When a young secretary, Sheila Webb, is sent to the home of a blind woman on an errand, she is horrified to discover a dead man behind the couch, s...
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Oct 29, 2011
mark
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Choose Your Own Adventure!
You are a member of the British secret service, and you are having a really bad day. Murder is never the best of reasons to engage in romance, but for you, the two become intertwined before you know it. In a way, it is not hard to understand why: temporary secretaries are their own kind of secret agent, slipping in and out of mysterious situations, reporting what they know to their benefactor, a constant smile on their lips and calm professionalism their by- More...
You are a member of the British secret service, and you are having a really bad day. Murder is never the best of reasons to engage in romance, but for you, the two become intertwined before you know it. In a way, it is not hard to understand why: temporary secretaries are their own kind of secret agent, slipping in and out of mysterious situations, reporting what they know to their benefactor, a constant smile on their lips and calm professionalism their by- More...
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Jan 31, 2009
Eileen
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Even though my mother was a fan of Agatha Christie, for some reason, I never read any of her books when I was growing up, despite being a fan of the mystery genre myself. When the video game, And Then There Were None (which was based on Agatha Christie's novel) was released, I decided to seek out a copy of it to read before trying out the game. (The book has been read but the game has only seen about 10 minutes of action so far...) I found And Then There Were None strangely compelling, even with
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Sep 22, 2011
Cornerofmadness
rated it:
I’ve decided to finally go back to my youth and reread some of the classics (well at least ones that fall into genres I actually like). This Hercule Poirot mystery was written much later in Christie’s career and it’s fairly clear that Poirot wasn’t even needed for this mystery. I actually wondered if he was only added to keep publishers/fans happy.
In fact, this mystery was actually investigated by a friend of Poirot, Colin Lamb who seemed to be secret service (how many times More...
Jan 27, 2011
Laurel
rated it:
I find it telling that The Clocks is subtitled "A Hercule Poirot Mystery". This is not really a Poirot novel. Charles Lamb, our narrator, is quite able to solve the case himself and Poirot actually has very little "screen time", so to speak. He is here because, by this time in Christie's long and fruitful career, fans expected her to feature her famous detective (and no doubt he was good for sales). Even so, I do not think of this as a Poirot case. There are also a few refere
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Nov 29, 2010
Tina
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Original post at One More Page
I wasprocrastinating taking a break last Saturday on my NaNoWriMo novel (I won, by the way, yay!), and I found a book report I submitted for my English class back in senior year in high school (2001-2002). I was already a reader then, but I stuck mostly to series and only a few serious novels, so a book report for a project was easy for me. This was an excuse to buy a brand new book, and I decided to choose something that is outside of my normal genre to
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I was
Nov 07, 2010
Book Concierge
rated it:
3.5***
Hercule Poirot takes a somewhat minor role here, while Inspector Hardcastle and Colin Lamb take the lead.
A young woman stenographer/typist is specifically requested at No. 19. She’s instructed to come in if no one answers the door and to wait in the sitting room. She arrives just a couple of minutes early, and waits as instructed. When the cuckoo clock strikes three she goes over to it to inspect it more closely, which is when she discovers the body of a man who ha More...
Hercule Poirot takes a somewhat minor role here, while Inspector Hardcastle and Colin Lamb take the lead.
A young woman stenographer/typist is specifically requested at No. 19. She’s instructed to come in if no one answers the door and to wait in the sitting room. She arrives just a couple of minutes early, and waits as instructed. When the cuckoo clock strikes three she goes over to it to inspect it more closely, which is when she discovers the body of a man who ha More...
