Sparkling Cyanide - Agatha Christie

 

Six people reunite to remember beautiful Rosemary Barton, who died nearly a year before. The loving sister, the long-suffering husband, the devoted secretary, the lovers, the betrayed wife - none of them can forget Rosemary.

But did one of them murder her?

Blurb taken from Goodreads. 

*

I know, I know. I say it an awful, lot. I'm an enormous fan of the Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie. Amazingly, for somebody who talks about her novels so much, I still have many of her books left to read, and my most recent was Sparkling Cyanide.

I didn't know much about this story before I started reading it, but I had heard mainly positive things, When I started reading, I loved the structure of the narrative, the simplicity of the story. I think it takes a true master to create such a simple and elegant story. I would have liked to see a little more elaborate plot, purely because that's my taste, but I think this would be a wonderful introduction for many into the world of Agatha Christie

Rating: ✫✫✫✫

The Story

As soon as I started reading, I noticed the interesting structure of the first half of the book, and I thought it was so clever. We meet all of the different characters individually and separately before we see them come together; their reflections and musings about how they perceived the events surrounding Rosemary's death a year before. Only once we've been introduced to this inside circle do we get any new events happening in the plot.

This was an interesting approach that very rarely happens in Christie's novels, as we very often have so many suspects and it's a bit of a challenge to keep up with them. Immediately, it felt like a really straightforward read. However, one element that remained that I was really pleased to see was the closed circuit motif; a closed group of suspects that we know the culprit lies within. With such a range of varied and largely likeable characters, this was used to great effect in Sparkling Cyanide. 

The plot of the book uses both retrospect and current events to tell the story, which made for an interesting dynamic. There were lots of small details to keep an eye out for, and lots of red herrings which is a wonderful way to keep the story interesting. Because the plot is so very simple in this novel, I was keeping a really keen eye on each and every small detail, and it was fun to try and piece it all together. The simplicity of the plot actually felt so elegant and streamlined, which is something that doesn't always happen with Christie's work. I'm so used to the crazily layered plots of Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and Crooked House, and this was really far removed from these! I did have a hunch what was going on because there was so little to work with, and I did miss the wild puzzle mysteries that Christie is able to create. However, this was a very carefully put together story that really held up under heavy scrutiny, which I think was a job well done.

The Verdict

Sparkling Cyanide featured some classic Agatha Christie staples that I really appreciated: a close circle of suspects, a murder in retrospect, and a cast of really intriguing characters. On top of this, the narrative was so streamlined that it's definitely one of the most elegant stories I've read.

I do think I would have liked to have seen a few more layers to the story, because compared to some of Christie's stories, this was very simplistic. However, the stripped back nature means this would probably be a fantastic starting point for readers who are new to her work.