The Seven Dials Mystery

tags: murder mystery, secret society

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

From Goodreads

When a practical joke involving eight alarm clocks turns into murder, the case is taken up by Bundle Brent and Jimmy Thesiger. With the help of Bill Eversleigh they discover that the Seven Dials Club is not only a nightclub but also the headquarters of a Secret Society.

Agatha Christie's murder mystery is quite different from her regular whodunnits in not following the usual steps/methods. The short novel has young people in their early twenties instead of older folks trying to solve 2 murders with the help of Scotland Yard Superintendent Battle. 

I read the first book in this series with Battle as the investigating officer, The Secret of Chimneys. I have yet to read the rest. Or maybe I have but forgotten. 

Lady Eileen Brent or Bundle to her family and friends, leads the investigation. Her parents own the Chimneys who are renting it to a Mr. Owen Coote and his wife Maria. Bundle wasn't at the party in that house when one of her friends died of overdose but is actually a murder. Another friend died a few days later from a gun shot wound. Bundle thought she ran him over with her car and the dying boy said a few words that made her start her own investigations with the help of her friends. 

I like the unexpected very enjoyable twist and also the humor throughout specially the brief appearances of Bundle's father. The part where an older man (late 20s or early 30s), Lord George Lomax, who works at the Foreign Office, suddenly thinks of Bundle as a wife material. His marriage proposal is so funny and awkward that reminded me of Mr. Collins asking Lizzy Bennet to be his wife. Bundle turned him down because she likes one of her friends. There certainly is some romance going on in this short novel. The theme (secret societies, international intrigues, theft) and young female character as main protagonist  have similarities to a few of Patricia Wentworth's stand alone novels.

I listened to the audio book and loved it. Highly recommended for Agatha Christie fans. 

They Came To Baghdad

tags: espionage, mystery, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

They Came to Baghdad is one of Agatha Christie's highly successful forays into the spy thriller genre. In this novel, Baghdad is the chosen location for a secret superpower summit. But the word is out, and an underground organisation is plotting to sabotage the talks.

Into this explosive situation stumbles Victoria Jones, a young woman with a yearning for adventure who gets more than she bargains for when a wounded secret agent dies in her hotel room. Now, if only she could make sense of his final words: 'Lucifer ... Basrah ... Lefarge ...'

I don't think I can rate any Agatha Christie's novel lower than 4 stars. I wasn't expecting much with this short story but surprised I really loved it. The story and writing are superb as usual.

The book is more of a spy thriller than a murder mystery. The main protagonist is Victoria Jones, a young woman who is bored with her low paying job as a typist. She meets and gets enamored with a very charming and handsome young man, Edward who is going to Baghdad in a few days. Victoria, on a whim, decides she wants to follow him without knowing his full name and with just 4 pounds in her pocket.

Victoria is a pathological liar who invents stuff without batting an eyelash and people believe her because she is resourceful, pretty, and charming herself. She succeeds in going to Baghdad armed with just her lies and meets Edward. Victoria gets to know a lot of people, some are famous personalities, who are also in Baghdad for some reason. She gets into dangerous situations and is able to get out of them, of course, and helps in preventing a crazy group of people from implementing their sinister plan during a summit with the American President and Russian Premier.

Highly recommended for Agatha Christie fans.