Aug 10, 2010
Meave
rated it: 
It was really funny! Agatha in her dotage really loosens up and has a good laugh at nearly everyone we've been supposed to take very seriously lo these many decades. And it's so relaxing. The Poirot-y gather-n-reveal and the end becomes much more dramatic; the looser style helps with the pacing, and adds to the atmosphere--like, things are casual enough, but no one knows what's going on, and more horrible things keep happening, and the sense of danger builds and builds and then BLAM! I wish Aggi
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Jun 24, 2010
Elizabeth
rated it:
Another good story from the queen of mystery. I missed Poirot in this one, though. Hercule Poirot only appears occasionally. Being one of his last mysteries, M. Poirot has aged quite a bit, and so he no longer investigates crimes like he used to. In "The Clocks" the narrator and protagonist is Mr. Colin Lamb. He's trying to figure out Whodunit. The victim: an unidentifiable man. The scene of the crime: a blind woman's sitting room, with the addition of four mysterious clocks set to the
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Jan 02, 2011
Philip
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This Christie novel was published in England in 1963 and in the U.S. in 1964 - for some reason I'd mistakenly had it placed among her late-1950s works. I first read it in the early 1970s and had quite forgotten that it's a Hercule Poirot mystery, as he apparently enters this one rather late - I've read nearly 100 pages and there's no sign of him yet. One wonders if, as Christie complained about THE HOLLOW, whether Poirot just showed up here whether she or not she intended him to! I definitely
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Jul 16, 2011
Ariel
rated it:
This was another entry into my cool down with AC reading challenge. I read this ahead of viewing the Masterpiece movie which aired last Sunday. The set up was very much like Three Act Tragedy, my least favorite AC read so far. Hercule Poirot was again a peripheral character who was in the novel very little. He just shows up in the end to call everyone stupid and solve the mystery. Also like Three Act, this story had a lot of characters to keep track of and a neat solution to the mystery on the
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Jul 17, 2011
Ruth
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When Sheila Webb, a typist-for-hire, is particularly requested for her latest assignment, she expects a routine hour of work, not the discovery of a recently murdered elderly man behind the sitting room sofa, surrounded by clocks set to the wrong time. Horrified, she flees from the scene and straight into the arms of intelligence agent Colin Lamb, pursuing his own line of investigation, on the tail of a nest of spies. The victim has no identification on him, and both Sheila and her would-be-empl
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Jan 06, 2009
Carrie
rated it:
To my mind, this is not one of Dame Agatha’s best efforts. It has a pretty good opening scene - a girl is hired by as a secretary. When she shows up there is a dead man in the room, and four clocks on the mantelpiece, and the owner of the house is a blind woman who has never seen the man - nor the clocks! (Shade of her Seven Dials, with all those clocks). A man passing by just happens to be a member of the British Secret Service (who passes as a marine biologist) looking into an espionage rin
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Jul 27, 2010
David
rated it:
Okay ... just past page 100 ... I'm either brilliant or I'm thinking exactly what she wants me to think ... but the dead guy is Sheila's Dad and the blind woman is her Mum!
For the murder, I've been fingering the woman who runs the typing agency. Doesn't quite fit with my new "Sheila's related to everyone!" theory. But I like the idea of Agatha thinking "I'm going to have a book typed by an agency, and the murderer will be a typist at an agency."
No More...
For the murder, I've been fingering the woman who runs the typing agency. Doesn't quite fit with my new "Sheila's related to everyone!" theory. But I like the idea of Agatha thinking "I'm going to have a book typed by an agency, and the murderer will be a typist at an agency."
No More...
Jan 06, 2011
Mary
rated it:
Poirot doesn't come into it until about halfway through. He gives an analysis of the state of mystery fiction though which is excellent.
"Now here is Mr. Gary Gregson, a prodigious writer of thrillers. He has written at least sixty-four, I understand. He is almost the exact opposite of Mr. Quaine. In Mr. Quain's books nothing much happens; in Garry Gregson's far too many things happen. They are all highly coloured. It is melodrama stirred up with a stick. Bloodshed--bodies--clue More...
"Now here is Mr. Gary Gregson, a prodigious writer of thrillers. He has written at least sixty-four, I understand. He is almost the exact opposite of Mr. Quaine. In Mr. Quain's books nothing much happens; in Garry Gregson's far too many things happen. They are all highly coloured. It is melodrama stirred up with a stick. Bloodshed--bodies--clue More...
Sep 24, 2010
Kate
rated it:
For those whose HP is always Poirot and not Potter, this is a great installment. A weird murder involving a dead man found in a blind woman's house with four strange clocks reading 4:13, a reluctant spy and a young shorthand typist as our Young Love couple, a thoughtful police inspector and Poirot offering a solution from afar based upon his trashy mystery habit. Lots of odd stereotypical characters and a clever reason for all of them - Christie making fun of Christie and of her own imitators,
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Aug 07, 2009
Mazel
rated it:
Miss Pebmarsh a bien failli mettre le pied dessus.
Même, elle l'aurait piétiné, ce cadavre, si Sheila n'avait pas crié.
