 with Rufus Sewell.
With the material here, I can well see this being rather dark and scary... I’ll post more once I see it :O)
"Evil is nothing superhuman".`
As much as I love Poirot and Marple, there is something even more appealing to a Christie book with a totally unknown 'investigator'.
Mark Easterbrook senses all is not what it seems in a series of events that lead him to look into The Pale Horse. The narrative follows him as well as Detective-Inspector Lejeune in their queries about certain deaths that appear normal. But are they?
This is quite a dark novel but an enjoyable one, if just by the short presence of Ariadne Oliver. Christie does her thing beautifully, leading us down one path while in fact going in a totally different way. She also seems to have commented on 'appearance'. One always expect criminals, and 'witches', to appear grander than life, but as mentioned in the book, it is the ones who look totally ordinary that are the scariest.
With the material here, I can well see this being rather dark and scary... I’ll post more once I see it :O)
"Evil is nothing superhuman".`
As much as I love Poirot and Marple, there is something even more appealing to a Christie book with a totally unknown 'investigator'.
Mark Easterbrook senses all is not what it seems in a series of events that lead him to look into The Pale Horse. The narrative follows him as well as Detective-Inspector Lejeune in their queries about certain deaths that appear normal. But are they?
This is quite a dark novel but an enjoyable one, if just by the short presence of Ariadne Oliver. Christie does her thing beautifully, leading us down one path while in fact going in a totally different way. She also seems to have commented on 'appearance'. One always expect criminals, and 'witches', to appear grander than life, but as mentioned in the book, it is the ones who look totally ordinary that are the scariest.
October 19, 2021
"One imagines a mastermind," I said, "as some grand and sinister figure of evil."
Lejeune shook his head. "It's not like that at all," he said. "Evil is not something superhuman, it's something less than human. Your criminal is someone who wants to be important, but who never will be important, because he'll always be less than a man." (PG. 273)
There was once a psychic, a medium, and a witch-- Not the starting point to a joke. This novel plays into the superstitious in all of us but it's always much simpler than that, isn't it?
Well told, twisty and turn-y, criminally Halloween-y. This was a good October read for the reason stated above. Enjoyed and would recommend. Such a good who-dunnit. Never guessed the killer.
Lejeune shook his head. "It's not like that at all," he said. "Evil is not something superhuman, it's something less than human. Your criminal is someone who wants to be important, but who never will be important, because he'll always be less than a man." (PG. 273)
There was once a psychic, a medium, and a witch-- Not the starting point to a joke. This novel plays into the superstitious in all of us but it's always much simpler than that, isn't it?
Well told, twisty and turn-y, criminally Halloween-y. This was a good October read for the reason stated above. Enjoyed and would recommend. Such a good who-dunnit. Never guessed the killer.
March 27, 2024
Lunchtime Listen March 2024
This was an excellent story well read by Hugh Fraser and a thoroughly enjoyable lunchtime listen. Now having said it was a lunchtime listen, the last 4 hours were listened to as we travelled south here in the UK whilst finding somewhere new to live.
This was one of Agatha Christie's non Poirot/Marple/Tommy and Tuppence etc novels, a stand alone. A great tale with some wonderful twists and turns , although it does feature a couple of cameo appearances from Ariadne Oliver. There are a few other wonderful characters and also some brilliant settings, Chelsea coffee shops and village vicarages.
Thoroughly recommend especially thanks to the mellifluous narration of Hugh Fraser.
This was an excellent story well read by Hugh Fraser and a thoroughly enjoyable lunchtime listen. Now having said it was a lunchtime listen, the last 4 hours were listened to as we travelled south here in the UK whilst finding somewhere new to live.
This was one of Agatha Christie's non Poirot/Marple/Tommy and Tuppence etc novels, a stand alone. A great tale with some wonderful twists and turns , although it does feature a couple of cameo appearances from Ariadne Oliver. There are a few other wonderful characters and also some brilliant settings, Chelsea coffee shops and village vicarages.
Thoroughly recommend especially thanks to the mellifluous narration of Hugh Fraser.
