Crooked House: B2

Written by Agatha Christie

Narrated by Roger May

Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners.

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully abridged versions are shorter with the language targeted at learners of English.

The Leonides family live together in a large and crooked house in a wealthy London suburb. When the elderly millionaire Aristide Leonides is murdered with a fatal injection, the family reluctantly suspect his glamorous, young second wife.

Charles Hayward, who is engaged to the late millionaire’s granddaughter, observes the family closely and makes a terrible and shocking discovery…

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Oct 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9780008210557

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six decades.

Reviews for Crooked House

[figgles_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A tragedy as well as a murder story. It's a long time since I read this one and the poinancy of the murderers revalation is hard to beat. Comes once again with the theme of the need for the truth to enable the innocent to move on. Great story.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this Agatha Christie novel having watched the Channel 5 TV adaptation just before Christmas. Needless to say, this was a mistake as the TV version was, unlike some others, very faithful to the book, so I knew about the startling conclusion as to who among his dysfunctional household killed wealthy Aristide Leonides. This is well plotted and keeps the suspense up, but I'm still not sure I find the conclusion convincing in practice, though. This is the first Christie novel I have read that does not feature Poirot, Miss Marple, or Tommy and Tuppence.

[currerbell-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read almost all of Poirot and Miss Marple ages ago, but very few of Christie's stand-alones, and I got this one because it was at a large discount on Kindle.I'll give it three-and-a-half. As one other reviewer put it, there's great poignancy to the revelation of the murderer. Still, though, for someone who isn't that good at guessing Christie endings, I sort of saw this one coming.

[xicanti_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was one of Agatha Christie's own favourite books, and I can see why. It was a lot of fun to read.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my second Christie novel, and I enjoyed it quite a bit! There is a murder in the "crooked house", and everyone - family, staff, visitors - is a suspect! It plays out quickly, and smartly, and I was very satisfied with the revelation of who-done-it! I'm also very inclined to try out a third helping of Ms. Agatha!

[bettesbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Murder by poison. Eye drops “ersine” substituted for “insulin” in an insulin vial. Aristide Leonides’ is dibetic and every evening his young wife filled a syringe from one of the many insulin vials kept in the house. The poison could have been substituted at any time or by anyone, the murderer knowing that eventually the poison would be injected. This is written as a novel BUT every page has me seeing it as a stage play. There are no stage directions or anything indicating it is a play other than the characters themselves. They are so vividly drawn you can see Magda flounce from the room, Sophia adjust a picture frame to keep Magda on script or Roger bumbling into a room screen and apologizing to it. The denouement is classic Christie, a little of the psychology of Poirot combined with the village wisdom of the elderly Jane Marple. I recommend this to anyone who has missed this Christie gem.51

[slmr4242 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes, I think that Christie's stand-alones are the absolute best.

[drled_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: Two people meet in a foreign country, but decide not to marry until they both return to England. However, the marriage still can't happen because her grandfather is killed. The only people who could have done it are the family and some old retainers. The very young, second wife, and the tutor are suspected, but the police think there could be someone else.Review: This was a rather interesting story that reminded me of 'The Bad Seed'.

[bontley · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Nope. Awful.

[silvernfire · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I first read this book as a teenager, when I was going through a murder mystery phase. I'm happy to say it satisfied my adult self as well. The first time through, I was only interested in finding out who the murderer was and why they'd done it. Decades later, I remembered who the murderer was, so this time, I paid attention to how the story was put together and what the clues were. The book's not all that long, but Christie made each character so distinctive that you don't need a long story to get to know them. It's not Great Literature, but it's a crisp little mystery and was worth the read.

[debbiemccauley-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Narrated by Charles Hayward whose fiancée, Sophia, won't marry him until the murderer of her grandfather, Aristide, is found. It's the autumn of 1947 and Sophia lives with her family - three generations of Leonides - in the family home 'Three Gables' or the 'crooked house'. Charles' father is Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard, who is investigating along with Chief Inspector Taverner. Also making inquiries is Sophia's twelve-year-old sister Josephine, who is obsessed with detective stories and spies continually on the rest of the household, writing down her observations in a secret notebook. All the family members had motive and opportunity, and none has an alibi. I didn't see this one coming at all - once again Christie's murderer is unexpected as is the motive.

