The Secret of Chimneys: The Official Authorized Edition

By Agatha Christie

What is The Secret of Chimneys? A young drifter finds out when a favor for a friend pulls him into the heart of a deadly conspiracy in this captivating classic from Agatha Christie.

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realize that the simple favor has placed him in serious danger.

As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret. . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 10, 2010
• ISBN: 9780062006738

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 The Secret of Chimneys

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie was a very fun read revolving around revolutionists, royalty, mistaken and false identities, a spectacular missing jewel and, of course murder. Beginning in Africa, the story quickly moves to the stately English manor of Chimneys and follows the escapades of Anthony Cade, international adventurer as he tries to complete his mission of delivering a sensitive Herzoslovakian manuscript of memoirs and a bundle of blackmailing letters. This is the first book that features Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard, and he wisely stays in the background leading a firm and steady hand to the procedures. Along with an assortment of political guests, Battle is assisted by a couple of international colleagues whose main interest is in unveiling the famous thief, King Victor. The murders seem to be almost a side plot as political intrigue and revolution in the fictional Balkan state of Herzoslovakia is the main feature.I think Agatha Christie had a fun time writing this tongue-in-cheek thriller/mystery. She delivers a tale peopled by handsome adventurers, swarthy foreigners, beautiful, calm English ladies, and fuddled English aristocrats. There was a sweet romance included and although the final outcome of the story was no surprise, I enjoyed this very vintage mystery.

[therebelprince · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In which a country house plays host to international espionage.

The Secret of Chimneys is an odd little thing. Christie’s 1920s novel output consists of many mediocre thrillers, and this is one of the best of the lot. The household at Chimneys – personified by Wodehousian heiress Eileen “Bundle” Brent - have panache, and – while it’s far from Christie’s greatest strength – she really tries her best to write with a looser, more lively style, in the vein of the better Tommy and Tuppence books. If you only read one Christie thriller, check this one out – and it’s always enlightening to see an established author tackling a different genre. On the other hand, the sparkle, while there, is never particularly brilliant. The “international intrigue” encroaching on the comfortable country-house lifestyle is diverting, but the facts of the case are all a bit broad really.

Beyond this, Chimneys is one of those rough early novels that reveals an awkwardly racist streak. As with Hergé, and his Tintin series, Christie’s later work would somewhat make up for these youthful indiscretions, and – also like Hergé – an element of this racism and anti-semitism was simply a product of her upbringing in pre-war England. But it colours things nonetheless.

[antao-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1981-01-10)By the time she died, few people probably remembered the casual Antisemitism of Agatha Christie's early books (try “The Secret of Chimneys”); the prejudice had ceased to be fashionable, and she'd stopped expressing it. Chesterton's antisemitism was deeper, and maybe he'd have kept it up longer; but his basic good sense and kindness would surely have ruled that odious tic out, in a different age.I too have been re-reading or trying to re-read some old favourites. It is one good way to see how much the accepted norms of a culture change over time. I often muse as to what our culture currently finds commonplace but will be regarded as completely unacceptable in 50 or 100 years, or perhaps sooner. Eating other animals leaps to mind as a strong possibility. This may become taboo either because of the callous treatment of food source animals such as battery chickens or because of the heavy environmental impact of raising animals for food. If this does come about, I imagine contemporary cookbooks will be viewed, literally, as food porn. And film scenes in which the characters partake of a juicy steak - horrors! We are all shaped by our culture and are not responsible for, or able to bear the burden of, choices that are made by our posterity.I read a lot of Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie years ago but the sentiments did not shape me either.Past written books are fine; it's understood that they are old and should be viewed in the context of their author's time. It may be worth thinking that if these same authors were to write nowadays, their literature would be very different.By the same token, some comments I’ve read are a step on the way to rounding up and 'disappearing' political dissidents. Fortunately, pointing this out is obviously nonsensical because it's such a tiny step, and there are so many other things that would need to happen on the way, and people are capable of taking decisions about each of those steps independently based on fuller criteria. What, criticising racist attitudes of the past leads inevitably to book-burning? Can you explain how?