August 5, 2019
Christie at her poisonous best. What sets apart this novel from her other writings is the development of the plot is not linear. There are interesting diversions to keep you glued till end with great deal of occult and witches in the plot. The inspiration for solving the murder appears to be too sudden. Mrs. Oliver without her friend Poirot manages to add that extra bit of fun and frolic.
February 6, 2017
قائمة ببعض الأسماء يكتبها راهب تم. القاءها عليه من قبل سيدة على فراش الموت.
هذه الأسماء اما لاناس ميتين او سيموتون .
رائعة الحبكة حيث ان الظاهر ان سبب الموت تحضير الأرواح والشعوذة والسحر . ولكن بطل القصة يصر على معرفة الحقيقة وراء موتهم والطريقة التي يتم فيها قتلهم
رواية جيدة جدا ولكن اعتقد ان مستواها اقل من باقي روايات أجاثا
هذه الأسماء اما لاناس ميتين او سيموتون .
رائعة الحبكة حيث ان الظاهر ان سبب الموت تحضير الأرواح والشعوذة والسحر . ولكن بطل القصة يصر على معرفة الحقيقة وراء موتهم والطريقة التي يتم فيها قتلهم
رواية جيدة جدا ولكن اعتقد ان مستواها اقل من باقي روايات أجاثا
March 24, 2022
Not my favorites out of Agatha Christie's books but still a solid one.
December 10, 2019
Dame Agatha’s first novel of the 1960’s demonstrates that not only does she have her pulse on current trends, while also writing another brilliant engaging mystery.
Opening in a Chelsea coffee shop our main protagonist Mark Easterbrook witnesses an argument between two girls, when Mark learns that one of those girls has subsequently died and is included on a list of surnames of a recently deceased priest he soon fears that the other names are marked for death.
Whilst the trendy London setting really gives a feel for the vibrant times ahead in the English capital, it’s the rest of the stories setting in the little village of Much Deeping that the story really comes to life.
Talk of witchcraft and black magic is very reminiscent of movies around that time (I was thinking Hammer Horror).
Could supernatural elements really be at play and what secrets does The Pale Horse Inn hold in this chillingly good atmospheric read.
Opening in a Chelsea coffee shop our main protagonist Mark Easterbrook witnesses an argument between two girls, when Mark learns that one of those girls has subsequently died and is included on a list of surnames of a recently deceased priest he soon fears that the other names are marked for death.
Whilst the trendy London setting really gives a feel for the vibrant times ahead in the English capital, it’s the rest of the stories setting in the little village of Much Deeping that the story really comes to life.
Talk of witchcraft and black magic is very reminiscent of movies around that time (I was thinking Hammer Horror).
Could supernatural elements really be at play and what secrets does The Pale Horse Inn hold in this chillingly good atmospheric read.
December 16, 2024
I was a little disappointed that this story is not about an equine whose dermatologist is very proud of it for staying out of the sun and frequently applying SPF 100.
Once I got past that, though, I realized that this is a fun little slice of Christie-style who-dunnery!
Once I got past that, though, I realized that this is a fun little slice of Christie-style who-dunnery!
November 4, 2016
A mystery which contains non of the Christie regulars (except Mrs. Oliver), which was surprisingly much better than I expected from the lukewarm first half. The discovery made by Mrs. Oliver gives the vital clue for solving the mystery - interestingly, it was instrumental in saving a person's life also in the real world.
November 14, 2024
4,25 ✨“Oamenii buni nu pot vedea cu adevărat răul.”
Un preot ucis, o listă suspectă și trei vrăjitoare misterioase sunt ingredientele unui thriller plin de suspans, savuros și lejer.
M-a ținut cu sufletul la gură până la final, iar pielea mi-i s-a făcut de găină la un moment dat, chiar dacă nu întâlnim sângele, avem în meniu, ședințe de spiritism și crime săvârșite pentru bani.
Eu am ascultat cartea și m-a derutat puțin numărul impresionant al personajelor, dar Ginger a fost preferata mea. Atmosfera cărți e una antrenantă, nu ai timp să te plictisești!
Agatha Christie a fost cu adevărat uimitoare și încă este, prin bucuria oferită milioanelor de cititori fascinați de opera sa!