[miss_scarlet_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Unlike any other mystery novel I have read, I found this one slightly predictable and was able to guess the culprit. However, it is still an engrossing story.

[jguidry-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was supposed to be Agatha Christie's favorite book she wrote. I can see why. It is classic Christie storytelling, but her ending is one of the best endings I have read. This book definitely shows her talent as a mystery-builder, not just a mystery writer.

[woollymammoth_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's an Agatha Christie Book, they're all the same, but it's fun.

[passion4reading_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charles Hayward, the son of Assistant Commissioner Hayward of Scotland Yard, meets Sophia Leonides during the Second World War in Cairo; they fall in love but agree not to marry until Charles has returned to England once the war is finished. On his return he discovers that Sophia's grandfather, the wealthy entrepreneur Aristide Leonides, has just been killed. Preliminary investigations establish, without the shadow of a doubt, that he was poisoned. Straddling the middle ground between the police and a family friend, Charles begins to investigate everyone living in the Crooked House.Crooked House is an enjoyable mystery novel that puts the rather dysfunctional Leonides family under the microscope. Though the individual characters occasionally verge on stereotype, the story is well plotted and the puzzle suitably engaging. Agatha Christie plays with her own detective story conventions to good effect, and the ending is quite unusual.

[ds_61_12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The head of a family is murdered. All his familymembers are suspects. The son of a policeman has a romantic tie to the family and gets involved in finding the murderer.Good quality. Unexpected (?) ending.

[bookwoman247 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aristide Leonides had come to England as an impoverished Greek youth, and had built a fortune - and a lavish but slightly unusual house. At 85, the loving, wise, benificent family patriarch was found dead.Which member of the Leonides household could be crooked enough to have poisoned him?I find almost all of Agatha Christie's work to be very satisying reads, and this was no exception.

[moonshineandrosefire · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 In a sprawling mansion in the English countryside, the extremely affluent but extremely elderly owner lies dead on the floor of suspected barbiturate poisoning. An accident? Not likely when suspicion has already fallen on Aristide Leonides' luscious but grieving widow who is fifty years his junior and set to inherit his sizable fortune. It is also rumored that the lovely Widow Leonides is having an affair with the strapping young tutor who just happens to live on the family's estate. But Criminologist Charles Howard has his doubts about the entire Leonides' clan. He knows them intimately and also knows that in a household as shaky as Three Gables, nobody is on the level.I really enjoyed this book very much. I had actually never read it before but it was a very quick and absorbing read. I give this book an A!

[victorianrose869 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

April 11, 1999Crooked HouseAgatha ChristieNot a Ms. Marple or Poirot mystery, but an “independent”, about a young man whose fiancé-to-be asks him to help her figure out who murdered her rich old grandfather (with a little help from the young man’s father, an Inspector or something). There’s a house brimming with suspicious characters, like the very young widow and the old man’s grown children who shared the house with him. The murderer is someone you’d never expect, though! I love the title, and only wish I’d thought of it first.

[readafew · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is another book by Agatha Christie and the sleuth is not one of her famous recurring detective's. A kindly old rich man is murdered in his home surrounded by his family and loved ones. All of the suspects of course proclaim their innocence and devotion to the old man and can't think of any reason why someone would want to murder him, except for...This one did have a neat twist at the end, I might have seen it if I wasn't distracted by an accidental phrase I saw at the end of the book and made me think of the wrong person all the way through the book. It wasn't a very deep or tricky book but a fun short read.

[riverwillow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is a forward in which Christie describes this as one of her favourite novels and a joy to write. It is certainly fun to read and is interesting because its not a Poirot or Miss Marple but personally I prefer some of her other books.

[virginiahomeschooler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this audiobook so much, I finished it in one day. It is such a charming little mystery. Hugh Fraser's narration was superb, and the story was great, keeping me guessing til the end. I do believe it is now my new favorite Christie novel.