From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle, #1)

Agatha Christie

Start date: June 1, 2021

Finish date: June 30, 2021

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Why we're reading this: Next in our Assorted Christies challenge.
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* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
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Jun 21, 2010 Nancy Oakes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction-uk, crime-fiction, classic-mystery-fiction

The Secret of Chimneys is the first Christie novel to feature Superintendent Battle, who will, over the course of his career, be the featured detective in two more mysteries, The Seven Dials Mystery and Toward Zero. Battle, however, takes second place to one Anthony Cade, who, when we first meet him, works as a tour guide in Africa. At a bar one day Cade meets an old buddy, James McGrath, who has been tasked with the delivery of the memoirs of the now-dead Count Stylptitch of Herzoslovakia to a The Secret of Chimneys is the first Christie novel to feature Superintendent Battle, who will, over the course of his career, be the featured detective in two more mysteries, The Seven Dials Mystery and Toward Zero. Battle, however, takes second place to one Anthony Cade, who, when we first meet him, works as a tour guide in Africa. At a bar one day Cade meets an old buddy, James McGrath, who has been tasked with the delivery of the memoirs of the now-dead Count Stylptitch of Herzoslovakia to a London publishing firm. But McGrath has decided to seek his fortune in the gold fields, and offers Cade a tidy sum to go to England with the memoirs and a stash of letters that could be blackmail fodder for an unsuspecting Virginia Revel. Cade is off to England, and finds himself caught up between two sides of a touchy political situation. He also finds that he is a target of some very nasty people who are trying to get both the memoirs and the letters. The situation leads him to a house called Chimneys, the home of Lord Caterham, his daughter Bundle, and various diplomats and others interested in the political situation in Herzoslovakia. Upon his arrival, Cade finds himself as a chief suspect in the death of Prince Michael Obolovitch, the heir to the Herzoslovakian throne and negotiator of British oil interests in that country. Enter Superintendent Battle and the hunt for the murderer begins.

As with most Christie novels, there are plenty of suspects, an abundance of motives, and an interesting array of lead characters. Unlike most of her stories, this one is filled with political intrigue, and the reader has to digest the background story of the country of Herzoslovakia before really delving into the mystery. This may be a bit off-putting to regular Christie readers, but it's worth the time and effort to get the story and the list of who's who regarding that nation as it sets an important backdrop to the various criminal activity throughout the book. It is rather complicated and at times convoluted, but still an interesting read, with a lovely twist at the end.

If I were a reader who has decided that he or she would like to read through the Christie novels, I would not want to start with this one, since imho, it doesn't deliver the best Christie has to offer. My advice: read through the Poirots and the Marples, then tackle the others for something just a bit different. ...more

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May 10, 2021 Susan in NC rated it liked it

3.5-4 stars, most of it was 4 stars, fun sense of adventure, with several witty, interesting characters, but the end dragged on a bit, seemed rather obvious, through process of elimination, who was who. Surprisingly, for a Christie, I’m used to her clever twists at the end. In all fairness, we did get one big reveal, a famous jewel thief - but since he was never a main plot point, and we never met him, it felt sort of “meh”.

Hero Anthony Cade, presented as a dashing English adventurer abroad at t 3.5-4 stars, most of it was 4 stars, fun sense of adventure, with several witty, interesting characters, but the end dragged on a bit, seemed rather obvious, through process of elimination, who was who. Surprisingly, for a Christie, I’m used to her clever twists at the end. In all fairness, we did get one big reveal, a famous jewel thief - but since he was never a main plot point, and we never met him, it felt sort of “meh”.

Hero Anthony Cade, presented as a dashing English adventurer abroad at the beginning, does gather everyone for a climactic ending, a la Poirot, but otherwise the story leaned heavily on the international intrigues apparently popular with mystery and thriller writers of the 1920s. The Reading the Detectives group is doing Assorted Christies this year, each month reading a non-Poirot or non-Marple mystery. We’ve seen this international angle a few times this year already, with The Man in the Brown Suit, and The Secret Adversary. This book I found as entertaining as those two adventure thrillers (rather than mysteries), until the end. It wasn’t bad, I don’t think Christie could write a bad book, for me! It just didn’t feel as fresh and exciting as the previous two books.

Cade is asked to deliver a manuscript to England by a friend, another adventurer in Africa. He’s been working as a tour guide, getting bored stiff with his fellow English folk abroad; his friend’s errand sounds like easy money, with just enough challenge to keep it interesting - the manuscript is the memoir of a deceased Eastern European diplomat who was at the center of several crises, and different factions want to get hold of them before publication. Within hours of docking in England, he’s approached by two groups, and a third attempts to burgle his hotel room in the night!

Cade meets a charming society widow, who had been in the Central European country as a diplomat’s wife. I’d hardly call it a “meet cute” as it involved getting rid of a dead body, but it was interesting! All parties converge on Chimneys, a historic estate where great diplomatic and business meetings of import have long been held - there is an assassination of a prince, diplomatic wrangling over oil rights, a diamond gone amiss, a French Surete inspector lurking, a mysterious American, and Inspector Battle of Scotland Yard. Along with the long-suffering Lord Caterham, current owner of Chimneys who simply wants to be left alone, and forget about all the diplomatic intriguing under his roof! Battle and Caterham are two favorite characters. I also enjoyed the observant, snarky Bundle, daughter of the house, and Cade’s love interest, the smart and charming Virginia Ravel.

There was an awful lot going on in this one, and some great humor; maybe that’s why I was a bit disappointed in the end. I think I read this one sometime in the distant past, so for this reread I listened to the audiobook, excellently narrated, as always, by Hugh Fraser. ...more

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May 11, 2012 Becky rated it really liked it

I definitely enjoyed The Secret of Chimneys. I picked this one up because I accidentally read The Seven Dials Mystery first. When I learned that Seven Dials Mystery starred so many characters first introduced in The Secret of Chimneys, I knew I would have to read this one right away!!! If I loved Seven Dials so, so, much, I knew I would probably love this one too. And I did enjoy it. And I definitely loved the characters, I probably would have loved them anyway even if I hadn't already known the ...more

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Mar 04, 2009 Laura Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: espionage, mystery, british-isles

My least favorite of Agatha Christie's interbellum political-intrigue thrillers; some fun and I enjoyed seeing the characters that later appear in The Seven Dials Mystery, but it relies on one outlandish coincidence too many for my taste. ...more

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Feb 27, 2022 Sarah Niebuhr Rubin rated it really liked it

Shelves: mysteries

A good puzzle, with multiple crimes that don't seem related, fun twists, and a full cast of characters. For a series related to a police superintendent, it has a surprising number of sleuths both amateur and professional, and a focus more on the experiences of those other characters than on Superintendent Battle.

I'm ashamed by the simple passing racism that is part of the period. This is a known issue with Agatha Christie books: see for example https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/2.... ...more

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Jan 29, 2022 Glenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2022-reads

A very English mystery. This was my first Agatha Christie book, although I have seen a few that were turned into movies, and I was thoroughly impressed. The characters were humorous and quirky. The storyline had little romances intermixed within the mystery storyline here and there, just enough to spark interest and get the blood pumping without being weird or overdone. All in all, I loved it, it was very engaging until the end.

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