Un preot ucis, o listă suspectă și trei vrăjitoare misterioase sunt ingredientele unui thriller plin de suspans, savuros și lejer.
M-a ținut cu sufletul la gură până la final, iar pielea mi-i s-a făcut de găină la un moment dat, chiar dacă nu întâlnim sângele, avem în meniu, ședințe de spiritism și crime săvârșite pentru bani.
Eu am ascultat cartea și m-a derutat puțin numărul impresionant al personajelor, dar Ginger a fost preferata mea. Atmosfera cărți e una antrenantă, nu ai timp să te plictisești!
Agatha Christie a fost cu adevărat uimitoare și încă este, prin bucuria oferită milioanelor de cititori fascinați de opera sa!
December 1, 2024
A standalone novel by Agatha Christie. Ariadne Oliver (mystery author) makes a very brief appearance only.
Our main amateur sleuth is Mark Easterbrook. He decides to investigate the murder of a much beloved priest after a few coincidences come together for him. He is helped in his endeavours by Ginger Corrigan.
To be honest, when I first started listening to this a book, I thought a few of these coincidences were far fetched, but I went along with it. It did come together nicely as the story progressed.
There are elements of the occult and witchery in this book, which is not a typical element in her books.
At one point, one of the characters wonders if the “machines” will take over from people someday. This book was published in 1961- I guess Dame Christie could see what lay in our future, much like the fortune teller in this book.
I have listened to many Christie’s over the past year. I must be getting the knack of it because I figured out who the “mastermind” was. I’ve never done that before.
Hugh Fraser, as always, does a fantastic job with the audio.
Definitely an enjoyable read/ listen.
Published: 1961
Our main amateur sleuth is Mark Easterbrook. He decides to investigate the murder of a much beloved priest after a few coincidences come together for him. He is helped in his endeavours by Ginger Corrigan.
To be honest, when I first started listening to this a book, I thought a few of these coincidences were far fetched, but I went along with it. It did come together nicely as the story progressed.
There are elements of the occult and witchery in this book, which is not a typical element in her books.
At one point, one of the characters wonders if the “machines” will take over from people someday. This book was published in 1961- I guess Dame Christie could see what lay in our future, much like the fortune teller in this book.
I have listened to many Christie’s over the past year. I must be getting the knack of it because I figured out who the “mastermind” was. I’ve never done that before.
Hugh Fraser, as always, does a fantastic job with the audio.
Definitely an enjoyable read/ listen.
Published: 1961
June 28, 2018
Published in 1961, this is a later Agatha Christie novel, and a slightly different plot to that which you might be expecting. This is not a cosy mystery, set in a stately home, amid the drawing rooms of the aristocracy. Rather, this has a feel of Dennis Wheatley about it, with a real sense of the supernatural.
A dying woman gives her last confession to a Catholic priest. Father Gorman is troubled by what she tells him and, on the way home, he scribbles a list of names she has given him and tucks it into his shoe. However, Father Gorman is destined never to reach his destination and is found struck dead in the fog. Later, the list of names is found and the police are, obviously, interested in what linked them to the woman who so urgently required Father Gorman to visit her.
Meanwhile, in the coffee bars of Chelsea (a setting that you feel Christie did not feel quite comfortable with), author Mark Easterbrook witnesses a cat fight between two girls. Later, he discovers that one of the girls has died and that her name was on the list of names that Father Gorman had hidden. Later, he visits a village fete with mystery writer, Ariadne Oliver, and hears of an old house, converted from an Inn. The Pale Horse is said to be the home of three witches, led by the mysterious Thyrza Grey.
Along with Ginger Corrigan, who Mark Easterbrook meets while visiting the fete, the two begin to investigate the strange, unexplained deaths of those on that list. This is a novel which deals with the mysterious and the occult. Christie always had a great belief in good and evil and those themes make this an interesting read. There are weaknesses in some of her later writing – she often seems a little ill at ease discussing modern life, but she plotted better than any other crime writer I have ever read. Clever, subtle and with excellent characters and a fiendishly clever ending.
