Customer Reviews

The Seven Dials Mystery

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoyed this book both as a great depiction of England between the wars as well as a mystery. Unlike some of Dame Agatha's other works, here I genuinely was kept in suspense till the end as to the identity of the criminal. But even more interesting was the characters who make their second appearance after "The Secret of Chimneys" which was also entertaining, but less suspenseful. I loved reading about the adventures of Lord Caterham and Bundle again, both of whom are as funny and sharp as ever. I would definitely recommend the book to even those Christie fans who only prefer Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries - it's good enough to stand on its own.

The Seven Dials Mystery takes a few characters from the thriller/comedy Secret of Chimneys and finishes up their romantic storylines, as it were. The mystery itself is a bit silly and a bit fun. It takes Agatha Christie's usual secret society silliness and tweaks it a little while she, for a change, pooks fun at the genre of which she has been such a part in the twenties. The action bounces between three country homes and a club in London so that it never veers too far from territory the author is comfortable in. The character are, therefore, a little more stock than usual but she does get a chance to give Bundle (Lady Eileen Brent) a chance to shine that the character never quite got in the previous book. A slight, nice slice of summer reading.

"The Seven Dials Mystery" by Agatha Christie is definitely a dated piece of work. It features several characters that readers met in "The Secret of Chimneys" like Bundle Brent, George Lomax, and Bill Eversleigh. While it is not Christie's best work, it still features her trademark twists that will keep readers in the dark about who the guilty party is.

An innocent house party turns to horror when young Gerry Wade is found dead. His death is made worse by the fact that his friends had planned to play a practical joke on him; since he was a notorious oversleeper, they ranged eight alarm clocks around his bed set to go off at intervals. When his dead body is found, however; only seven of those clocks remain, aligned in a row along the mantelpiece. George's friend, Ronny Devereux, ia convinced that his death is foul play, and his suspicions seem confirmed when Bundle finds him shot to death. She soon finds herself enlisting the help of another guest, Jimmy Thesiger and the stepsister of Gerald Wade, to find out what Ronny meant by his last words of "Seven Dials". Bundle's adventures lead her into what looks like an international spy ring intent upon recovering a secret formula that would revolutionize the steel industry. Yet along the way, she quickly learns that she may not be able to trust the people she thought she could confide in, including the Scotland Yard inspector on the case.

"The Seven Dials Mystery" is a delightful, fast-paced lark through the English countryside, but its languge and time period definitely shine through. There is an awful lot of action followed by an almost too quick summary of guilt at the end. However, for fans of Christie's works, it is always enjoyable to revisit familiar characters and to see them in a different light.

In many respects THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY is typical of both Christie's "master criminal" novels of the 1920s and popular thriller fiction of the same decade--which is to say extremely improbable from start to finish. But Christie has a distinct tendency to approach such material in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, and with this novel she is clearly less interested in weaving one of her celebrated mysteries than she is in tossing off some frothy fun.

DIALS revisits characters first met in THE CHIMNEYS, a novel set at the country estate of Lord Caterham and his sprightly daughter "Bundle." On this occasion, however, Lord Caterham has leased the estate to a captain of industry, and when an unexpected death occurs during a weekend house party Bundle finds herself drawn into an adventure that involves two murders, a plot to steal an important invention, and a mysterious association known as "The Seven Dials."

While THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY is amusing to read, Christie doesn't quite manage to capture the madcap mood that makes such similar works as THE SECRET ADVERSARY so much fun to read--and with the exceptions of Bundle and Lord Caterham none of the characters here are greatly memorable. Fans will enjoy it as an ultra-light and ultra-fast read, but this isn't a work that will remain in mind very long after the book has been finished and set aside.

THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY is set 4 years after THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS (1929&1925) and also takes place in that 'Stately Home' Chimneys.

Lord Caterham has taken his family, including oldest daughter 'Bundle' AKA Lady Eileen, abroad in search of peace and quiet after all the excitement that had occured in THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS. He has leased Chimneys to Sir Oswald and Lady Coote who have decided to have one last weekend party before their lease ended. The house is filled with 'bright young things' but one of the party, Gerry Wade has been a difficult guest in that he was consistently late to breakfast. That was bad enough but then he was found dead one morning.

After the Cootes moved out and the Caterhams returned, Bundle found herself bored with country life and decided to return to London. On the way she ran into (literally)a young man, his dying words to her "Seven Dials...tell....Jimmy Thesiger" set Bundle and her friends on the trail of a mystery.

Bundle and Bill Eversleigh (also in THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS) are reunited as they try to solve the murders and the secret of the Seven Dials. False identities, red herrings and secret societies abound until Bundle and Bill, with the aid of Superintendent Battle resolve the mysteries.

This, like THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS, is Agatha Christie a la P. G Wodehouse. Far from the serious mystery that Christie is famous for, this is a comedy with mystery overtones. If you like Wodehouse you'll like this book, but if you are looking for a serious puzzler look elsewhere.

As far as location goes, Agatha Christie appeared to be drawn to Chimneys like PG Wodehouse to Blandings Castle. The similarities between certain key characters are striking, both are supposed to be idyllic rural havens with very laid back lords of the manors, both suffered plagues of chaos determined to put its stamp on them, and both also suffered from energetic young girls pining for action. There is also a bit of courtship and marriage proposals prevalent in Wodehouse novels. And not forgetting the insufferably competent secretaries.

