Kurs wants to get rid of his wealthy wife and, like so many Christie fans, having recently read and been impressed by The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, he sees a way to get Agatha to do his bidding. Meeting on a windswept plain in December, Kurs has Christie stand by as he crashes her beloved car down a slope, along with her luggage and fur coat, before whisking her off to London and from there by train to the spa town of Harrogate.
With the threat of harm to her young daughter, Agatha must use her wits and expertise with poisons to somehow outfox Kurs, put an end to his machinations and save herself and her loved ones. Meanwhile the police are desperate to find a body, sinking all their resources into dredging ponds and scouring the countryside where her car was found.
Wilson has created an imaginative thriller around the facts of Agatha's disappearance, outlined in a postscript - don't read it before you read the novel - it contains spoilers! We meet Davison who works for the British secret service who, like Kurs, is hopeful to engage Agatha's formidable brain, this time for intelligence work. And then there's his plucky young chum, Una, who still feeling somewhat low since the death of her beloved father, plans to make a name for herself as a journalist by investigating Mrs Christie's disappearance.
It all comes together in a very smart way, and is surprisingly believable. I enjoyed meeting Agatha - she's a terrific character and Wilson has since brought her to life in three more mysteries, with no doubt more to come. Readers who have enjoyed Agatha Christie's fiction will love the series, and those who haven't may well be inspired to give her books a go.
Posted by JAM
Catalogue links:
A Talent for Murder (regular print)
A Talent for Murder (large print)
A Talent for Murder (ebook)
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