A dying woman gives her last confession to a Catholic priest. Father Gorman is troubled by what she tells him and, on the way home, he scribbles a list of names she has given him and tucks it into his shoe. However, Father Gorman is destined never to reach his destination and is found struck dead in the fog. Later, the list of names is found and the police are, obviously, interested in what linked them to the woman who so urgently required Father Gorman to visit her.
Meanwhile, in the coffee bars of Chelsea (a setting that you feel Christie did not feel quite comfortable with), author Mark Easterbrook witnesses a cat fight between two girls. Later, he discovers that one of the girls has died and that her name was on the list of names that Father Gorman had hidden. Later, he visits a village fete with mystery writer, Ariadne Oliver, and hears of an old house, converted from an Inn. The Pale Horse is said to be the home of three witches, led by the mysterious Thyrza Grey.
Along with Ginger Corrigan, who Mark Easterbrook meets while visiting the fete, the two begin to investigate the strange, unexplained deaths of those on that list. This is a novel which deals with the mysterious and the occult. Christie always had a great belief in good and evil and those themes make this an interesting read. There are weaknesses in some of her later writing – she often seems a little ill at ease discussing modern life, but she plotted better than any other crime writer I have ever read. Clever, subtle and with excellent characters and a fiendishly clever ending.
January 23, 2022
Choose Your Own Adventure!
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
If you’ve decided that you’ve had your fill of dying, then choose https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If you’ve decided that you’ve had enough of living, then choose http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
If you’ve decided that you’ve had your fill of dying, then choose https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If you’ve decided that you’ve had enough of living, then choose http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
May 24, 2021
This was originally published in 1962, but was quite advanced with an almost "quantum theory" of murder implied. A very likeable protagonist, Mark Easterbrook becomes quite curious about the murder of a priest who has visited a woman on her deathbed. The clever priest hid a list of names that she gave him which the brutal killer searched for but could not find on the priest. There comes to light in this killing a connection to The Pale Horse, a public house run by three women rumored to be practices of the dark arts and occult. With the help of his friend, Ginger, Mark comes up with a way to get to the bottom of this twisted and somewhat eerie mystery, of murder by "suggestion".
This was a true mystery with surprise whodunnit. I loved the twist at the end. The Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot mysteries are so well known, but there are standalones of Agatha Christie, such as this one, that deserve a look by mystery enthusiasts.
This was a true mystery with surprise whodunnit. I loved the twist at the end. The Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot mysteries are so well known, but there are standalones of Agatha Christie, such as this one, that deserve a look by mystery enthusiasts.
November 8, 2023
Finalmente leggo un giallo di Agatha Christie senza Miss Marple o Poirot!
“The pale horse” (1961), ha infatti come protagonista uno scrittore londinese.
Meno ficcanaso dei colleghi investigatori che lo hanno preceduto si trova coinvolto nel mistero di turno.
Due ragazze che litigano in un bar, un prete ucciso per strada, storie macabre di magia nera.
Come sempre la Christie riesce a combinare elementi disparati incastrandone tutti i pezzi (a volte un po’ a forza).
L’infelice traduzione del titolo non toglie il fatto che sia stata una piacevole lettura.
“The pale horse” (1961), ha infatti come protagonista uno scrittore londinese.
Meno ficcanaso dei colleghi investigatori che lo hanno preceduto si trova coinvolto nel mistero di turno.
Due ragazze che litigano in un bar, un prete ucciso per strada, storie macabre di magia nera.
Come sempre la Christie riesce a combinare elementi disparati incastrandone tutti i pezzi (a volte un po’ a forza).
L’infelice traduzione del titolo non toglie il fatto che sia stata una piacevole lettura.
March 22, 2020
I have seen to versions of this done TV the ITV version had Miss Marple in it and was ghastly. The last was even worse the BBC did set in 1961 but was not right.