There however, the similarity ended. Whereas Wodehouse was anything but seriously humourous, Christie was humourously serious.

A party of young men and women, idle rich, who were guesting at Chimneys, embarked on a practical joke to launch 8 alarm clocks on their Rip-van-Winkle friend Jerry Wade. The joke turned sour when Jerry was discovered dead in bed the next morning, and only seven clocks were found, arranged neatly from their original locations.

Bundle, daughter of the manor's lord, found an unfinished letter written by Jerry which suggested sinister forces at work in relation to his death. The significance of the reference in the letter to the "Seven Dials" was confirmed later when she came across Ronny, (one of the guests engaged in the practical joke,) dying of gunshot wound. His last words referred to the Seven Dials and to Jimmy, yet another party to the alarm clock prank.

To a girl yearning for adventure, it seemed to her her desire was practically forced upon her. Bundle proved herself resourceful, investigating staff in her own household, throwing in together with Jimmy and Lorraine Wade (Jerry's sister) to investigate the mysterious deaths.

Reprising his role as the chief representative of the law was Superintendent Battle. Bundle was acquaintted with him in an earlier Agatha Christie's novel "Secret of Chimneys". Through him, she found the lead to the Seven Dials Club via Bill Eversleigh, also a repeat character from Secret of Chimneys.

Soon, Bundle found herself in the middle of an international conspiracy, from eavesdropping on a secret society while hidden in a cupboard, to rubbing shoulders with foreign dignitaries in a diplomat party hosted by George Lomax, the insufferable bore from the Foreign Office (also from Secret of Chimneys). She discovered that an innovative technological breakthrough was the target among local business enterprises and commercial espionage.

Here, we saw Agatha Christie being naive in understanding of science and technology. Her description reflects those of children's stories were important discoveries could be recorded in several sheets of "secret papers", of which only one copy in the world existed, handled carelessly in the studies of private residence. This happened not only in Seven Dials but also in several other of her mysteries.

Overlooking that, Seven Dials was a great romantic adventure thriller set in the romantic era of the 20s where young women were gaining confidence in the area of action.

Christie reverses everything here so no one by the end is who you thought they were. And Bundle is one of her best characters. The usually wooden Battles has some of the story's best dialogue. A really enjoyable ride from the first page. Note the use of the many clocks at the beginning, sort of a long foreshadow to Christie's later work of the same title (The Clocks, that is).

Once again Agatha Christie returns us to the stately home of Chimneys from her previous novel. We are reintroduced to Bundle, George Lomax, Superintendent Battle, and others from that earlier work. Lord Caterham has leased his estate to a wealthy businessman for the hunting season, but becomes distraught when murder once again strikes his ill-fated home. The plot centers on the theft of a valuable scientific formula and a crime-fighting society known as the Seven Dials. Comic elements coupled with brilliant but improbable plotting make this a satifying Christie read, though not one of her best.

The only things missing from this murderous P.G. Wodehouse type lark were Bertie Wooster & Jeeves. Val McDermid contributed an impassioned introduction on the proper appreciation of Dame Agatha's myriad talents. In my case, Ms. McDermid was preaching to the choir.

Idle rich young folk are houseguests at country house Chimneys (revisited-see: "The Secret of Chimneys") that is being rented by noveau riche Lord Cootes for the summer. The young men at the party, though uniformly dense, have reasonable names. The young ladies, dashing and beautiful, are called "Bundles" and "Socks" for no particularly good reason except perhaps to annoy the reader. These madcaps play a joke involving multitudes of alarm clocks on one of their sleepy headed fellows, and the joke turns sour when the young man is found dead in his bed.

Superintendent Battles is the voice of calm and reason here, but the sleuths are the young people. They roar around in roadsters, take fearful risks and generally have a fine time. The plot is intricate, the red herrings clever and misleading. As usual, Ms. Christie offers up a total surprise at the end.

I agree with Ms. McDermid that AC has a particularly sly sense of humor. The larger-than-life trivial and shallow aspects of the characters are meant to amuse, but sometimes grate. However, in honor of splendid plotting and excellent misdirection, "The Seven Dials Mystery" certainly deserves a B.
-sweetmolly- Amazon Reviewer

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~ I liked this book very much, because the style and pacing are just different enough! Very different approach from the "who-dun-it" routine that is wonderful in her Poirot, and Miss Marple series, but can get a little wearying if you are reading a lot of Agatha Christies' best.
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The somewhat reluctant sleuths in this story are the fast young crowd who gather at "Chimneys" for a house party. It is somewhat easier to follow if you have read "Secret at Chimneys" first. However, I hadn't read it and this was still very entertaining. Superintendent Battle seems as inscrutable and impassive as ever. Lady "Bundle" is very endearing, as is her friend Bill, especially, as his feelings for her become more apparent.
When a member of their party is killed, and seven alarm clocks left inexplicably on the mantle, the young people grasp for clues: going to the Unsavory "Seven Dials" neighborhood.
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Unlike Poirot, who sits and lets his gray cells work, or Miss Marple, who finds similarities between any current case and remarkable incidents from her life in her small village: these bright dashing young heroes follow the trail head first, putting themselves in awkward positions!
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This is a nice, enjoyable, satisfying and entertaining mystery- in a style just different enough to be interesting! I really recommend this one for an Agatha Christie slight change of Pace!