Agatha Christie: Beyond the Puzzle

Many times I've heard that for the reader of Agatha Christie it's all about the puzzle---figuring out who done it. Undoubtedly she was a genius at making it hard to guess who the murderer is. The reader awaits the final scene in which the great detective says, "therefore it could only have been _____." The puzzle solved by the brilliant deduction is a formula for success as proven with Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe and Hercule Poirot. 

But I'm discovering other delights as I get around to reading some of Christie's novels for the first time. They are full of social satire---riffs on the fashions and fads of her day. Though they reflect the rigid class system of her society, they occasionally cast doubt on the fairness of that system. And there are reflections on human nature as profound as I've seen anywhere. 

I've just finished reading The Body in the Library, the second of Agatha Christie's books featuring Miss Jane Marple. In my next few blog posts I'll give details of the delights I've discovered there.

But, I promise, I won't reveal who done it.