This book by Agatha Christie is apparently the first in her Colonel Race series. I think I read this long ago, but had forgotten all about it. I am trying to reacquaint myself with some of Ms. Christie's lesser known works, so picked this up again. I loved the story and adored Anne Beddington. When her father dies, Anne decides that she must see the world, and while she is contemplating that, she finds herself in the middle of a mystery. She finds a dead woman in an empty house, and decides that she must solve this mystery. On a wing and a prayer, and with very little money she sets off on an adventure to South Africa. Anne knows that a fortune in diamonds has gone missing, and it is all tied to the dead woman in the house. Anne is afraid of nothing really, and appears quite foolhardy at times, but she perseveres to unravel the mystery. With the help of some new friends, they find the source of the mystery, and the mysterious man that controls the agency after the diamonds, and who is ultimately responsible for the dead woman in England. During her edge-of-the-seat adventure, Anne finds love and happiness. This is a delightfully suspenseful book with all of the Agatha Christie trademarks like red herrings, mysterious and threatening characters, and a bright young thing right in the middle of all the intrigue. If you like Agatha Christie, then you must read this book, if only to realize that Ms. Christie just didn't write about Poirot and Miss Marple. She has some highly entertaining suspense and spy books as well in her considerable repertoire. ( )

This is Agatha Christie's first novel. It's good but not as tightly written as her later novels. There is more romance here.

So Anne's father dies leaving her with just enough money to settle his debts. She moves to London where she hopes she will find adventure. With very little money, she decides she wants to go to Africa where her father had done some digs. While on the ship, she meets some interesting characters. She is almost murdered but rescued by the man in the brown suit. Who tried to kill her? Why? Who is the Man in the Brown Suit?

I enjoyed this. Anne makes friends on her cruise. At least, she has someone to worry about her when the attempts are made on her life. She also has a friend in Suzanne who she can confide in. Suzanne ends up as involved in the mystery as Anne. They have to figure out who murdered the woman back in England, whether the person is on the ship, and how to expose the person. I have to admit I would never have figured it out without the explanation at the end. I was hoping it was not who it turned out to be. But I am glad that the Man in the Brown Suit turned out to be good for Anne.

I always forget how good Agatha Christie's writing is until I get lost in one of her stories. ( )

The Man in the Brown Suit - Christie
Audio performance by Nicola Barber and Graeme Malcolm
3 stars

This is an early Christie novel, first published in 1924. It is the first one to feature Colonel Race.There’s a typically complicated mystery that moves from London to an Africa bound cruise ship. I was a bit lost among the many characters and the rapid changes in setting. There’s a murder, a diamond theft, an abduction, an armed rebellion, and a love story. The audio production is very effective with two performers reading chapters as they alternate between two perspectives. ( )

This book was recommended to me as “adventure escapism”. Indeed, it was. This is not a classical Agatha Christie whodunit, but an adventure story that knows exactly what it is.

I liked Anne very much, as a character and as a narrator. She was plucky, sassy, strong and independent, clever and observant, with a healthy dose of sarcasm always at the ready.

Sir Eustace’s diary was a hoot, I enjoyed it very much. Overall, there was a lot to laugh at in the book (unlike Agatha Christie’s other novels).

Now, the reasons for it being “only” a three star read are:

The mystery was not very interesting, and the big reveal was not surprising at all… I had guessed it many chapters before. I much prefer when authors outwit me ;)

The romance and the things said about men and women have not aged well. I did some eye-rolling. I did like how the lovers behaved when they were in tight spot together, nice teamwork.

Unfortunately, disturbing racial stereotypes and colonialism were all over the place in the second half of the book. I couldn’t get my “of its time” thinking to work…

I had fun, but Agatha Christie had written better books than this one. ( )

I'm not satisfied with how it went. Seemed rather thrown together and not well plotted at all. I'll stick to Hercule Poirot from now on. ( )