Que voulez-vous : Miss Pebmarsh est aveugle et elle a été bien surprise d'apprendre qu'il y avait le corps d'un inconnu derrière son canapé.
Et d'abord, que fait Sheila chez elle jamais, au grand jamais elle n'a demandé à l'agence où travaille la jeune fille qu'on lui envoie une dactylo.
Et d'où viennent toutes ces pendules - tout More...
Même, elle l'aurait piétiné, ce cadavre, si Sheila n'avait pas crié.
Que voulez-vous : Miss Pebmarsh est aveugle et elle a été bien surprise d'apprendre qu'il y avait le corps d'un inconnu derrière son canapé.
Et d'abord, que fait Sheila chez elle jamais, au grand jamais elle n'a demandé à l'agence où travaille la jeune fille qu'on lui envoie une dactylo.
Et d'où viennent toutes ces pendules - tout More...
Mar 14, 2009
Stven
rated it:
This pleasant novel from late in Agatha Christie's career suffers from having our favorite Belgian detective appear in too few scenes. When all is said and done, Poirot is really the most interesting character on stage, and this approach of sprinkling him in here and there is less than satisfying for the fan.
The Clocks also suffers from its ormolu of Cold War espionage conceits. Published in 1963, the story seems to have soaked up a little James Bond by way of Graham Greene or Alfr More...
The Clocks also suffers from its ormolu of Cold War espionage conceits. Published in 1963, the story seems to have soaked up a little James Bond by way of Graham Greene or Alfr More...
Nov 20, 2011
Akika
rated it:
I've read this before, but I was in the mood for something light and entertaining and couldn't remember exactly what happened. I have to say that there are some monumental, and extremely unlikely coincidences in this book. I found the obligatory mention of Cold War spying and defection unnecessary, except in a way to get the protagonist into the story, which could have been managed far more skilfully by someone as capable as Christie. I have to say that I found the solution, which only Poirot ma
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Oct 27, 2009
Zooworld
rated it:
An interesting little mystery, more of a book to pass the time on a plane than a serious read. Overall, the plot is just as puzzling as the more well-known Christie classics, but slightly more obvious to the budding armchair detective. The book is narrated from the point-of-view of a young man in the British secret service, and as such has a bit of the typical double-agent mystery in it. Hercule Poirot is as modest as ever, claiming that the entire crime is nothing more than a mental exercise fo
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Sep 04, 2009
Sharakael
rated it:
As to be expected from Agatha Christie, this novel didn't disappoint. You'll get all the usual fare you could expect from Agatha Christie; all the cleverly laid hints, the clue-hunting, the problem-solving.
The only thing is... this novel is set during a time when Poirot had retired, and Poirot himself showed up for the first time halfway through the story, and only appeared briefly afterwards. In other words, it felt like he was more of a supporting character...
I guess I More...
The only thing is... this novel is set during a time when Poirot had retired, and Poirot himself showed up for the first time halfway through the story, and only appeared briefly afterwards. In other words, it felt like he was more of a supporting character...
I guess I More...
Jun 08, 2011
Colleen
rated it:
A remarkable crime involving a faked appointment, a blind woman, and four clocks each set for the time of 4:13 confound the police and the not so innocent young passer-by. I always like when Christie has her detectives make comments on other writers books, and Poirot, who has embarked on a project of sampeling all detective fiction has plenty to say, and, in a book that features one of the more pendantic jobs, that of typest for a final draft of a novel, it makes sense. I also like the hint that
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Apr 20, 2009
Stefan
rated it:
Though this is labeled a Hercule Poirot mystery, the actual protagonist of the story is a government agent named Colin Lamb. The writing is above average for crime fiction, though because Poirot's near the end of his career, his role is, disappointingly enough, limited to the extent of providing the conclusion. Besides that complaint, this a quick, enjoy mystery that is impossibly before hand, but which makes sense once explained. The characters are interesting, the plot is high above most of th
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Apr 05, 2010
Crystal
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jun 22, 2009
Emily
rated it:
The Clocks is one of Christie's more character-driven books, and I enjoyed the occasional first-person narrative of Colin Lamb. However, the actual ending of the book lacked the sudden shock and surprise that many other Christie books have. There were too many characters and too many facts that the reader could not know for the book to work. Like Christie's other mysteries, the book is well put together, and the characters are quirky and amusing. In the end, however, the solution to the mystery
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Jul 10, 2011
Anna
rated it:
Re-read this after having seen the recent movie adaptation. I remembered reading it the first time and finding it confusing/unpleasant. I can see why I didn't care for it -- the change of voice/perspective and the two plot lines twisted together, along with the less quaint time period combine to make for a different Christie book than what she is known for. It was published in the early 1960s, and despite her best efforts, I think Christie is better at writing murder mysteries set in quaint Engl
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Feb 06, 2011
Anu
rated it:
3.6/5.0
Цаг цуглуулдаг сохор эмэгтэйн гэрт гарсан хачирхалтай аллагын хэрэг хөршүүд болон цагдаагын газарын хэн болгоны сонирхолыг ихээр татна. Бүх л хөршүүдтэй ярилцаж үзсэний дараагаар үүний цаана ямар нэгэн сэтгэл зүйн асуудал байна гэдгийн ухаарсан инспектор Херкиүл Пуароугоос тусламж авахаар шийдэж түүнтэй очиж уулзана. Пуароу зөвхөн зөвлөхийн үүрэг гүйцэтгэх бөгөөд инспектор өөрөө уг хачирхалтай хэргийн цаана гарахыг оролдоно. Явцын дунд нэг гэмт хэрэг гурав болж үржих бөгөөд энэ нь х More...
