agathachristieclubr3

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

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Reading on #Litsy with Christie‘s Capers (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle
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4 Stars • The Secret of Chimneys (1925) by Agatha Christie introduces Superintendent Battle. Anthony Cade, an adventurer, is tasked with delivering a Herzoslovakian count‘s memoirs and returning compromising letters to Virginia Revel. ⬇️

suvata At Chimneys, a grand estate, Cade uncovers a political conspiracy involving a stolen diamond and the Herzoslovakian monarchy. When Prince Michael is murdered, Cade and Battle navigate secret passages, a master thief, and political intrigue to solve the crime. With clever twists and a lighthearted tone, the mystery unravels, blending romance and deception.

#TheSecretOfChimneys #SuperintendentBattle #AgathaChristie
12h

Librarybelle I do like this one, I think for the lighthearted tone 11h

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Librarybelle

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

The #ChristiesCapers discussion for this month is posted! You can find the 5 questions either on my feed, the book‘s feed, or by searching the group‘s hashtags.

Next month we revisit Poirot and dive into one of Christie‘s best novels and ranked as one of the best mysteries of all time: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Official post tomorrow! #AgathaChristieClubR3

janeycanuck, suvata, Aims42, MallenNC, Soscha, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, MariaW, elkeOriginal, AnneCecilie, Gissy, OutsmartYourShelf, mrp27, Larkken, Suet624, Cailey_Mac, Deblovestoread, ferskner, Marmie7, MaleficentBookDragon, majkia, Bookwormjillk, StayCurious, Teresereading, Laughterhp, Sace, RainyDayReading, Skygoddess1, Morr_Books, PathfinderNicole, dabbe, tdrosebud, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, PageShifter, willaful, kimrenee, AnishaInkspill

Deblovestoread I‘m about halfway I think. Will pop in when I‘m done. 11h

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Librarybelle

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

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5. Though Herzoslovakia is fictional, the 1925 publication of this novel, and the placement of the country in Eastern Europe, alludes to the unrest in the Balkan region of Europe. Christie also introduces some of her experiences during the Grand Tour in Africa in this novel--think, for instance, the novel's opening in Africa.

Wikipedia article on the Balkans' history below. How aware were you of this? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Librarybelle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Balkans#20th_cen... 16h

MallenNC I had limited knowledge of the Balkans, with a little more knowledge about how World War I started and then the war in the 1990s. I assume the readers at the time of publication would have had more of that knowledge in mind than I did reading it now. 14h

BarbaraJean So interesting! The “Black Hand“! I had very little knowledge of this historical backdrop for the story. 5h

dabbe I also have very little knowledge of this region and its history. The article definitely helped; thank you! 🤩 3h

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Librarybelle

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

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3. Speaking of main characters, Anthony Cade is the true main character in this novel and presents a less-than-serious approach to the story. While some reviewers call this a thriller (see question 1), reviewers also comment on the levity in the book, considering this more humorous than Christie's previous five books. Do you agree/disagree? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

MallenNC I liked Cade as a character and some parts were funny but that didn‘t really stick out to me as I read. I admit I was confused/surprised by the twists his character was involved in 14h

BarbaraJean I‘d agree—Cade and Virginia and Bundle especially are much more lighthearted characters. There‘s quite a bit of banter, which adds to the humor. Secret Adversary also had both those things but the overall tone/situations there felt more serious. 12h

willaful I guess I was in just the right mood because I really enjoyed the Silly Asses and Bright Young Things in this. It wasn't a favorite of mine growing up -- I preferred The Clocks, which is sort of a sequel , and I'll be interested to see if I still do when we get to it. 10h

dabbe @Librarybelle @MallenNC @BarbaraJean @willaful I definitely agree. I snorted out loud quite a few times reading this. The novel is packed with witty banter, absurd situations (e.g., sneezing during a stakeout), and caricatured characters (e.g., Baron Lollipop's Yoda-like syntax). To me, it is markedly lighter than Christie‘s first five novels. 4h

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Librarybelle

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

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2. Christie moves away from Poirot again to introduce Inspector or Superintendent Battle, who will appear in four other works. What do you think of Battle? Why do you think Christie chose to introduce another non-Poirot main character? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

MallenNC I was wondering that myself as I read, why didn‘t she just make this a Poirot mystery. I wonder if she didn‘t want to get stuck in only one series or if she just wanted to present the solution without her really clever Poirot involved 14h

