At Bertram's Hotel by
Agatha Christie
hbk out September 02
Published by HarperCollins
at £16.99
This delightful story benefits from a memorable setting in the eponymous Mayfair
hotel, which Christie based on Brown's. Jane Marple has come up there for a holiday
and needless to say she soon finds herself involved in a mysterious case all the more
startling for its civilised atmosphere. The book boasts a nicely varied cast, including
the remarkable Bess Sedgwick ( a former member of the French Resistance and ex-
racing driver) anxious old Canon Pennyfather, and a likeable cop, Chief Inspector
'Father' Davy. The plot ranks as one of Christie's more outlandish efforts and she is
rather less generous with her clues than in her major novels. Nevertheless, this is a fun
read.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
