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The Sittaford Mystery

Agatha Christie

Start date: December 1, 2021

Finish date: December 31, 2021

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The last title 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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What Members Thought

Nov 24, 2017 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it really liked it

Shelves: british, mystery, murder, standalone, agatha-christie

2021 Review:
The Sittaford Mystery (or The Murder at Hazelmoor), a standalone by the Queen of Crime, first published in 1931, is a quite perfect read for the season with a murder in a snowed-in English village difficult to navigate, a fair few suspects, and a touch of spookiness!

Our story opens in the small village of Sittaford in Dartmoor, where a retired Navyman, Captain Joe Trevelyan had built six cottages, one, Sittaford House for himself and five others which he has sold to others, among the 2021 Review:
The Sittaford Mystery (or The Murder at Hazelmoor), a standalone by the Queen of Crime, first published in 1931, is a quite perfect read for the season with a murder in a snowed-in English village difficult to navigate, a fair few suspects, and a touch of spookiness!

Our story opens in the small village of Sittaford in Dartmoor, where a retired Navyman, Captain Joe Trevelyan had built six cottages, one, Sittaford House for himself and five others which he has sold to others, among them his best friend Major Burnaby. Captain Trevelyan is very fond of money and never loses an opportunity to make some, so when Mrs Willet and her daughter, Violet, recently arrived from South Africa, offer to rent his home, the Captain is happy to oblige and himself moves to a smaller house, Hazelmoor down the hill in Exhampton, making a tidy profit. The Willets who are fairly social invite others from Sittaford for tea and bridge, and among their guests is Major Burnaby. For entertainment, one of the guests suggests a ‘table turning’. But after some fun messages, one of the ‘ghosts’ that visits them announces that Captain Trevelyan is dead—murdered, leaving all the guests unsettled. Major Burnaby is shaken as well, and decides to walk down to Trevelyan’s cottage (despite the impending snowstorm) and take a look. He finds that Trevelyan has in fact been murdered.

The police led by Inspector Narracott investigate. It seems at first that the Captain had no enemies, but it emerges that he was tight with his money because of which many in his own family bore him grudges. Soon his nephew James Pearson, who was in the village at the time (and had in fact visited Trevelyan to seek a loan) is arrested. But James’ fiancée Emily Trefusis knows he is innocent (for he doesn’t have the guts to kill) and teams up with enterprising reporter Charles Enderby to prove James innocent. The two begin to talk to Trevelyan’s relations and others in the village, and uncover some secrets. But do they track down the killer?

This was an enjoyable mystery with plenty of subplots and red herrings to throw one off track. Since this was a reread for me, I knew whodunit (I don’t think I guessed the first time around), and was keeping a look out for clues. Christie is fair and does give us various hints along the way. One incident though seemed the result of chance or coincidence, though, and I am not sure how things would have played out without it. But still, I had forgotten some of the subplots and threads, so it was interesting to follow those.

In the book Christie also gives us plenty of interesting characters. In Emily Trefusis we have a rather spunky Christie heroine, who undertakes to travel to isolated and snowed-in Sittaford and solve the mystery on her own. She uses not only her intelligence (which she has plenty of) and also ability to manipulate people (Charles, in particular) to do her bidding to manage to speak to various people involved and get help in the things she can’t do on her own. With Emily’s story we also have a romance thread, and a bit of a mystery as to whom she will pick for more than one character becomes interested in her. Another standout was the intelligent invalid lady Mis Percehouse, who might have a sharp tongue but turns out quite a likeable person. She takes to and helps Emily (she also has a bunch of cats, one of whom is called the Emperor of Peru).

But while Emily is investigating, Inspector Narracott isn’t turned into a background character, nor the typical policeman in mysteries who is lost or clueless. He too is fairly sharp and uncovers plenty of information; both investigations proceed side-by-side, complementing each other.

While not among Christie’s best mysteries, this was one I enjoyed a lot, for its atmosphere, characters, and plot too (aside form a few niggles).

