luce (cry baby)'s Reviews > The Sittaford Mystery

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3.25 stars

“What an awful place to live in England is,” thought Emily. “If it isn't snowing or raining or blowing it's misty. And if the sun does shine it's so cold that you can't feel your fingers or toes.”

The Sittaford Mystery is one of Agathat Christie’s ‘cosier’ mysteries. We have a picturesque location, a wintry atmosphere, a seance or two, and liberal doses of Christie’s signature wit.
While I was certainly entertained by the cast of characters part of me would have enjoyed this more if the whodunnit had been a tad more complex. Here the focus seems to be Emily Trefussis, someone who is definitely unlike most of Christie’s female characters as she is very proactive and demonstrates a rather cunning awareness of her own charms. In order to clear her ‘sweetheart’s’ name she forms a partnership of sorts with a young journalist and they embark on their own investigation.
Witty dialogues aside, the mystery seemed secondary to Emily’s character.
Not Christie’s best, nor her worst.