March 24: The Invisible Host - SPOILER Thread - (1930)

[Susan]

Welcome to our March 24 group read of The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning, first published in 1930.

The Invisible Host is the first novel published by the husband and wife team of Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning. The tale of murder was based on a facetious scheme to get rid of a neighbor whose raucous radio disturbed them day and night.

New Orleans, 1930. Eight guests are invited to a party at a luxurious penthouse apartment, yet on arrival it turns out that no one knows who their mysterious host actually is. The latter does not openly appear, but instead communicates with the guests by radio broadcast. What he has to tell his guests is chilling: that every hour, one of them will die. Despite putting the guests on their guard, the Host's prophecy starts to come horribly true, each demise occurring in bizarre fashion. As the dwindling band of survivors grows increasingly tense, their confessions to each other might explain why they have been chosen for this macabre evening-and invoke the nightmarish thought that the mysterious Host is one of them. The burning question becomes: will any of the party survive, including the Host . . . ?

The Invisible Host (1930) established one of the best-loved and most durable forms in classic mystery fiction. It was famously to reappear in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (1939). How much Christie's novel is indebted to its predecessor is open to conjecture (and the subject is discussed in the new introduction, by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans). Whatever the verdict, readers will delight in The Invisible Host, an innovative and most unusual mystery from the golden age of crime fiction. It was adapted into a play, and a Hollywood movie as The Ninth Guest (1934).

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

[Susan]

I really liked this and was interested to read the introduction and how Christie probably saw the stage version, rather than read the book.

One of the things that I felt made Christie's version creepier, was the fact her 'guests' were strangers, whereas all those in this mystery were known to each other. It gave them motives, but it also allowed for alliances and bonds.

[Judy]

I've just finished this and thought it was fantastic - I read the whole thing straight off. It's so incredibly tense and fast-moving. Must say I personally liked it better than Christie's version, although I know I'll be in a minority there!

I was slightly puzzled that we don't find out who the deceased "ninth guest" is, unless I missed something?

[Susan]

He was the electrician who set up the apartment, if I recall correctly?

I much preferred Christie's version, but I did really enjoy this and thought it was very readable. I've meant to read it for ages and I am pleased I did so.

[Judy]

Ah, OK, so he was just collateral damage, so to speak? Thanks, Susan. :)

[Jill]

I do think it started well and captured the atmosphere and hopelessness of the people invited to the so-called party. I did find it quite scary at the start and it was going well as a mystery, but towards the end I felt it got a bit silly. A good read but obviously Christie (The Queen of Mysteries) improved on the plot no end.

[Susan]

Where this fell down a little in my mind was in the bizarre deaths, which relied on characters gripping the arms of chairs, etc.

I thought Christie's island gave the characters more space to roam and get shoved off a cliff or whacked with an axe. It was creepier, but then again, this was easy to stage or film, as it took place in a small space.

They are both good in my opinion.

[Susan in NC]

Susan wrote: "Where this fell down a little in my mind was in the bizarre deaths, which relied on characters gripping the arms of chairs, etc.

I thought Christie's island gave the characters more space to roam ..."

I agree, the deaths seemed overly theatrical and relied a lot on coincidence. I felt Christie’s set up of past crimes and guilty consciences coming home to roost, plus the dreadful but ambiguous ending were more effective, for leaving the reader unsure of what just happened, and who did it! This story was incredibly claustrophobic, effective and creepy, but revealing the killer in the end, and the difficult, kind of silly ending show the peril of writing oneself into a corner, I thought!

But absolutely, both were good - and I could see this being an excellent stage play, with all the action taking place in just a couple rooms - truly the cocktail party from hell!

[Susan]

One device both books use well are the location though. Christie with her modern and luxurious house - not the usual creepy mansion. this book with the Bienville Building, a magnificent and modern skyscraper. Murders in places built for opulence and comfort are more jarring. The penthouse apartment was used well too, with those enclosed in the party able to see the lights of other buildings around them, but unable to contact help.

[Vanessa]

I thought this was good fun. The pacing was a bit inconsistent, but I loved the tone. I normally don't mind when we get a big info dump at the end explaining everything, but this one went on a bit too long for me.

I like Christie's book more, but I'm not having an easy time comparing them except for their basic plot.

[Sandy]

Very interesting precursor to 'And Then There Were None' and, in many ways, better (but I am not a great fan of ATTWN). I thought that it started great but then dragged a bit with all the accusations and rebuttals. I liked that the party guests knew one another and could each find, first a reason for being invited, and second a reason why someone would want to kill them.

However, I knocked off a star as some of the dialogue, including the explanation, went on too long and may of the killing methods were unlikely. And I didn't understand how the murderer could change records!

The ending was excellent: Peter figuring out the murderer, Jean recognizing the pen's danger and finally the two of them escaping without having to explain their presence. The police will have the confession to solve the crime.

[Susan in NC]

Great points - and I did like the ending better, as I felt the police would have the confession and the two survivors to explain what happened (bizarre as it was).

[Sandy]

Susan in NC wrote: "Great points - and I did like the ending better, as I felt the police would have the confession and the two survivors to explain what happened (bizarre as it was)."

I doubt those two survivors would come forward voluntarily!

[Judy]

I liked the ending of this book better as well, although the explanations went on for a long time!

[Neer]

I thought Jean and Peter should not have been able to escape. Sort of more fitting that way but perhaps the authors wanted some sort of romance between the two (hatred turning into love after this ordeal).

[Neer]

If you have read the edition with Curtis Evans' introduction, did you feel Bill Prozini was fawning a little too much over Christie? Saying that great minds like her do not seek inspiration from other people's works. Christie was undoubtedly a genius but Prozini's statement was so vomit-inducing.