[figgles_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sort of Agatha Christie does John Buchan (but not as well) - still amusing period detail...

[riverwillow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a fun frothy novel and is everything that The Secret Adversary wasn't. It is very much a novel of its time and is a reworking of the country house murder with romantic overtones. This is a novelist having fun with characters and story and it shows.

[miss_scarlet_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels, combining both mystery and romance. Thought it was great!

[smik_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

HIMNEYS begins in Bulawayo, Africa, when Jimmy McGrath runs across his old friend Anthony Cade. Jimmy has in his possession a manuscript that needs to be delivered to a publisher in London by a particular date. He also has a bundle of incriminating love letters that he wants returned to the person who wrote them. He can't take them himself as he on the hunt for some gold.Cade agrees to take on both tasks, and travels to London by steamer in the guise of James McGrath.One of elements of this story is political intrigue related to the kingdom of Herzoslovakia in the Balkins. Its last king was assassinated seven years earlier and the kingdom has been a republic ever since. However the heir to the throne is attempting to claim it back. The Herzoslovakian links in the story become important because the manuscript is the memoir of a former Prime Minister.The action moves to London and then on to Lord Caterham's country house Chimneys, where a murder takes place. Christie's search for a suitable protagonist continues. THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS marks the appearance of yet another, this time a Scotland Yard detective, Superintendent Battle. He is assigned to this case because of the importance of Chimneys, which is apparently often used as a pleasant meeting place for affairs of state. We are told Battle is a man of "ripe experience", and there certainly seems an attempt to give him a modicum of intelligence, and to allow him at times to be a step or two ahead of others in his understanding and intuition. On the other hand he is often poker-faced and expressionless.Other people who will appear in later novels are Caterham's daughter Eileen (Bundle) and Bill Eversham, a young clerk from the foreign office. Colonel Melrose makes a cameo appearance as the Chief Constable although in later stories and novels he will be the Coroner.The novel is possibly set I think in "real time". There is a reference to European nations rebuilding for the past 7 years, which seems to indicate a passage of time since a cataclysm, possibly the Great War. There is however no other reference to those events. There is also a reference to the previous, assassinated, queen of Herzoslovakia having claimed Romanov connections.Perhaps I am mistaken and the setting is actually in the period just before World War I when the Balkans was in great turmoil. Another point in favour of this earlier period is the reference to Bertillon measurements as a means of identifying a person. These were measurements taken of various parts of the body: a system in common use in France in the late 19th century.This is a novel in which many characters are not who they seem to be, beginning with Anthony Cade who poses as Jimmy McGrath. There are many who are leading a double life, and it becomes difficult for the reader to decide who is on whose side.There are elements in THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS that really don't work all that well. The idea of an arch criminal which first appeared in THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT makes anappearance, as does the idea of conspiracy and secret societies, in this case the Society of the Red Hand. The Koh-i-noor diamond, part of the British Crown Jewels since 1858, makes a puzzling appearance.This is also a novel in which Christie shows that she doesn't really care if the reader has all the information, that we should expect that she will keep cards up her sleeve to be revealed in the final denouement. The novel is full of red herrings, and at the end we ask ourselves if we had enough information to solve the mystery. A pattern that is becoming a trademark in her novels even by this, the 5th one, is that in the final pages the cast of characters will be gathered and all will be revealed.I wouldn't rate this as one of her best novels, although at the time of publication it was well received. It feels rather over-populated with characters, heavily reliant on ideas of conspiracy, intrigue and political upheaval, with some romantic elements.

