Appointment With Death by Agatha Christie.

 

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie.

The edition published 8th September 2016 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

A repugnant American widow is killed during a trip to Petra…

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sat the corpse of Mrs Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist was the only sign of the fatal injection that had killed her.

With only 24 hours available to solve the mystery, Hercule Poirot recalled a chance remark he’d overheard back in Jerusalem: ‘You see, don’t you, that she’s got to be killed?’ 

Mrs Boynton was, indeed, the most detestable woman he’d ever met…

***********

The reclusive Boynton family have uncharacteristically left New York for a touring holiday in the heat and dust of the Middle East. We first meet them in a hotel in Jerusalem, where the evil matriarch Mrs Boynton presides over her family like some monstrous spider. Each of them seems unable to escape the poisonous web she has spun around their lives, and her domineering ways have not gone beyond the notice of their fellow guests - including young Dr Sarah King, who has taken a fancy to the youngest son Raymond Boynton; and the eminent French psychiatrist Dr Gerard, who is fascinated by the way Mrs Boynton controls them all, and very worried about the sanity of the youngest daughter Ginevra.

The location them moves to the mysterious ancient ruins of Petra in Jordan, where the Boynton family are uncomfortably reunited with Drs King and Gerard, in the company of a handful of other tourists, including the indomitable Lady Westholme. Mrs Boyton's presence casts a shadow over them all, so it's something of a relief when she is found dead - apparently from natural causes.

But Dr Gerard is not so sure, and when he raises his suspicions with the authorities, good old Hercule Poirot, who happens to be staying with one Colonel Carbury, is at hand to get to the truth of the matter. And he has an interesting clue already at his disposal - the fact that he overheard two of the Boynton children in the hotel in Jerusalem discussing murdering the tyrannical old woman.

This is one of those Christie stories clearly taken straight from her own experiences travelling in the Middle East, which I always find rather thrilling. It is also one of her stories that has a big build up before we get to see the genius of the little Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, at work. The preamble is full of much delving into the psychology of the Boynton family through the conversations of Drs King and Gerard, and their observations on the interactions between the sadistic mother and her children/stepchildren. It is all perhaps a little overworked, but it does give a good picture of the lie of the land before the murder itself ups the pace, particularly given the complexity of the red herrings Poirot takes you through before unveiling the killer.

Poirot, as usual, puts his little grey cells to good use to weed out the truth among all the dysfunctional 'psychologies' he loves to ponder on so much, and picks out the little clues that don't seem all that significant in the grand scheme of things, but are, of course, the very ones that point to the guilty party. He is especially methodical in solving this case, and indulges in his characteristic gathering of suspects to explain the hows, whys, and wherefores which I always love. 

It has to be said that, although enjoyable, this is not one of my favourites, as it is a little lacking in stand-out characters for me. The greater part of the cast is taken up with the Boynton family who, beyond the clearly reprehensible Mrs Boynton herself, are all a little insipid. The romances are a bit lacklustre too. Poirot himself is as marvellous as ever though, although maybe a trifle judgemental given the thorough nastiness of the murder victim, and I do have a soft spot for old Colonel Carbury and his insistence on making the case neat and tidy.

The very best thing about this mystery is the exotic locations that Christie weaves into the tale. The backdrops and sense of history are glorious, and make up for the sameness of a big chunk of the characters. I also love the masses of misdirection she works into the story.

This is my June selection for the #ReadChristie2022 Challenge for a story 'Featuring Archaeology'. I swapped between reading the paperback and listening to the atmospheric audio book narrated as brilliantly as ever by Hugh Fraser.

Appointment with Death is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Born in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie began writing during the First World War and wrote over 100 novels, plays and short story collections. She was still writing to great acclaim until her death, and her books have now sold over a billion copies in English and another billion in over 100 foreign languages. Yet Agatha Christie was always a very private person, and though Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple became household names, the Queen of Crime was a complete enigma to all but her closest friends.