3.75 stars

2017 Review
Major Burnaby who has gone to visit with his neighbours the Willets finds himself participating in “tableturning” but after a harmless bit of fun, the “spirits” inform them that Captain Tevelyan has been murdered. Navy Captain Joe Trevelyan had retired to the small village of Sittaford in Dartmoor where he built six houses, one of which he occupied himself, and the rest sold to others, among them Major Burnaby his closest friend. The Captain’s only flaws seem reclusiveness and a fondness for money, the latter having led him to let his own house to the Willets for the winter and take up residence elsewhere. When Major Burnaby trudges through the thick snow to put himself at ease and ensure Trevelyan is safe, he finds that the séance was in fact right, and the Captain has been murdered. Captain Trevelyan had no enemies but was a very rich man, so of course those who stand to inherit are in the net of suspicion. When the police find his nephew James Pearson visited him just around the time the incident happened and was desperate for money, they are not long in arresting him. But Jim’s fiancé, Emily Trefusis knows even if he isn’t straightforward in all his dealings, he is not capable of murder and sets out to clear his name, along the way enlisting the help of journalist Charles Enderby who was in Sittaford for another purpose but jumps at the chance of the scoop of a lifetime.

Emily is a very likeable heroine full of spunk and gumption, she knows what she needs to do and gets it done, not being above a bit of manipulation. Charles Enderby is eager to be of assistance (even when it means being outdoors in the middle of the night in frozen weather) and even the Inspector is happy to oblige with information which he wouldn’t probably reveal to any other. It was great fun “watching” Emily as she approaches the Captain’s relations and Sittaford residents finding out all she needs to know, and some that she probably doesn’t. Miss Percehouse was another character I thought good fun, shrewd and also in some ways like Emily, despite being an invalid.

As is usual with Christie, there are various plotlines side by side. Everyone has something to hide but which of these has something to do with Captain Trevelyan’s murder? One pretty much needs to read to the end to find out. This was another one where I didn’t guess the murderer or the motive, for that matter. (I tried thinking up the most fantastic solution I could come up with, but it turned out to be just that, and completely wrong, though there was a “secret” in that quarter as well). The atmosphere is icy, there are secrets galore, even an escaped convict loose on the moors, all together making for very entertaining reading. ...more

33 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2021 Susan rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is a stand-alone mystery by Agatha Christie. It begins when the new tenants of Sittaford House invite their neighbours for tea. During the visit, table turning is suggested instead of bridge and, during the seance a message says that Major Trevelyan (the man who owns Sittaford House and is renting it to Mrs Willett and her daughter Violet, the current tenants) has been murdered. One of the guests, Major Burnaby, is a close friend of Major Trevalyan, and despite the snow and bad weather, hea ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Oct 03, 2017 Kavita rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, uk, golden-age-mystery

When the remote village of Sittaford gets snowed in, the residents set up an ouija board. It is then that they get a message claiming Captain Trevalyan is dead. Major Burnaby, who has never missed a Thursday chess session with his friend in several years before this evening, gets creeped out, and decides to go check on the Captain. When he arrives there, the man is dead. Who murdered him? Why was he killed?

Inspector Narracott investigates the case as does the fiancee of the man who ends up in pr ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2021 Lady Wesley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-golden-age-or-similar, listened, time-for-a-re-read, 2021-faves

Review of the audiobook narrated by Hugh Fraser

I had not read this book before, nor had I seen the television adaptation. As it turns out, The Sittaford Mystery is now one of my favorite Christie books. I loved the atmosphere, the characters, and the cleverness.

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 08, 2021 Christine PNW rated it really liked it

Funny that this one never managed to get marked as read, since this is at least the fourth time I've read it.

From my perspective, this book gets better every time I read it. Emily Trefusis is just as wonderful on the fourth read as she was the first time I "met" her. Chief Inspector Narracott is more stoically capable; Charles Enderby just as delightfully obtuse. The mystery is almost beside the point here, a mere trifle in comparison to the character sketches, the wonderful snowy setting, and ...more

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Sep 23, 2015 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-as-an-audiobook

Classic Christie.

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2021 Frances rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was one of my favourites of Christie's stand-alone novels. A snowed-in village, a supernatural message foretelling a murder, an obvious suspect, a village full of chatty information/clue providers, an enterprising and beautiful young woman trying to clear her fiancé, a sensible Chief-Inspector, all make for an enjoyable read with the usual brilliant plotting and fun characters we expect from Dame Agatha. ...more

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Aug 28, 2019 Pranit rated it liked it

Shelves: agatha-christie

A lot of things going on in this story and one keeps thinking who the real culprit is. However, due to the subdued explanation of the characters and their behaviour, in the end, it went from 4 stars to 3 stars.

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May 03, 2021 Sarah G rated it it was amazing

Simply splendid!

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Apr 15, 2017 dmayr rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-in-vintage, books-i-liked, crime-mysteries-and-whodunits, murder-in-the-village

A feisty heroine who doesn't just fall into the arms of any man, interesting characters and plenty of motives. Liked this better than the first time. ...more

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