BarbaraJean Because this feels less like a traditional murder mystery, it made sense to me that she introduced a new main character. Although it felt a little like with Colonel Race, where he wasn‘t exactly the main character! 12h

willaful I think she wanted her romantic couple at the forefront but an intelligent member of the force was useful. Poirot would have wrong for the tone of this. In a similar way (though very different tone) she used Battle again in Towards Zero and though she did use Poirot in The Hollow she regretted it and removed him from the play adaptation IIRC. 10h

dabbe @Librarybelle @MallenNC @BarbaraJean @willaful Since these were Christie's early years, maybe she was still experimenting and finding which detectives worked and which didn't. Poirot would have never worked here. Battle is an understated, methodical Scotland Yard detective with no flashy quirks—no foreign accent, no theatricality, just steady competence. Christie describes him as one “who listens more than he speaks“, making him a foil to Poirot. 3h

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Librarybelle

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

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1. The Secret of Chimneys has been categorized by reviewers as another work that is more thriller than traditional mystery (think Poirot). Overall, what did you think of the book? Would you agree/disagree that this is more thriller than traditional? This is the sixth book we have read...how did it measure up to the past five books? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

MallenNC It definitely read more like a thriller than a mystery for me. There were a lot of secret identities! I always miss Poirot in these books without him (unless it‘s Miss Marple). 14h

BarbaraJean I wouldn‘t have called it a thriller, just because the tone was more lighthearted (though maybe I didn‘t get thriller vibes because thrillers today have a quite different tone!). But it does feel more thriller than traditional if compared to Poirot. It‘s not really a spy story, either, but maybe intrigue would be a better word? 12h

willaful I'm not sure it's thrilling enough to be considered a thriller. 😂 I'd call it a mystery adventure I guess. 10h

dabbe @Librarybelle @MallenNC @BarbaraJean @willaful Agree with all of you! I think I'd call it a witty thriller of intrigue. You've got a fast-paced, high-stakes plot, multiple crimes occurring, and action over deduction where Cade engages in daring acts over methodical detective work (talking to you, Sherlock). And interesting that Cade was more of the detective than Battle (IMHO). 4h

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Librarybelle

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

We‘re a week away from our next #ChristiesCapers discussion! I‘ve seen some good reviews posted so far; this one does get mixed reviews by Christie lovers. I like this one and plan to reread it this week to have it fresh in my mind for next Sunday.

Discussion questions will be posted by 12pm US East Coast time on the 29th! #AgathaChristieClubR3

janeycanuck, suvata, Aims42, MallenNC, Soscha, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, MariaW, elkeOriginal, AnneCecilie, Gissy, OutsmartYourShelf, mrp27, Larkken, Suet624, Cailey_Mac, Deblovestoread, ferskner, Marmie7, MaleficentBookDragon, majkia, Bookwormjillk, StayCurious, Teresereading, Laughterhp, Sace, RainyDayReading, Skygoddess1, Morr_Books, PathfinderNicole, dabbe, tdrosebud, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, PageShifter, willaful, kimrenee, AnishaInkspill

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MaleficentBookDragon

And Then There Were None | Agatha Christie

I picked up 4 new Christies with 1970s covers (my favorites) through #pango.

We won't be getting to any of these anytime soon for #AgathaChristieClubR3 #ChristiesCapers.
@librarybelle

britt_brooke Fabulous covers! 1mo

Librarybelle Those covers are amazing! 1mo

CarolynM Great covers! 1mo

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LitsyEvents

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

repost for @Librarybelle:

June‘s #ChristiesCapers is the first that features Superintendent Battle, who appears in a a few other books/stories. Discussion on June 29th!

All are welcome to join. Please let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list. #AgathaChristieClubR3

Librarybelle Thanks for reposting! 1mo

31 likes1 comment

Librarybelle

The Secret of Chimneys | Agatha Christie

June‘s #ChristiesCapers is the first that features Superintendent Battle, who appears in a a few other books/stories. Discussion on June 29th!

All are welcome to join. Please let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list. #AgathaChristieClubR3

janeycanuck, suvata, Aims42, MallenNC, Soscha, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, MariaW, elkeOriginal, AnneCecilie, Gissy, OutsmartYourShelf, mrp27, Larkken, Suet624, Cailey_Mac, Deblovestoread, ferskner, Marmie7, MaleficentBookDragon, majkia, Bookwormjillk, StayCurious, Teresereading, Laughterhp, Sace, RainyDayReading, Skygoddess1, Morr_Books, PathfinderNicole, dabbe, tdrosebud, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, PageShifter, willaful, kimrenee, AnishaInkspill

Librarybelle @LitsyEvents 1mo

dabbe I had no idea she had so many different detectives! Color me clueless! 🤣 1mo

mrp27 @dabbe Same! I had no clue…. 1mo

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