The Secret of Chimneys, the first Superintendent Battle novel, is more a thriller than a murder mystery. I’m a mystery fan, so I’m a bit on the slow side to appreciate her thrillers. Most of her thrillers are national and international political intrigues, which she doesn’t write well. All the more reason to feel negatively towards her thrillers. However, I was surprisingly pleased with this thriller. There were things I felt remiss, of course, but overall, things were good enough to keep me engaged.
I’ll simply say what I liked about this novel. I liked the hero and heroine – Anthony Cade and Virginia Revel. It was an instinctive liking, and they didn’t disappoint me. And I thoroughly enjoyed the humour. The story, however, was far-fetched, almost amounting to a fairy tale, but it still held a certain fascination for me. I’m a person who goes for plausible plots, proper mysteries, and solutions. 🙂 But nothing mattered here. What mattered were the characters and the humour.
What I wasn’t pleased about, however, is the minor detective role of Inspector Battle. This may be a peculiarity of mine, but when it comes to a series, I expect the protagonist to play a prominent role in the story of the series. I was disappointed on that score here, for Inspector Battle plays a relatively minor role as a detective to Anthony Cade – our amateur detective.
It was an enjoyable read overall. And although this may not be a cleverly written novel by Christie, it certainly is an amusing one.
Rating: 3/5
