When a stranger runs his car into a ditch in dense fog near the South Wales coast, and makes his way to an isolated house, he discovers a woman standing over the dead body of her wheel-chair bound husband, gun in her hand. She admits to murder, and the unexpected guest offers to help her concoct a cover story.
But is it possible that Laura Warwick did not commit the murder after all? If so, who is she shielding? The victim's retarded young half-brother or his dying matriarchal mother? Laura's lover? Perhaps the father of the little boy killed in an accident for which Warwick was responsible? The house seems full of possible suspects ...
Charles Osborne has adapted the novel from Agatha Christie's original play of the same title from 1958.
Charles Thomas Osborne was a journalist, theatre and opera critic, poet and novelist. He was assistant editor of The London Magazine from 1958 until 1966, literature director of the Arts Council of Great Britain from 1971 until 1986, and chief theatre critic of Daily Telegraph (London) from 1986 to 1991. He is the only author the Agatha Christie Estate has ever allowed to produce adapted works in her name. ()
I don鈥檛 know why this book is the first one that comes to mind when I hear the name, Agatha Christie. It might be because this is one of the first books that introduced me to the world of Agatha Christie. It might also be because this is one of my favorite books written by her. Rereading it now is still equally exciting, even after knowing the ending as I read it before.
She tells us the story of a stranger who goes into an isolated house. He witnesses something horrific there. A woman is seen standing with a gun over the dead body of her husband. Is it the woman who committed the murder, or is there any other mystery behind the murder? It appears to be a straightforward whodunnit by the author. But it is not, especially as the author is Agatha Christie. There are many twists and turns that will surprise you in this book, especially if you are new to the world of books written by Agatha Christie.
I was in two minds to pick this book when I read it for the first time many years ago due to the confusion created by the 鈥渓iterary pundits鈥� regarding detective fiction. The 鈥渓iterary experts鈥� said that reading detective fiction by authors like Agatha Christie is a waste of time. Instead, they suggested trying literary fiction or some serious non-fiction books. The foolish younger version of me was totally perplexed hearing all this. At last, I decided to go with my gut instinct and give it a try with this book. After this book, I brought a few more books by her and enjoyed reading each one before buying her entire collection.
Recently Iga Swiatek (French Open 2023 champion) was in the news when she revealed her love for books by Agatha Christie. She said that it is the books by Agatha Christie that she read just before the start of crucial matches in major grand slam tournaments as they help her to focus more. She delineates the importance of reading all types of books in our life. Her life and success are the best answers to those pundits who belittle crime fiction, especially detective fiction, saying that they are useless. I gave the example of Iga here because she is a role model for many youngsters, and they can easily understand the idea I am trying to convey.
I am not a literary expert who can help you choose books, as my knowledge of literature is pretty limited. But I can tell you the Medical aspects of reading literature as I am also a healthcare professional and have done some research regarding this topic. We should never avoid fiction (be it detective fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, or any other type of fiction) when choosing books to read. Fiction helps to build empathy, reduce stress, relax our minds, improve focus, memory, and creativity, and broaden our perspective. So I think the best way to read is by mixing fiction and non-fiction, giving more importance to the books you like reading.
I know that most of my friends here are huge fans of Agatha Christie, just like me. Still, I get two or three messages occasionally asking me whether to read fiction or non-fiction. I wrote the last three paragraphs just for them, and I will be happy if it will help them in choosing books. Now, returning to this book, it is pretty easy for me to recommend it to everyone as it is one of my favorite books written by Agatha Christie.
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌� You can also follow me on | | | | | | | |
A man breaks down on the side of the road and makes his way to a house, only to walk in on a woman holding a gun and saying she killed her husband. Her husband who is slumped over in his wheelchair! Something isn't right, so he tells her he wants to help her get away with murder. As you do when a hot chick confesses to murder. Because...well, because.
The sexy wife reveals that the dead man was 20 shades of horrible. Not so much at first, mind you! But when an injury left him crippled, it didn't exactly bring out the best in his personality.
He shot at neighbors, taunted his special needs half-brother, terrorized his family members, and even killed a small child with his car while drunk and speeding. And he got away with all of it. No one will miss him. Not even his mother.
This is another novelization of one of Christie's plays adapted by Charles Osborne. It's not bad but I'm pretty sure it works better as a play. And while the ending is a gotcha, it's also weird and abrupt. I think your mileage may vary on this one, but I really enjoyed the audiobook version read by Hugh Fraser.
