Standalone Novels

5. Endless Night

Summary: Gipsy’s Acre was a truly beautiful upland site with views out to sea – and in Michael Rogers it stirred a child-like fantasy. There, amongst the dark fir trees, he planned to build a house, find a girl and live happily ever after. Yet, as he left the village, a shadow of menace hung over the land. For this was the place where accidents happened. Perhaps Michael should have heeded the locals’ warnings: ‘There’s no luck for them as meddles with Gipsy’s Acre.’ Michael Rogers is a man who is about to learn the true meaning of the old saying ‘In my end is my beginning.’

Review: I don’t know if this began as a short story, but I read the short story that was similar to this, and seeing it expanded to a full length story made it more enjoyable. Having a narrator who is recounting the events makes it even more interesting as it makes us question what may or may not be included.

4. The Pale Horse

Summary: “Wickedness…such wickedness….”

The dying woman turned to Father Gorman with agony in her eyes. “Stopped….It must be stopped….You will….”

The priest spoke with reassuring authority. “I will do what is necessary. You can trust me.”

Father Gorman tucked the list of names she had given him into his shoe. It was a meaningless list; the names were of people who had nothing in common.

On his way home, Father Gorman was murdered. But the police found the list and when Mark Easterbrook came to inquire into the circumstances of the people listed, he began to discover a connection between them, and an ominous pattern….

Every name of that list was either already dead or, he suspected, marked for murder.

Review: This kept my interest throughout the entire read. I was eager to learn more about the plot. I was constantly guessing who the person was that committed the crimes. 

3. Crooked House

Summary: The 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, fiancé of the late millionaire’s granddaughter.

Review: This was one of Christie’s more interesting mysteries. While it seems like a setup similar to most other mysteries, an old man dead and the young wife is the prime suspect, the characters keep it interesting.

Unfortunately, the main character, Charles, has the unfortunate tendency to be a bit dumber than Christie’s favorite lead characters. This happens with a lot of her standalone stories.

2. Ordeal by Innocence

Summary: Recovering from amnesia, Dr. Arthur Calgary discovers that he alone could have provided an alibi in a scandalous murder trial. It ended in the conviction of Jacko Argyle. The victim was Jacko’s own mother, and to make matters worse, he died in prison. But the young man’s innocence means that someone else killed the Argyle matriarch, and would certainly kill again to remain in the shadows. Shaded in the moral ambiguity of murder, the provocative psychological puzzler of guilt, vengeance, and blood secrets is among Agatha Christie’s personal favorites.

Review: I was first introduced to this story line through the Miss Marple TV show. The storyline was even better when reading it because of how there was no eccentric detective on the case. I loved seeing how they addressed the problem of what happens to the loved ones of the criminal, especially when that criminal is found innocent.

1. And Then There Were None

Summary: First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion. 

When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.

Review: This was the book that started it all for me. In ninth grade, I took the chance to read this book as my choice novel for an assignment, and it was the best decision I could have made. I really love how Agatha Christie goes about creating this story and pulling us into this mystery. With the use of the poem encouraging the reader to make connections between the murders that happen, the book creates an engaging read. My only issue with the book is that because of the many characters, and how quickly they die off, there are times when the dialogue is stilted. Other than that, I highly recommend this book!