[booksandscones · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anthony Cade, a young man seeking adventure, meets an old friend, Jimmy McGrath in Bulawayo. Jimmy wants to go gold prospecting, but has accepted a job conveying a manuscript of potentially damaging political memoirs to its London publisher, and also wants to return a bundle of letters written by a frightened wife to her lover, which a now-deceased man might have intended to use to blackmail her. Anthony agrees to travel to England as James McGrath and fulfill Jimmy's commitments.A stately English country home, British and foreign aristocrats, dead bodies here and there, scandalous memoirs, blackmail letters, a fabulous missing jewel, and an inept but lethal organization calling itself the Comrades of the Red Hand! Great fun.

[musicmom41 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I read Cards on the Table last month I was introduced to two Recurring Christie characters with which I was unfamiliar, Colonel Race and Superintendent Battle. I decided to read the other books in which they occur. This is the first appearance of Battle and he plays a major role as the detective. I really like this character and am sorry that she only used him in five novels. This novel was written shortly after The Man in the Brown Suit, Colonel Race’s first appearance. It is in her younger style and shares some similar melodramatic elements but this one seems to me to show her maturing as a writer. There were more surprises and the characters seemed to be better drawn. I enjoyed this immensely.

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked the story, I liked the characters.... Really liked Lord Caterham, his daughter Bundle, & Inspector Battle. In fact I like Inspector Battell much better than M. Poirot & Miss Marple combines. He's intelligent, quiet (not boastful or misleading), and he has a sense of humor.

There are three stories here: a jewel thief just out of French prison looking for the original Koh I-noor diamond that is said to be hidden 2 the Chimneys; the infamous manuscript of a well known count that is on its way to publication (but has been stolen), and the death/murder of the next crown prince and his "dead" brother....

All involved are gathered at the Chimneys, a traditional meeting place of Royalty & political power, much to the consternation of the current Lord Caterham. There are people who are not who the seem, and all except the family have something to hide & gain.

A very delightful mystery, definitely one of Christie's better books.

[cajela_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I've been rereading some Agatha Christies, and while some of them are still fun, some are real duds to the eye of the modern reader. This one was made into part of a TV series, with Miss Marple added in, and the plot twisted and rearranged almost beyond recognition. And a good thing, too. This one has the usual upper crust British nobs in a country house, but with lots more xenophobia and racism than Christie usually showed. Cliched Eastern Europeans ("Herzoslovakians") with names too full of consonants, princes and presidents being assassinated, international jewel thieves, shady greasy foreigners of various stripes, deepest darkest Africa, implausible political machinations, incompetent conspirators, etc etc. And oh yeah, there's a murder.It's just too much. One or two of those elements can be quaint; all of them makes an annoying mishmash.

[deborahdrkralich · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I rate Agatha Christie's books against each other. It would be hard not to give them all five stars rated against other writers. This is an early book and full of youthful themes and optimism amidst the murder. Some of her best humor also.

[sueincyprus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anthony meets an old friend and agrees to deliver an important manuscript to London. He becomes involved in several people's lives and attempts to solve a mystery. Excellent plot, with the usual Agatha Christie surprises.

[jimgysin_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First published in 1925, this is Christie's fifth novel, and it hits on all archetypal cylinders once you get past the number of coincidences that take place in the early, table-setting portion of things. If it all strains credulity too much, just chant "Truth is stranger than fiction" a few times and hope to get past it, as it's a really fun outing that introduces a host of memorable characters, some of whom will reappear in a few years in THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY. In this one, we have a murder at Chimneys, the country house of a minor royal in England. But it's not just any victim; it's the prince who had previously been slated to take the throne of the fictional Balkan country known as Herzoslovakia. It seems that the royal family there had been deposed some seven years earlier, but the populace has rethought things after a difficult go at democracy and wants to restore the monarchy, but now their royal savior is fast approaching room temperature. Enter our hero, Anthony Cade, who does his own snooping while the official investigators do theirs, as well. All works out well in the end, and the police are not viewed as incompetent here, which is a nice change of pace from a lot of mysteries. There is one gaping plot hole that goes unaddressed, but I won't bring it up here for fear of spoilers. It didn't ruin things for me, but it was something that probably should have been handled differently. But it was overshadowed by the many interesting and likable characters, so I won't harp on it. And despite what many Christie critics say about her cheating by withholding critical information, it is not a fair charge here, and the reader can easily solve the murder along with Mr. Cade. On the other hand, some other plot details that reveal themselves in the end come as a surprise and add to the number of coincidences that we were given at the outset. Again, just roll with it and enjoy this early Christie outing as the fun diversion that it is.