[5.0猸怾 饾檺饾櫍饾櫀 饾櫕饾櫈饾櫒饾櫈饾櫓饾櫀 饾櫈饾櫍饾櫄饾櫒饾櫏饾櫄饾櫑饾櫀饾櫃饾櫀 es una obra de teatro escrita por Agatha Christie en 1958. Es una de las piezas de teatro m谩s famosas de la autora, hasta fue publicada en 1999 como novela (el formato que yo he le铆do).听 La historia se desarrolla en una carretera de Gales, en donde un misterioso hombre, Michael Starwedder, se queda estancado por culpa de una tormenta de nieve. Ah铆, 茅l decide acudir a una mansi贸n pr贸xima para poder pedir ayuda y, sin embargo, descubrir谩 que se acaba de cometer un homicidio. En primera instancia, ver谩 a una presunta asesina, la esposa del difunto, que ha decidido confesar esta fechor铆a. Sin embargo, Michael no piensa que ella sea la culpable y es por ello que decidir谩 investigar por su cuenta para poder descubrir qui茅n es el verdadero asesino, aunque se le dificultar谩 en el camino ya que todos ten铆an motivos de sobra para matarlo; era un hombre cruel, insufrible y desalmado.听
Como siempre, Agatha Christie vuelve a hacer de las suyas y me ha dejado realmente impactada e impresionada. Admiro en demas铆a la capacidad que esta mujer tiene de poder transmitir con un par de palabras la maldad que existe en el ser humano y en el mundo. Aqu铆, tenemos a una v铆ctima que juega con la moral del lector porque, al conocer la verdadera personalidad del individuo, sabemos que es malo y cruel, as铆 que el lector se cuestionar谩 con un: 驴merec铆a vivir o ha sido lo correcto el que lo hayan matado? A medida que vamos conociendo la personalidad desenfrenada y malvada de la v铆ctima, nos vamos dando cuenta de que no podemos juzgar a nadie por haberlo asesinado. Incluso, uno como lector llega a enfadarse de sobre manera con 茅l por haber podido eludir a las autoridades de sus fechor铆as. La obra es muy r谩pida de leer y es bastante din谩mica, avanzamos muy r谩pido de un sospechoso a otro y las acciones est谩n muy bien logradas (esto es evidente, se trata de una pieza de teatro, as铆 que todo tiene que ser r谩pido y bien pensado). La soluci贸n del caso se me ha hecho realmente satisfactoria y me ha asombrado por completo. No me esperaba ni en lo m谩s m铆nimo ese giro inesperado en la historia, se nota que Christie nunca pierde su magia (y eso es algo que agradezco de sobremanera en los thrillers policiales).听
Finalmente, puedo decir que es una obra r谩pida de leer y muy entretenida. Como siempre, Agatha Christie nunca decepciona y es una opci贸n segura para poder disfrutar de un buen thriller policial.听
began life as a play by . This is the novelized version written by .
As you read it is obvious that it is derived from a play because the entire novel takes place in one room. Characters arrive and depart from this room, individually or in groups, from one door or another, just as actors would come and go on stage. This does not detract at all from the quality of the writing or the story itself.
Like many Christie novels the mystery is spun out and almost everyone was suspected of being the murderer at one point or another. Eventually one of the least likely suspects showed another side to his character and became the guilty party. Until the very last page......
If you like and have not read this yet then do. It is a good one.
Having read every full length novel by the queen of crime I came across this play that has been adapted into a novel. I started to read this book and very soon I knew I had picked a good book to read, I could easily picture this been played out on a stage and it had the usual twists and turns that any Agatha Christie reader would expect. As with most Christie novels the finger of suspicion moved from character to character as more facts were told. The novel starts with a stranger running his car into a ditch in dense fog near the South Wales coast, and making his way to an isolated house where he discovers a woman standing over the dead body of her wheelchair-bound husband, gun in her hand. She admits to murder, and the unexpected guest offers to help her concoct a cover story. There is a doubt that the woman, Laura Warwick did not actually commit the murder after-all but why why would she admit guilt. The house is full of suspects and in turn you will suspect all of them. It was good to read one of my all time favourite authors work with this 1958 adapted play.
Like , The Unexpected Guest is yet another play of Dame 鈥檚 that was turned into a novel by . Both of the plays-turned-novels were originally published in 2000 and recently turned into audiobooks; while neither feature Christie鈥檚 usual characters of Miss Jane Marple, Hercule Poirot, or Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, both are equally fabulous.
Due to a pea fog, Michael Starkwedder runs his car off the road and arrives at a house, only to find the wheelchair-bound Richard Warwick shot in the head and his wife, the beautiful Laura Warwick, holding the gun. She claims to have shot and killed her husband, but Starkwedder begins to doubt her story. Is she innocent and shielding someone, as he thinks, or has he been taken in by a pretty face? Plenty of twists in a rollercoaster of a novel that will keep you guessing to the very, very end.
