REVIEW: The Secret of Chimneys

The Secret of Chimneys
Author: Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys was published in 1925. It was Christie's 5th and last book released by her first publisher, The Bodley Head. She wanted out of her contract with them....and frankly, I think this book was a bit of a rush job to finish out that contract. It introduces Superintendent Battle and a handful of other characters that appear in later stories (especially The Seven Dials published in 1929) and the international thriller/mystery plot is interesting enough. But for me, this story just lacks the Christie pizazz that shines in most of her other works.

The basics: Anthony Cade is sent on a rather interesting adventure by a friend. James McGrath has in his possession a memoir that is rumored to contain some rather juicy tidbits about a small Balkan nation, Herzoslovakia, and its former royal family. The nation was recently ravaged by revolution. A faction that seeks to restore the monarchy desperately wants to prevent publication of the memoir. What starts out as a mission to take the manuscript to a publisher and collect £1,000 quickly becomes much more complicated. Add in some indiscreet letters that need to be returned to an English woman, foreign assassins, political intrigue and murder...and you get a pretty complex mess that Cade must navigate to succeed in his mission.

I love Agatha Christie. She has been my favorite writer since I was 9 and read my first Poirot novel. But.....this story......I had a hard time finishing it. The plot requires a complete suspension of reality...and in places, the pacing was just so slow that I lost interest. I found the ending lackluster....and some ending plot points just seemed ridiculous. Some I can overlook because the tale is almost 100 years old. What seems cliche to me in 2020 was new and exciting when Christie wrote this story. And, I can also admit that I prefer Christie's more famous detectives such as Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot to her other main characters like Superintendent Battle. Battle is an awesome detective....but he really isn't all that developed in this novel. Cade takes the forefront with Battle sleuthing around behind the scenes and popping in occasionally.

I get the distinct feeling that Christie published a trunk novel to finish out her publishing contract. The plot is ridiculous. The pacing is off. The characters are ho-hum. And the story is just.....ridiculous. It did not age well. But.....any author who writes as many books as Christie is definitely allowed to have a clunker or two. And -- this is just my opinion. Others may feel differently. But, I really get the impression that Christie dusted off a previously written manuscript she never intended to publish, shined it up a bit, and plunked it on her publisher's desk so she could put her experiences with The Bodley Head firmly behind her. Because....her next published novel was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, touted as one of the best murder mystery novels ever written.

So, even though I did not like this novel, I have to smile and salute Christie. I can just see her plonking down this manuscript, waving, and walking out the door. :) Well played, Agatha, well played.

I listened to the audio book version of this novel (Audio Partners), narrated by Hugh Fraser. Fraser reads at a nice even pace and gives a great performance.