The Man In The Brown Suit By Agatha Christie

ISBN: 0007265182

Published By Harper Collins

This facsimile edition published Nov 2007

We leave Poirot and Hastings for a while, and we meet Anne Beddingfield. Anne grew up in a small village, looking after her father. She longs to find out what is out there in the world, and dreams of adventure. Then her father dies, leaving her alone in the world. She witnesses an accident on the tube when a man steps backwards onto the rails. She finds the whole incident very curious and decides to investigate. A trail of information leads here to Southampton and onto a ship destined for South Africa. On board are a range of dodgy types, any of whom could be up to no good. In South Africa she finds that she is mixed up in organized crime. 

Anne is what could be termed as a "plucky young gal" and she has quite an adventure! The plot moves along at rapid pace, and there really is never a dull moment. The usual Christie red herrings are back with real style, and one characters actions in particular must have been quite shocking at the time of writing. 

Apart from the traditional murder which no Christie would be complete without, we have theft and blackmail, not to mention political unrest all set in against the wonderful landscape of South Africa. 

This book is much more of a thriller than a whodunnit, but it no less enjoyable for that. In fact, this has to be my favourite Christie to date, which is surprising given that it isn't a english country house murder. I read most of this on the train to and from work, and several times I was so wrapped up in international intrigue that I nearly missed my stop. That has to be a sign of a good book!