Цаг цуглуулдаг сохор эмэгтэйн гэрт гарсан хачирхалтай аллагын хэрэг хөршүүд болон цагдаагын газарын хэн болгоны сонирхолыг ихээр татна. Бүх л хөршүүдтэй ярилцаж үзсэний дараагаар үүний цаана ямар нэгэн сэтгэл зүйн асуудал байна гэдгийн ухаарсан инспектор Херкиүл Пуароугоос тусламж авахаар шийдэж түүнтэй очиж уулзана. Пуароу зөвхөн зөвлөхийн үүрэг гүйцэтгэх бөгөөд инспектор өөрөө уг хачирхалтай хэргийн цаана гарахыг оролдоно. Явцын дунд нэг гэмт хэрэг гурав болж үржих бөгөөд энэ нь х More...
Jun 26, 2011
Bunxena
rated it:
An unabashed four stars for this mystery, which is thoroughly loony but in a good way. It begins with a shorthand typist named Sheila Webb, sent to a house to do some work for a client. She is instructed to wait in the sitting room if the client is out. She does so, but to her great horror finds a dead body! And the room is filled with clocks... but the owner of the house, who is blind, insists that there are only two clocks in the room. Very strange indeed!
Of course, this being a Po More...
Of course, this being a Po More...
Oct 30, 2011
Jean
rated it:
I reread this book recently. Although it features Hercules Poirot, he plays a sedentary and passive role in this murder mystery, although he still manages to solve the mystery without meeting any of the main protagonists.
The book was written in the early sixties and involves the murder of an unknown man whose body is discovered by Sheila Webb, sent on an assignment to the house from the secretarial bureau she is working for. Colin, a young secret service agent assumes the role of the More...
The book was written in the early sixties and involves the murder of an unknown man whose body is discovered by Sheila Webb, sent on an assignment to the house from the secretarial bureau she is working for. Colin, a young secret service agent assumes the role of the More...
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Nov 08, 2011
Kristen
rated it:
This falls a star short of the usual 5-star Christie novel because the resolution was far less exciting than its complex buildup. ALSO, there weren't enough Poirot scenes in it for me to fully enjoy it -- the man solved this case simply by sitting in his armchair, twirling his mustache, and spewing Alice in Wonderland riddles while some inspector and sergeant ran around collecting evidence and interviews. Having said that, I didn't get anything done the past two days cause I couldn't put this bo
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Dec 08, 2010
Bayla
rated it:
I really enjoy Agatha Christie's mysteries, but this one disappointed me. Some reasons that I was disappointed include:
Hercule Poirot was mostly absent, only entering the scene to make vague pronouncement and then to solve the mystery;
There seemed to be a lot of unconnected threads left at the end;
There were several characters that made brief cameo appearances that I would have loved to see more of; and
The solving of the mystery was an anticlimax, rather than an "o
Hercule Poirot was mostly absent, only entering the scene to make vague pronouncement and then to solve the mystery;
There seemed to be a lot of unconnected threads left at the end;
There were several characters that made brief cameo appearances that I would have loved to see more of; and
The solving of the mystery was an anticlimax, rather than an "o
