Saturday, January 1, 2011

Review: At Bertram's Hotel


Bertram's, a central London hotel, attracts a wealthy and staid clientele. It specializes in creating an old-world ambiance for those who want to relive days past. But not all is right at the hotel, which Miss Marple discovers when she spends a holiday in its quarters. What exactly is amiss in the hotel is unraveled over the course of the book.

This book was somewhat different from the other Christies I've read. Most begin with a murder, and the rest of the book is spent sorting out whodunit. When I'd reached the halfway point of this book, I realized that no one had died yet; quite unusual for Christie. Instead, much of Miss Marple's time is spent trying to determine what, if anything is wrong. Several parallel story lines converge by the end of the book at Bertram's.

The unique format makes a nice diversion for the Christie fan, though I don't think that this is one of her best, it is still solid.

Agatha Christie, At Bertram's Hotel (Black Dog and Leventhal, 2007) ISBN: 1579127320

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