This edition published 7th November 2024 by Harper Collins. First published in 1944.
From the cover of the book:
An explosive love triangle, a formidable matriarch and a house party of enemies. All drawn inexorably … Towards Zero.
After a scandalous celebrity divorce, British tennis star Nevile Strange and his ex-wife Audrey make the unthinkable decision to spend a summer together at Gull’s Point, their childhood home and the coastal estate of Nevile's aunt, Lady Tressilian.
With unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts, plus the presence of Nevile’s new wife Kay, tensions are running high. Add to this a long-suffering lady’s companion, a mysterious gentleman’s valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French con man, and soon there will be murder. A troubled detective must rediscover his purpose to untangle a toxic web of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction. Can he solve the crime before another victim meets their death?
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The guests are gathering for an unconventional house party at Gull's Point, the home of elderly invalid, Lady Tressillian, on the Devon coast at Saltcreek. Lady Tressilian normally looks forward to the visits of Audrey Strange, the ex-wife of her husband's former ward Nevile, but this time the guests will also be including Nevile and his glamorous new wife Kay. It is all rather too modern for Lady Tressilian's traditional sensibilities, and she sees trouble ahead.
It is not long before the feathers start to fly, and this makes things very awkward for the other visitors, Audrey's cousin, the unassuming Thomas Royde, visiting from Malaysia and hopeful of wooing Audrey; Ted Latimer, a friend and disappointed former suitor of Kay's; and Lady Tressilian's companion, sensible Mary Aldin. Gull's Point is not a relaxing place to be, and when an old friend of Lady Tressilian's, the very astute, retired solicitor Mr Treves pays a call, he is concerned that sinister intent lies in the heart of one of the guests.
However, Mr Treve's suspicions go with him to the grave, when he dies the same night of his visit to Gull's Point, under murky circumstances. His death is closely followed by the brutal murder of Lady Tressilian, and it looks very much like an inside job. All the clues point to Nevile, but as the police arrive and begin their investigation, Superintendent Battle is not so sure...
This mystery begins with several prophetic, seemingly unconnected, strands which foreshadow how this story plays out. The first is a prologue in which the wily old Mr Treves offers sage wisdom to the young members of his club, explaining how a murder arrives at the end of a planning process that counts down towards zero hour - his views are supported by a little aside glimpse that lets you see into the devious mind that wishes one of the Gull's Point party serious harm. The second is around a failed suicide attempt that is all about fate and unforeseen purpose. The third is connected to our old friend Superintendent Battle's views on modern psychology. Intriguing...
The main event then begins with an introduction to the members of the party that gather at Gull's Point, with a bit of history about the events that have shaped their state of mind, and their reasons for being here. Christie very cleverly manipulates how you think about each of them from this point, filling out of their stories with carefully dropped little titbits that make them very credible suspects in a mysterious death, a brutal murder, and an evil end-game motivated by betrayal.
This story is rife with beautifully contrived red herrings, and it takes all of Battle's considerable intelligence and intuition to see through them, backed up by his recent experience with misapplied psychological theories, and a delicious reference to what he has learned from investigating crime at the side of the great Hercule Poirot. But it is not until the storyline relating to fate eventually comes into play that he is finally able to get to the jaw-dropping truth, via exciting sea-going shenanigans, and a gathering of the suspects that emulates his muse Poirot.
This is my September pick for #ReadChrsitie2026 for the prompt Best According To Agatha (having already featured Endless Night, the official pick, earlier this year as my Best Read In One Sitting book), and I listened to the audio book narrated by my favourite, Hugh Fraser. It is the final one of Christie's to feature Superintendent Battle, and the way the separate threads come together is a joy to behold. This is Christie at the very top of her game!
Towards Zero is available to buy now in multiple formats.
About the author:
Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.
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