The Clocks

by Agatha Christie



Although Agatha Christie is an excellent mystery writer, this is not one of her better novels. The story starts out with the murder of an unidentifiable man. There are three witnesses to the crime: a blind woman, a young secretary, and an innocent passerby. Three clocks were left at the scene of the crime, all of them set at 4: 13. This must sound like a pretty interesting novel. I thought it would be, too. It's not, it's pitiful. The person assigned to the case is an amateur detective who falls in love with one of the suspects. The detective has no clue as to who the murderer is, so he seeks the help of a good friend - the famous Hercule Poirot. Monsieur Poirot then gives a series of meaningless clues which don't help the detective at all. He then gives up on letting the detective solve the crime on his own and blurts out all the answers to the murder. This doesn't give the reader a chance to solve the crime along with the characters. This method also doesn't provide the suspenseful feeling that great mysteries are known for.

This is one of Christie's earlier novels and her later novels are more thrilling. As for The Clocks, don't read it. It's not worth it. n



Review by S. C., Congers, NY