Agatha Christie did lot of Hercule Poirot books and Miss Marple but she also did stand alone books such as And then their were None this one of those. One of her much later mystery books towards the end of her life with Macbeth hint and biblical over hints. Behold a Pale Horse and his name was death. She did love her poisons
Agatha Christie did lot of Hercule Poirot books and Miss Marple but she also did stand alone books such as And then their were None this one of those. One of her much later mystery books towards the end of her life with Macbeth hint and biblical over hints. Behold a Pale Horse and his name was death. She did love her poisons
August 30, 2020
Superba poveste! Cartea face parte din colectia Ariadne Oliver, dar nu ea este personajul principal. Cel care descalceste misterul este un tanar, Mark Easterbrook, care din pura intamplare afla de o moarte suspecta. Astfel, impreuna cu detectivul Lejeune si noua cunostinta Ginger vor descalci misterul.
Spre final cartea este alerta si te tine in suspans.
Superba 😉
Spre final cartea este alerta si te tine in suspans.
Superba 😉
October 1, 2025
Reading The Pale Horse made me realize I only have a few Poirot stories left before I’ve finished all of Agatha Christie’s works, and that thought makes me both excited and a little sad!
This book is classic Christie brilliance. It blends her knowledge of nursing and chemistry with her unmatched talent for crafting a gripping mystery. The best part? A touch of the supernatural that somehow still made perfect sense, adding a refreshing twist to the story.
It’s both a whodunit and a howdunit, and while I managed to figure out the "how," Christie kept me guessing the "who" right up until the end. With every book, I’m more in awe of her mind. She was truly one of a kind.
This book is classic Christie brilliance. It blends her knowledge of nursing and chemistry with her unmatched talent for crafting a gripping mystery. The best part? A touch of the supernatural that somehow still made perfect sense, adding a refreshing twist to the story.
It’s both a whodunit and a howdunit, and while I managed to figure out the "how," Christie kept me guessing the "who" right up until the end. With every book, I’m more in awe of her mind. She was truly one of a kind.
December 7, 2024
Încă o carte fantastica, care m-a ținut în suspans pana la final.
Când vrei sa citești ceva care sa te facă sa uiți de serviciu, context politic, probleme etc, Agatha Christie e alegerea potrivita.
Când vrei sa citești ceva care sa te facă sa uiți de serviciu, context politic, probleme etc, Agatha Christie e alegerea potrivita.
September 9, 2017
Great mystery, even though there is no sign of Miss Marple.
September 23, 2024
The mistress of mystery does it again with this masterful work of misdirection and deception.
An awesome read.
An awesome read.
May 26, 2026
"Killing people. It makes you feel powerful and larger than life. It makes you feel you're God Almighty. But you're not. You're only a nasty bit of goods that's been found out. And when that fact's been presented to you suddenly your ego just can't stand it. You scream and you rant and you boast of what you've done and how clever you are. Well, you saw him."When I began reading this late-career (1961), non-Poirot / Marple work, I didn't suspect that it would ultimately be (so far) among my very favorite Christie novels. (At the moment, it might even be my favorite; though there are many titles I've yet to get to.)
Two years ago, a writer for 'Time Out USA' released his own Christie ranking since - during COVID - he read all of her mystery books (not including her plays). He cautioned: "With a few important exceptions, the books she published from 1930 through 1950 are the ones most worth reading. Unless you're a devoted completist, stray from this period at your peril." He went so far as to place 'The Pale Horse' in a mid-tier Marple list (designating it as "of some interest").
I thought his overall ranking was generally well-thought-out and perhaps rather accurate (esp. if you have a taste for the more commercial titles). But, of course, it's only one person's opinion - and, boy, was he wrong about 'The Pale Horse'! It may not be a Christie that gets talked about a lot - but it's criminally unsung. Not only is it the author at her clever-best - it also contains (since she had then been at her job for several decades) some of her best actual writing (as well as plotting).
~ particularly some top-notch descriptive prose:
... I became aware of a face peering out from the shadows of the dark hall. A queer, rather formless face, like something made in putty by a child who had strayed in to play in a sculptor's studio. It was the kind of face, I thought, that you sometimes see amongst a crowd in an Italian or Flemish primitive painting.'TPH' is split-in-two: generally in alternate chapters, the story is divided between the 'narrative' of historian Mark Easterbrook and a police procedural charged by Inspector Lejeune.
Individuals in a small group are systematically dying. Their destruction has been orchestrated by a shadowy force, in ways that can defy detection (which is to say - capture by the police).