FANTASTICO. Muy bueno. Entra a formar parte de mis favoritos de A.Christie. Magistral, la puesta en escena. La historia parece tener poco misterio al principio, pero a medida de la madeja se va deshaciendo, van surgiendo nuevos sospechosos y cuando el caso parec铆a que tenia ya al asesino confeso y atrapado, zas, en la 煤ltima p谩gina se descubre al verdadero asesino. MAGISTRAL DE NUEVO A.CHRISTIE.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The Unexpected Guest is another play by Agatha Christie that was adapted as a novel Charles Osborne - so in short, it is not that great.
Of course I am peeved that I ended up with this book because it was advertised as an Agatha Christie novel, and it is not, but I am also astounded Osborne got to write several novelisations at all, and all of them on commission by Christie's estate!
He has no feel for Christie's characters.
While I can see that the setting in this novel is a typical Christie country house mystery, the main character of Laura Warwick does not strike me as a Christie woman at all.
But maybe I'm just peeved that Audible did not make it clear that this was an Osborne novel.
The book is based on Agatha Christie play. Charles Osborne has done a wonderful job in bringing alive the play in a typical Christie fashion. The end as in almost all her novels is great and as a reader makes you wonder at the brilliant climax. A Bollywood flick- Dhund is based on this play. Though true to the story line most of he time, the ending in the film is weal compared to the book. One of the best plots by Christie. Awesome read.
Classic A.C. featuring an unreliable narrator. Adapted from a play to novel. Cast of Characters: Laura Warwick, Michael Starkwedder, Richard Warwick, Jan Warwick, Angell, Miss Bennett, Julian Farrar, John MacGregor, Inspector Thomas & Sergeant Cadwallader.
I won't go into too much detail as to not spoil and/or accidentally give anything away. So...there's been a death in the Warwick home that may or may not be a suicide/accident/murder. A dark & tragic ghost from the past that may have led to this murderous death, lovers' desire to be together without being labeled adulterous or mental instability & hormones wrecking havoc. A quick journey that twists & turns, jumping through suspects like fleas in a dog pile with a nice reveal at the end that I did not see coming. I recommend if you are looking for a quick read that will hold your attention but also some hair yanking trying to piece together "facts". Fast read!
This was originally a play by Agatha Christie, which has now been turned into a novel by another author. I can easily imagine it as a play, and I think it would probably be better in that form, as, although there are some clever twists and turns, it seemed a little flat and lifeless, and was, for me, just, an ok read.
mega przyjemna. zamys艂 na historie? 艣wietny. serio, taki zagadkowy, wr臋cz niepokoj膮cy. a偶 cz艂owiek chce si臋 dowiedzie膰 co b臋dzie dalej. plot twisty by艂y w porz膮dku. chcia艂bym czyta膰 wi臋cej takiej christie, mo偶e jednak si臋 polubimy.
Debo comenzar por confesar que nunca he le铆do a Agatha Christie as铆 que realmente desconozco cu谩nto del su estilo se conserva y cu谩nto proviene de la novelizaci贸n de Charles Osborne. 听 En alg煤n punto se vuelve repetitiva y predecible, aunque igual te da por seguir leyendo ya sea para confirmar si adivinaste el desenlace o por genuina curiosidad. No es la mejor historia, pero est谩 bien para entretenerte un rato.
wow wow wow this book is good at giving me blow job mouth because in the last 15 pages my mouth dropped so much so hard i literally thought the book was starting to end when another bomb dropped and it ALL came together and WOW okay very good easy read enjoyed the connection between the characters enjoyed the simplicity and the complexity All in all a goodread
Michael Starkwedder, whose run his car into a ditch on a foggy night, walks up to a house where he intends to get assistance but instead finds the body of the home's owner, a man in a wheelchair. He also finds a woman standing in a corner of the room, holding the weapon.
The woman says that she did the killing, but the reader soon discovers that a whole lot of the tale is gray. Did Laura Warwick kill her husband 鈥� or is she covering for someone else? Because nearly everyone involved in this twisted mystery has cause and the means to kill Richard Warwick.
Agatha Christie originally wrote this story as a play in 1954, and it reads very much like a play 鈥� everything happens in the sitting room of the house. But it came to become a novel with the assistance of Charles Osborne, a journalist, theatre and opera critic, poet and novelist, who also novelized Christie's other plays, Black Coffee and Spider's Web.
It's been a very successful production. This is a thrilling story with clever twists and surprises galore. Everything about this story is well done. It's a very good read.