OCT/NOV 04 - AudioFile
Hugh Fraser, known to TV audiences as Captain Hastings on “Mystery’s” Hercule Poirot series, has once again recorded a vintage Christie detective story. This story could have been titled THE CASE OF THE MURDERED DENTIST except that the author was going through her phase of using nursery rhyme titles to give clues. (First clue, “buckle.”) Hugh Fraser does a passably good job of presenting the great Belgian detective, although one misses David Suchet’s portrayal. Fraser's delivery is well paced, the diction clear, and the characters well delineated. This classic mystery has stood the test of time. Audio listeners will enjoy hearing an old favorite. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
New York Herald Tribune
This is major Christie.
Library Journal
The Secret of Chimneys (1925), Christie's third novel, comes from the period when romance was almost as important to her as crime. Each of the guests at Chimneys, a country estate, is suspected of the murder of a foreign nobleman. Two of the accused, a young widowed aristocrat and a young man of seemingly dubious background, find themselves falling in love as they join forces to solve the case. Blackmail, a politician's memoirs, and a notorious thief, are mixed expertly into the highly entertaining plot. A French detective and a no-nonsense English cop seem to be prototypes for Hercule Poirot and Inspector Japp, who look into the puzzling death of Hercule's dentist in One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, from 1940. Hercule must solve the crime while preventing further deaths, with prominent financier Alistair Blunt a much-threatened target. As wonderful as Hugh Fraser is as Captain Hastings in the television adaptations of the Poirot tales, he is even better as the reader of both novels. Highly recommended for popular collections.-Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
From the Publisher
A swift course of unflagging suspense leads to a complete surprise.” — New York Times
“This is major Christie.” — New York Herald Tribune
New York Times
A swift course of unflagging suspense leads to a complete surprise.
OCT/ NOV 04 - AudioFile
Hugh Fraser, known to TV audiences as Captain Hastings on “Mystery’s” Hercule Poirot series, has once again recorded a vintage Christie detective story. This story could have been titled THE CASE OF THE MURDERED DENTIST except that the author was going through her phase of using nursery rhyme titles to give clues. (First clue, “buckle.”) Hugh Fraser does a passably good job of presenting the great Belgian detective, although one misses David Suchet’s portrayal. Fraser's delivery is well paced, the diction clear, and the characters well delineated. This classic mystery has stood the test of time. Audio listeners will enjoy hearing an old favorite. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