What originally had me like a fish on a hook when I glanced at a synopsis was its study of black magic; something Christie had (I think) not tackled before or since. But, here, she takes to it full-throttle. She includes a trio of witches, introduced thematically by way of Easterbrook and a lady friend attending a performance of 'Macbeth'. By the time Easterbrook takes part privately in a ritual presided over by Dark Arts priestess Thyrza Grey, all is genuinely unsettling.
But, in typical Christie style, humor is spread throughout like breadcrumbs:
"You can never argue with a redhead," said Lejeune. "Don't I know it!"As is also rather common with the author, the pacing is breakneck, culminating in a resolution of breathless intensity.
This is Christie in a somewhat uncharacteristic mood, in a change-of-pace gamble that's chock-full of dividends. Lady Agatha outdid herself this time!
February 12, 2016
Early in this novel a character muses about how best to portray the Witches in a production of ‘Macbeth’. It’s his contention that rather than pushing up the weirdness so the sisters become something which could feasibly fit into a pantomime, they are instead portrayed as the kind of normal – if slightly sinister – old ladies who are frequently dismissed as witches in English country villages. As apparently all English villages have witches (a fact which all country folk know), and it would just be more effective to use their type of gentle malevolence for the Wyrd sisters, rather than go over the top and be silly.
‘The Pale Horse’ reads like Christie trying to do Dennis Wheatley and embrace supernatural horror. A Catholic priest is murdered and on his person is a list of names given to him by a dying lady. It becomes clear to the police that a number of the names on that list are now deceased, but that they all died – seemingly – of natural courses. It takes Mark Easterbrook, a busybody with too much time on his hands, and his plucky gal assistant Ginger Corrigan to link the deaths with three spiritualists who live in a former pub called The Pale Horse.
Here’s where that theory about Macbeth falls down, as these three ladies – despite the powers they boast of – are not particularly scary. They are just eccentric old dears who mix spells and then offer cups of tea. Perhaps in a more skilled writer’s hands, a really sinister quality could have been spun around them – but in Agatha Christie’s, the entire book falls short of scares. Her jolly hockey-sticks prose style just doesn’t lend itself to fear, and the fact that she wouldn’t recognise a well-rounded character if one started beating her around the face and neck with her own typewriter, means there’s no one really to care about either.
(There is also, oddly, a lot of talk about how nobody could be tried for murder by witchcraft. It was actually only seventeen years before the publication of this novel [in 1961:] that the last witchcraft trial took place in Britain, a case that the country’s leading crime writer would surely have been aware of. Follow this link if you think I’m making that fact up – http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan....)
The prosaic ending is distinctly irritating, but very like Christie. And unless you’re an unshakable fan of Dame Agatha, then this book really does promise more than it delivers.
‘The Pale Horse’ reads like Christie trying to do Dennis Wheatley and embrace supernatural horror. A Catholic priest is murdered and on his person is a list of names given to him by a dying lady. It becomes clear to the police that a number of the names on that list are now deceased, but that they all died – seemingly – of natural courses. It takes Mark Easterbrook, a busybody with too much time on his hands, and his plucky gal assistant Ginger Corrigan to link the deaths with three spiritualists who live in a former pub called The Pale Horse.
Here’s where that theory about Macbeth falls down, as these three ladies – despite the powers they boast of – are not particularly scary. They are just eccentric old dears who mix spells and then offer cups of tea. Perhaps in a more skilled writer’s hands, a really sinister quality could have been spun around them – but in Agatha Christie’s, the entire book falls short of scares. Her jolly hockey-sticks prose style just doesn’t lend itself to fear, and the fact that she wouldn’t recognise a well-rounded character if one started beating her around the face and neck with her own typewriter, means there’s no one really to care about either.
(There is also, oddly, a lot of talk about how nobody could be tried for murder by witchcraft. It was actually only seventeen years before the publication of this novel [in 1961:] that the last witchcraft trial took place in Britain, a case that the country’s leading crime writer would surely have been aware of. Follow this link if you think I’m making that fact up – http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan....)
The prosaic ending is distinctly irritating, but very like Christie. And unless you’re an unshakable fan of Dame Agatha, then this book really does promise more than it delivers.
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