Towards Zero (Agatha Christie Collection)

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Oh yes, I dare say, it’s natural. They were devoted to Audrey, weren’t they?’ Her voice shook a little. ‘Dear, well-bred, cool, colourless Audrey! Camilla’s not forgiven me for taking her place.’ So, nachdem ich mal wieder willkürlich eins der vorgeschlagenen Monatsbücher für die Challenge ausgewählt habe, musste ich leider feststellen, dass das Buch hier der letzte Band in Christies „Inspector Battle“-Reihe ist, von der ich bisher kein einziges Buch gelesen hatte. Das hat dann aber doch weniger ausgemacht als erwartet und ich habe ganz gut in die Geschichte reingefunden. Das Setting ist nicht so mega außergewöhnlich, der Krimi lebt viel mehr von der interessanten Figurenkonstellation. Fast 2/3 des Buches spielen vor dem Mord, der nur den krönenden Abschluss von menschlichen Turbulenzen im gemeinschaftlichen Miteinander bildet.

What makes a good detective story? Suspense? Atmosphere? An outrageous plot? Memorable characters? Twists? The review by Maurice Willson Disher in The Times Literary Supplement of 22 July 1944 was overwhelmingly positive: "Undiscriminating admirers of Miss Christie must surely miss the thrill of realizing when she is at her best. If this argument is sound then Towards Zero is for the critical. By virtue of masterly story-telling it makes the welfare of certain persons at a seaside town seem of more importance at the moment than anything else in the world. Mechanized brains may object that the murderer "perfects" his mystery by methods imposed upon fiction's police, but even when the maze is vaguely recognised the tale still grips. The characters become so much a part of the reader's existence that he must know what their ultimate fate may be before he will rest satisfied. How alive they are is apparent when two men, both dogged, laconic, poker-faced, never seem alike. The wife and the ex-wife, who neither like nor dislike one another, also reveal creative power. As an exhibition of the modern brand of human nature, Towards Zero deserves higher praises than any that can be awarded to it as an excellent detective story." [3] It was an April day such as usually occurs at least once in a month, hotter than most of the June days to follow.In 2007, French filmmakers adapted the novel to Towards Zero, titled in French as L'Heure Zéro. [11] Television [ edit ]

Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, came out in 1920. During her first marriage, Agatha published six novels, a collection of short stories, and a number of short stories in magazines. The Quiet One: Thomas Royde is said to be a man of few words, often responding to questions in monosyllables.He helped himself to the aforementioned viands and poured out a cup of coffee. There was a companionable silence for some minutes. Adrian Royde: brother to Thomas; barrister, loved Audrey Strange, recently killed in road accident. Battle arrests Audrey on the evidence and her ready admission of guilt. However, he suspects that Audrey is in a similar situation to that of his daughter when she had previously confessed under pressure to a theft she did not commit. MacWhirter meets Battle and tells him what he has learned about this case, including his observation of a man swimming across the creek on the night of the brutal murder, and climbing into the house on a rope. Then, Thomas reveals that Audrey had ended their marriage, not Nevile, as she had grown afraid of him. She had left Nevile and was about to marry Adrian Royde, Thomas's brother, when Adrian was killed in a road accident. With the parties on a motor launch, Battle uses this information to force a confession from Nevile Strange. He was the mastermind behind all the events and circumstances that should have converged into "zero" – the hanging of his first wife for the murder of Lady Tressilian. An adaptation was made as part of Season 2 of Les Petits Meurtres. The episode, also entitled L'Heure zéro, first aired on 13 September 2019. The setting was changed from a country house to a TV studio in Lille in the 1950s and featured a new set of investigators, commissaire Laurence, his secretary Marlene and journalist Alice Avril. Much of the premise of the original was, however, retained.