Ordeal By Innocence
(Agatha Christie)
Agatha Christie once said she considered ?Ordeal by Innocence? one of the two most satisfying of her detective books (the other was ?Crooked House?).
It?s easy to see why. With her immaculate plotting and economical style, the Queen of Crime has produced a classic whodunnit to keep readers guessing until the final couple of pages.
Recovering from amnesia, geophysicist Arthur Calgary realises he has evidence that proves the innocence of Jack Argyle, adopted son of Rachel Argyle, who was murdered at her home two years earlier. Jack was convicted of the murder and has since died in prison, but Calgary believes the Argyle family will welcome the news that his name has been cleared.
They are, however, appalled. The circumstances of the murder were such that a member of the household must have killed Mrs Argyle. Therefore, the discovery that Jack was innocent means they are all, once again, under suspicion.
When he realises he has stirred up a distressing ? and dangerous ? hornet?s nest, Calgary sets about investigating the murder, less with the aim of unmasking the murderer than with the desire to remove the burden of suspicion from those who are innocent. The police move in too, and doubts and fears arise among those affected by Calgary?s revelation including Mrs Argyle?s other adopted children: Mary, desperately possessive of her wheelchair-bound husband; Micky, harbouring secret hatred; Tina, feline and fearful; Hester, young and passionate. Other household members implicated are Rachel Argyle?s strangely remote husband, Leo, his attractive secretary, Gwenda, the fiercely protective housekeeper, Kirsten.
As new evidence builds up against a number of people, the murderer is driven to strike again ? and again, but with an increasing recklessness which helps Calgary to discover and reveal the truth in a memorable denouement which Agatha Christie had every right to find satisfying.
Resumos Relacionados
- Punição Para A Inocência
- Cabo Da Víbora
- Ordeal By Innocence
- Curtain
- Sleeping Murder
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