The Seven Dials Mystery (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) [Print] [Mass Market Paperback]

Agatha Christie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2001 | Series: St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries

Reclusive tycoon Sir Oswald Coote and his melancholy wife, Lady Coote, have hit upon the ideal plan to spice up their quiet lives. They'll host a lavish weekend party at Chimneys. their isolated estate, and invite only "bright young things." But the festive mood is clouded by doom. A practical joke involving seven clocks and a sleeping guest has ended in accidental death--and cause for alarm. For the guests may not be all that they appear. And as whispers of a strange club called Seven Dials echo through the halls of Chimneys, all hands will be pointing to murder...

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Her gift is pure genius.' Observer 'An amusing, exciting, well-written story.' Outlook 'All signs indicate that Mrs Christie has been reading P.G. Wodehouse, and she does it very well in spots. This is her gayest thriller and mustn't be missed.' Books --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Agatha Christie is the world's best-known mystery writer. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in 44 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

Her writing career spanned more than half a century, during which she wrote 80 novels and short story collections, as well as 14 plays, one of which, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in history. Two of the characters she created, the brilliant little Belgian Hercule Poirot and the irrepressible and relentless Miss Marple, went on to become world-famous detectives. Both have been widely dramatized in feature films and made-for-TV movies.

Agatha Christie also wrote romantic novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. As well, she wrote four non-fiction books including an autobiography and an entertaining account of the many expeditions she shared with her archaeologist husband, Sir Max Mallowan.

Agatha Christie died in 1976.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (September 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312979770
• ISBN-13: 978-0312979775
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #822,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Christie, Agatha

More About the Author

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and created the detective Hercule Poirot in her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). She achieved wide popularity with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and produced a total of eighty novels and short-story collections over six decades.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of her better novels, May 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Seven Dials Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Enough Addition to the Previous Secret of Chimneys, July 8, 2005

By 

Ricky Hunter (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Seven Dials Mystery (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Timely Lark, April 2, 2010

By 

R. Chaffey "beckahi" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Seven Dials Mystery (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

"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.