The Secret of Chimneys

There are obviously things to enjoy here: it's not a book that really blows you away or anything but the plot is well designed and satisfying as a mystery and the dialogue is lively and flows well. It has light elements of the political thriller type novel, mostly in terms of the background, although it's still firmly a sedate golden age mystery style. There's some mild complexity to it that's handled well and it's hard to imagine getting confused or anything. Christie's writing style and handling of mysteries is so all round solid it's really hard to fault her in any way on those specific things. The ending ties everything together with no loose ends in a way that everything feels "right".

But... it's impossible to get away from the show more racist, colonial, aristocratic entitlement that pervades the book. A financier with a blatantly Jewish name is referred to as "yellow skinned" multiple times which is clearly some kind of racist stereotype that's antiquated now and there's a few other anti semitic allusions surrounding him. The brunt of the racism, though, is directed at the inhabitants of the country of Herzoslovakia, whose situation forms the entire motivation of the book. Of the characters, their names are mocked regularly, their appearance is described negatively, and even their dangerous revolutionary secret paramilitary is treated as a comedic joke rather than serious villains. Their country is presented as one of brigands and ignorant peasants and both a supposed conservative attachment to the monarchy behaving properly and their new democratic government are presented as contemptible. It's not every page, but when the subject is such a major part of the book it's hard to get it out of your mind.

The colonialism starts from the first page, where the action starts with our main character being a tour guide for a bunch of English people touring modern-day Zimbabwe and finding it distasteful except for picture postcards and going to see Cecil Rhodes' tomb! The British government is involved in Herzoslovakian politics because there's recently been oil discovered there and they want to be the ones to get exclusive rights to it. To that end, they're planning on deposing the current republican government and reinstalling a heir to the old royal family. The oil rights are a condition for a massive loan they're going to give him to get him into power. It's such a striking example of British imperialism nakedly destroying lives for British profit and yet there's no moral judgement attached to it at all - and the choice of characters and perspectives we get mean we're supposed to be *on their side*. show less

‘The Secret Of Chimneys’, published In 1925, was Agatha Christie’s fifth novel. Like ‘The Secret Adversary’ (1922) and ‘The Man In The Brown Suit’ (1924), it is an early example of a thriller, rather than a detective story. It is also the first of her five Superintendent Battle books..

Sadly, it has neither the freshness and vigour of the earlier thrillers. They had main characters I could root for. 'The Secret Of Chimneys' is filled with people I'd prefer not to spend time with. Superintendent Battle is the best thing in the book and he isn't given much to do except demonstrate that, even though he's a policeman and is not a gentleman, he's still astute and intelligent. How remarkable is that?

It was a book I was glad to be show more done with. The plot manages to be silly without being amusing. I felt as if I'd just stepped out of a period adaptation of Scooby-Doo with added doses of patriarchy, xenophobia, and aristocratic exceptionalism thrown in for authenticity.

I detested the hero, Anthony Cade, on sight and further acquaintance only confirmed my poor opinion of him as a chancer, all confidence and cunning wrapped up in charm. The aristocrats in the book respond to him as 'one of us' not despite his behaviour but because that behaviour demonstrates his unassailable sense of entitlement.

The foreigners presented in the book have all the authenticity of a Tintin cartoon. Christie demonstrates her dislike of Italians, her disdain for Slavs, her sense that a British financier with the surname Isaacstein is almost a foreigner and her belief that even foreign aristocrats negotiating internal contracts can't master the basics of English syntax.

The denouement is so ludicrous it's almost a pastiche of itself. After the big reveal, Christie makes us trudge through two more chapters, one to help anyone who hasn't understood the plot to have it explained to them one more time and a final one for readers who need this rather dull cake to be iced over with an attempt at romance. Even the romance fails, degrading into a successful negotiation between two people who know themselves too well to have any truck with romance.

If this had been my first Christie, it would have been my last. show less

I enjoyed this. Christie takes her time gathering the premises of the situation and the consort of characters, but this was fine for me. It wasn’t long before the first mysterious corpse appeared, and from then on, things moved along.
The protagonist, Anthony Cade, is attractive, adventurous, and mysterious. His love interest, Virginia Revel, has enough spunk to match; she was my favorite character. The other characters fill their roles well for the most part, except for three who are pure stereotype: Lord Caterham, the effete, skittish proprietor of Chimneys (a confusing name for an estate), George Lomax, a blustering government type (think Lummox), and Isaacstein, the financier. In the last case, the stereotype is uncomfortably show more anti-semitic.
There’s the requisite amount of misdirects (drawing my suspicion first to one, then to another) and details mentioned early on, then forgotten until brought back as part of the denouement. And, of course, all are gathered in a room for the big reveal (well, almost all—nice touch), leading to a satisfying conclusion. All that with neither Poirot nor Miss Marple, yet undeniably Agatha Christie. show less

I've enjoyed various works by Christie over the years, but this is not one of them. The characters are flat cardboard cutouts constantly gibbering at one another. The plot somehow manages to be both tedious *and* ludicrous, and the denouement beggars belief.

