Upon rereading this books (some ten years after initially doing so) I had vague recollections of who the "bad guy" was, how some of the arcs played out, and that I loved the book!Even though I remembered the gist of who was good and who was bad, I was still questioning myself, "Wait, *IS* that character the bad one?" as I reread. But, in true Christie fashion, she explains it all so clearly by the end that I find myself wondering how I missed the clues early on.This is one of my favorite Christie books! I love our main character, Anne. She's spunky, intelligent, clever, and fearless. But she's also nice and sometimes a bit innocent about what she's getting herself involved in. And she's not above falling in love (albeit perhaps a bit too quickly).Our other main character, Sir Eustace Pedler, is enjoyable in his own right! Snippets of his diary are peppered throughout the tale, and he's such an entertaining, whiny, funny character, that his dynamic really adds to the story.Another aspect that helps make this book so delightful (aside from it's great mystery, and it's main setting in Africa) is that it's one of the more romantic Christie mysteries. Now, could some of the romantic scenes be viewed as a bit overdramatic? Yes. Did I care? Somehow, no! For whatever reason the drama works here, and I simply adored it!The only "negative" is that there are some rather (as we would see them now) backward ideas about women's relationships to men. It's interesting, because it seems to paint the idea that women want to be subservient to men, but in the way Christie drew the characters, I got the sense Anne would be anything but! Perhaps it was reflective of the state of the world at the time, the changes that were occurring. But, whatever the reason, there are only a few references to this, and weren't enough to deter my enjoyment of the characters overall.There's a delightful cast of characters, as is usual for Chrisite. And I was pleased that this mystery (while it did involve a few deaths) wasn't gruesome or detailed. More of a "who dunnit" solved by place, access, and character.It was one of my favorite Christie tales ten years ago. And it still is!I might not wait ten years to read it again :)Started re-reading on July 2, 2013...wow... I can hardly believe it was ten years ago I read this!!!***Originally Read January 2003***A great mystery filled with great characters! It is set in Africa I believe and it filled with possible "bad guys" out of the various travelers. Sorrry I can't offer more... it's been a while since I read it, but I did love it!
BOTTOM LINE: all the expected bells’n’whistles, but everything is done superbly, with a very light hand, especially for the time. Of its type, this is “First Class!”.After several suspicious occurrences, the recently orphaned Miss Anne Beddingfield winds up on a mysterious boat to South Africa, along with spies and crooks and A Genius of Crime, well, sort of. But this young lady has brains and courage, and is determined to figure out all the angles by herself, despite the help of a bumbling older gentleman and a society matron who might themselves be involved in all the evil doings. And then there’s the gorgeous-but-nasty hunk who saves her life (but only after she first saves his). In his first book Colonel Race is mainly a quiet foil for all the goings-on although he, like every other male she meets, falls for the lovely Anne. This is a totally improbable, completely lovely, over-the-top pastiche with a fast-moving, entertaining plot of its own and some rather good characters, especially Anne; Race remains a cipher, though.This early Christie shows her with tongue firmly placed in cheek, and a good sense of what her audience wanted. It’s a lovely rip at a style of book that was extremely popular at the time - beset-upon young heroines undergoing thrilling adventures and finding romance; come to think about it, that style of writing is still popular... The wonderful “catch” in this one is that young Anne Beddingfield is nobody’s fool, nor an easy prey for a lover either - she’s smart and brave, determined to make her own way in the world. [Note: Elizabeth Peters’ is obviously a fan - her first "Amelia" story CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK, 1975, refers lovingly (and often) to this classic.]
Do You like book The Man In The Brown Suit (2015)?
Book Description: Anne Beddingfeld longs for adventure, like the heroines in her favorite novels. When a stranger falls to his death, she realizes that the man who says he's a doctor is actually riffling through the dead man's pockets...and, as he hurries away, he accidentally drops a cryptic note. The death is ruled an accident, but Anne decides to investigate in hopes of finding her adventure.The note indicates that something is going to happen on a certain cruise ship that is sailing to South Africa, so she buys a ticket and joins the cruise. Her sea-sickness doesn't suit her idea of a heroine, and she decides being tied up is rather uncomfortable, but she gets more adventure--and suspects--than she bargained for.My Review: "The Man in the Brown Suit" is a historical mystery. It pokes fun at the heroine adventure stories of the time and is meant to be funny, though not overly so.The story was written as a contemporary mystery, so it's not heavy on the historical detail though there's enough detail to visualize and understand what's going on. The characters were varied and engaging. The suspense was mainly created by wondering whodunit since the heroine never seemed overly concerned even when she was facing physical danger.The mystery was interesting. Whodunit was guessable--we're given a vital clue at the end, very near to the big reveal. However, the clue wasn't obvious and I suspect few people catch that clue.There were no sex scenes. There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this engaging, entertaining mystery.
—Debbie
Utter, thrilling, nonsensical fun!One of her earliest novels, possibly her first foray out of detection and into her crowning weakness, international crime syndicates. I knew exactly what to expect and therefore was completely satisfied.Although the story was written almost 90 years ago, there really is very little to make it feel so. The constant humorous nudges and winks of Anne Beddingfield longing to be an adventuress ("It doesn't happen like this in The Perils of Pamela", etc) are cheeky enough to remind us that people have always found these things a little bit silly, and that of course this isn't meant to be realistic or serious. In fact, it has the distinct feeling of someone testing the waters, plotting well but not outrageously, leaving ample clues for the reader and without any REAL surprises as to the identity of the shadowy master-criminal, but still with her trademark last twist (just when you thought things couldn't get any twistier, you know the one). It's almost as though someone said to her 'I bet you can't write a bloody silly adventure story with diamond thefts, unidentified murderers, South African settings and triple-crossing cross-dressing underlings,' and she said 'I bet I can,' and churned this out in a month.It was the most simple, enjoyable fun I've had with her books in quite a while. Four stars! Hurrah!
—Leah
This is part of a group of books that Agatha wrote early in her career. The detectives were not Hercule or Miss M., but a series of young, witty, Evelyn Waugh types from post World War I England who solved mysteries as amateurs. I loved them all. Unlike Hercule, these flappers and their male cohorts got into real trouble, were threatened with death at several points, traveled to foreign countries (as in this one), and were witty all the way through. In this tale, Anne Beddingfield (sp) travels to South Africa and gets into all kinds of scrapes, and of course solves the mystery, which revolves, as I recall, around diamonds. As always, the resolution of the mystery was a complete surprise. A delight.
—Heidi
