The Unexpected Guest

A cripple lies murdered in a wheelchair and the wife is holding the revolver in a house where almost everybody has a motive to be the killer. But interestingly, a stranger who is stranded due to his car getting into a ditch, stumbles upon the household and plans a misdirection for the authorities to save the wife of the charges. But will the truth be so easy to hide? Will the murderer get away? As the story progresses, the apparent clear case seems to develop in a mysterious murder which is actually noted in the excerpt of Osborne's analysis on Christie fictions annexed as a standalone chapter. The mystery was well conceived though the climactic twist seemed a bit too bland. This novelisation suffers from the fact that the author could not give an original touch in places where it seems more like a play rather than a novel.

Black Coffee

Poirot’s fussiness to neatness and order could not have been better utilized than this narrative as an immensely important clue is due to that which is pointed out by Hastings surprisingly. Adapted from Christie’s play, the story is set in a single room where a curious murder occurs and the murderer seems seemingly obvious. But with the signature Christie twist the perspective is suddenly changed by the detective. A case of poisoning and theft, the mystery must be solved before the evidence is destroyed and the stolen goods recovered before it falls in wrong hands. A sublime suspense reigns throughout where each suspects the other and it remains to be seen how the secrets are unraveled and misunderstandings cleared.

Spider's Web

Based on the play of Christie, Spider's Web is an interesting murder mystery novelised by Charles Osborne. Owing to its source, the settings of the narrative makes it less a novel than a multi act play. But with that too, the story is full of suspense interspersed with humour - the original being categorized aptly in the tailpiece as a comedy-thriller - with a signature Christie twist at the climax. It all starts when the wife of a Government official, stumbles upon a body, clearly the victim of a murder, in their library. The man is found to be a sleazy drug dealer and an womanizer, intenseley loathed by her step daughter. To protect the immediate suspect, the daughter of her husband, she tries to take the help of three of her visitors in dumping off the body and concocts a story to support their alibi. But before being able to carry out the part, a mysterious caller informs the police about the murder. As the police arrives and holds an inquest, the situation becomes more confused as each tries to make a story of their own. It becomes more complicated as the body seems to vanish as the medical officer arrives. The house itself, filled with camouflaged passages and furnitures with secret recesses, makes the investigation still more complex. Added to this is the absence of any apparent motive. The backdrop thus set the suspense is heightened and it remains upon the innocents to prove what is wrong and which is right. A very enthralling mystery where the web is woven with care it remains a refreshing read by virtue of its unique style of storytelling.