I cannot believe this was once considered a good mystery with a satisfactory ending. Only finishing this through sheer pig-headed doggedness I realise now I shouldn't have bothered. Considering reading a Christie novel? Then I implore for the love of little kittens, please choose anything but this.

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 show more 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, narrated by Hugh Fraser. Fraser reads at a nice even pace and gives a great performance. show less

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie was a very fun read revolving around revolutionists, royalty, mistaken and false identities, a spectacular missing jewel and, of course murder. Beginning in Africa, the story quickly moves to the stately English manor of Chimneys and follows the escapades of Anthony Cade, international adventurer as he tries to complete his mission of delivering a sensitive Herzoslovakian manuscript of memoirs and a bundle of blackmailing letters.

This is the first book that features Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard, and he wisely stays in the background leading a firm and steady hand to the procedures. Along with an assortment of political guests, Battle is assisted by a couple of international colleagues show more whose main interest is in unveiling the famous thief, King Victor. The murders seem to be almost a side plot as political intrigue and revolution in the fictional Balkan state of Herzoslovakia is the main feature.

I think Agatha Christie had a fun time writing this tongue-in-cheek thriller/mystery. She delivers a tale peopled by handsome adventurers, swarthy foreigners, beautiful, calm English ladies, and fuddled English aristocrats. There was a sweet romance included and although the final outcome of the story was no surprise, I enjoyed this very vintage mystery. show less

There were two other men in the room. One was Colonel Melrose, the chief constable. The other was a squarely built middle-aged man with a face so singularly devoid of expression as to be quite remarkable.

Christie, Agatha. The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle Book 1) (p. 109). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

I referred to Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard. A man of the utmost discretion.

Christie, Agatha. The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle Book 1) (p. 106). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

What seems likes a simple errand to deliver a manuscript turns into a dangerous and perilous journey to right a wrong, find a jewel and crown a King. Anthony Cade undertakes the quest at the behest of his friend Jimmy McGrath and has show more soon run afoul of Superintendent Battle who is called into investigate the ensuing trouble.

The Secret of Chimneys is the first Superintendent Battle novel and introduces the intelligent, impassive and humorous, Superintendent Battle.

“You’re a man in a thousand, Battle. Either you have taken an extraordinary fancy to me or else you’re extraordinarily deep. Which is it?” Superintendent Battle smiled a little, but did not answer.

Christie, Agatha. The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle Book 1) (p. 168). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

As always with Agatha Christie, this was a well written mystery with decently complex characters and interesting motives. Battle was a great character. I liked his style - not quite as dramatic and flamboyant as Poirot and not as absent as Colonel Race. He chips away at the suspects and the evidence and uses his own little grey cells to solve the case. And I loved Anthony Cade's easy going nature and his humour and his interactions with Battle were hilarious.

“You know, sir,” he said, “you’ll get into trouble one of these days.” “Then, for the second time, I’m not to be taken into custody?” “We always like to give a man plenty of rope,” said Superintendent Battle. “Very delicately put,” said Anthony. “Without unduly stressing the end of the proverb.”

Christie, Agatha. The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle Book 1) (p. 209). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

I enjoyed how they worked together to solve the crime and how insistent Mrs Revel was on helping and not being left out. Although she was pretty funny in her own right.

“By the way, Mrs. Revel,” he ended, “I’ve never thanked you for imperilling your mortal soul by saying that I was an old friend of yours.” “Of course you’re an old friend,” cried Virginia. “You don’t suppose I’d lumber you with a corpse, and then pretend you were a mere acquaintance next time I met you? No, indeed!”

Christie, Agatha. The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle Book 1) (p. 147). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

I got a little confused by the ending - it got very convoluted and there were so many tangled threads. I actually kind of thought Mrs Revel would end up being King Victor - the crime lord. I figured out that Mr Fish was an imposter - but I thought he was going to be the guilty party - not another detective. Although I did guess that the French detective was guilty - I just wasn't sure what of. So it was a bit tangled in my mind, but I enjoyed the reveals.

A well plotted mystery. 3.5 stars, rounded to 3 stars. show less