Agatha Christie Lovers discussion
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which 2 books had a child as the murderer?
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Interesting article! The graphs are very thorough.However, I think you've misread the child murderer analysis. It's true, there are two of them marked on the graphs, but it's Crooked House which was published in the 1940s (1949, to be precise), and the murder method was poisoning. That means that the other child murderer used a gun, their motivation was inheritance, and the book was published sometime in the 1960s (I think - it's hard to tell precisely from the graph). I honestly can't remember which book this might be, though I've read them all (admittedly, some of them I read decades ago). I'm really curious now! Does anyone else remember which book this is?
Indeed you are correct! I misremembered the method of and reason for the murder(s) in Crooked House. And the chart does show the unknown other one to be written in the 1960s. THANK YOU for taking on this mystery journey with me. Can't tell you how good it was to get your clarification. I've been sick for 9 months with long-haul COVID and about all I can do is read in bed. So I was getting obsessed with this "puzzle."Now to search for the 1960s book in which a child shot the victim for inheritance. Any help still very welcome.
I think I found it. At Bertram's Hotel in which Elvira Blake shot and killed Gorman and for which the reason was inheritance. What do you think?
I do like what they already have but I wish the chart analysis additionally had a matrix format with the titles and actual dates, so wouldn't have to guess.
Oh yes, you're right, it must be Elvira Blake in At Bertram's Hotel! I didn't think of her at all, since she's in her late teens in the book, so I didn't consider her a 'child' at all. I really should have remembered this one, as I reread this book just three years ago. Guess it was a really forgettable one. But then again, many of Christie's later works (in the 60s and 70s) are pretty forgettable.I initially thought the other child murderer must have been in Halloween Party, as I remembered that a young girl was a major character in that, but when I glanced through the book again, I remembered that she wasn't the murderer, but rather a witness to a murder.
Yes, the graphs in the analysis are nice, but a little too abstract. And they should have provided the names of the books - not directly on the graphs, as that would spoil anyone who hasn't read all the books, but at least in a list or table along with the article.
I wish there was a way to "like" your reply. Anyway *like*:-)
I too thought over Halloween Party and then also remembered it was not a child.
Here's a *like* for you as well! :)Thanks for the interesting conversation! It gave me a chance to do some sleuthing of my own - very lowkey sleuthing, compared to the kind in Dame Christie's books, but still! And it was fun going through some of my old Christie books again.
According to this analysis (behind a paywall but viewable in an incognito Chrome browser window):
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featur...
In two Agatha Christie books, a child was the murderer. In one (which is Crooked House) for revenge and used a gun. According to the analysis, another book had a child as the murderer, for inheritance, and done with poisoning. The approximate publication date was mid 1940s. Does anyone know what that book is?