[miguelnunonave · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A minor Christie mystery. Definitely not her best.

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

I really enjoyed the first book in the Inspector Battle series. I had not read any books starring him before this and really enjoyed him as an Agatha Christie detective. He was a fun and secretive character that seemed to be clueless, but would pop up in the right moments to show you he was there and fully aware of what was going on around him. I enjoyed the mystery, too. There were lots of Christie twists and I was only partially prepared for the ending. What a fun read!

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A delightfully improbable story in which an English adventurer in the middle of Africa is unexpectedly offered two missions by a friend --first, to deliver the memoirs of a somewhat dubious deceased Balkan statesman to his publisher, and secondly to return a packet of indiscreet letters to a lady. This leads to the adventure being invited to a weekend at the stately home Chimneys,where the party includes the charming lady who wrote the letters, and the current pretender to the throne of the deceased statesman's (presently republican) nation of Herzoslovakia (whose history sounds more like Yugoslavia's the Czechoslovakia's -- the late King Nicholas IV is obviously based on a king of Serbia. It also appears in The Labors of Hercules) It turns out a jewel and a jewel thief are also involved. The whole preposterous business is more like The Adventure of the Bloodstained Eggcosy than like the average Christie.A lot of fun. Very unlikely the blurb "It ended when a man's emotions turned a gay and fashionable house party into an unforgettable nightmare of terror and death." Unforgettable, yes. Nightmare, no.

[jiraiya_5 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Unlike other books, I reacted more strangely than usual in two ways. First, I checked previous reviews here. I had to because there was no guessing how received and how viewed this book was. Secondly, I had personal feelings in the matter of the hero. I almost never feel annoyance or jealousy at a Mary Sue, but here I thought of poor Bill and how he never had a chance. The fact that Agatha Christie tried to give even him a happy ending - that came out wrong - is slightly annoying. The story tried to juggle and awful lot of balls in the air. My rating of it reflects how it all came together. I knew there would be twists galore at the end but still the latter was unsatisfying. This is the longest Agatha Christie story I've read. She didn't yet know how to trim the fat. That would come later. Despite the poor climax, the racial tones, the vile hero, and the meandering red herrings, it was the lack of coziness which determined my final opinion. This book is not Big Four bad, but reserve it when you've exhausted all of the author's classics.

[condorena · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first of the series ostensibly centered around the character of Superintendant Battle of Scotland Yard. The Secret of Chimneys was written in 1925. This was written about five years before the Marple books and five years after the Poirot books. The main mystery centers around political skulduggery revolving around a fictional Balkan State. Adventure loving Anthony Cade leaves his job as a travel guide to carry some important papers to London. These are the memoirs of a Count who had his fingers in many pies and it is feared that these writings may reveal secrets dangerous to many in government circles. Anthony becomes a target and the fun begins.

Christie writes with a light touch, quick pace and about amusing characters. This story was fun to read and I look forward to the next in the series. It was interesting to note in the Christie movie with this name Jane Marple was the lead protagonist. I will have to watch it and compare notes. The moguls of the movie business must be positive that not only can Miss Marple have only one hat or we won't recognize her, they must also believe that the public won't accept anything but Poirot and Marple. They may be right, I don't care for Tommy and Tuppence.

[cassandra2020 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie - Good

Always a delight to return to AC for a little reliable comfort reading. Was
particularly pleased with this one as it is totally different to the TV adaptation to the extent that only a few names and the fact that it was partially set at Chimneys links them.

Great easy read to hibernate to.

[bcquinnsmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Secret of Chimneys is the first Christie novel to feature Superintendent Battle, who will, over the course of his career, be the featured detective in two more mysteries, The Seven Dials Mystery and Toward Zero. Battle, however, takes second place to one Anthony Cade, who, when we first meet him, works as a tour guide in Africa. At a bar one day Cade meets an old buddy, James McGrath, who has been tasked with the delivery of the memoirs of the now-dead Count Stylptitch of Herzoslovakia to a London publishing firm. But McGrath has decided to seek his fortune in the gold fields, and offers Cade a tidy sum to go to England with the memoirs and a stash of letters that could be blackmail fodder for an unsuspecting Virginia Revel. Cade is off to England, and finds himself caught up between two sides of a touchy political situation. He also finds that he is a target of some very nasty people who are trying to get both the memoirs and the letters. The situation leads him to a house called Chimneys, the home of Lord Caterham, his daughter Bundle, and various diplomats and others interested in the political situation in Herzoslovakia. Upon his arrival, Cade finds himself as a chief suspect in the death of Prince Michael Obolovitch, the heir to the Herzoslovakian throne and negotiator of British oil interests in that country. Enter Superintendent Battle and the hunt for the murderer begins.As with most Christie novels, there are plenty of suspects, an abundance of motives, and an interesting array of lead characters. Unlike most of her stories, this one is filled with political intrigue, and the reader has to digest the background story of the country of Herzoslovakia before really delving into the mystery. This may be a bit off-putting to regular Christie readers, but it's worth the time and effort to get the story and the list of who's who regarding that nation as it sets an important backdrop to the various criminal activity throughout the book. It is rather complicated and at times convoluted, but still an interesting read, with a lovely twist at the end. If I were a reader who has decided that he or she would like to read through the Christie novels, I would not want to start with this one, since imho, it doesn't deliver the best Christie has to offer. My advice: read through the Poirots and the Marples, then tackle the others for something just a bit different.

[ianigsy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Occasionally during her career, Agatha Christie produced one-off thrillers, and this is one of them. Anthony Cade is working as a tour guide in Africa when a friend offers him the chance to obtain £1000 by delivering a manuscript to a London publisher, however on arriving in London his life is almost immediately put in danger and he becomes drawn into a series of plots involving an expert diamond thief and the heir to the throne of Herzoslovakia. While this is an entertaining read- not least for what Christie holds back about some of the characters until the very end- it's perhaps a little overlong and flags slightly in the middle.

[lamour_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a fast easy read with interesting characters and complicated plot. Anthony Cade is a bored tour guide in Africa. When offered a chance to get back to England by delivering a hotly sought manuscript to a publisher in London plus deliver some scandalous letters to the woman who wrote them, he jumps at the chance. Soon he realizes that some people are willing to kill for the manuscript and then the letters are accidentally stolen by a manuscript thief.Now he feels responsible to tell the woman her letters have been stolen and when he gets to her address, she is looking at a murdered man in her living room. It also appears that the succession to the throne of a country in the Balkans is behind this murder and others that are to follow. Most of the story takes place in an English country house with its many servants, guests and hidden passages. The police and especially Scotland Yard come out looking very able in this story.My one criticism is that Christie seemed to want to wind this novel up in a hurry and tied up the various hanging mysteries too quickly and neatly.

[cmbohn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great example of the madcap kind of mysteries that are more or less romps around the Stately Houses of England, with mysterious strangers, sinister foreigners, bluff Americans, an odd tycoon or film star or two. Always some intrigue and romance thrown in. Sure, it's not exactly hard on the brain, but it is pure escapist fun, and that's why I love this book. Reminds me a bit of The Prisoner of Zenda. Neat little ending.

[eyejaybee · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

In my early teens, some forty years ago now, I encountered Agatha Christie’s novels, and, as is perhaps customary with teenage obsession, started working through them, as if driven to complete the set as quickly as possible. One of the first of her books that I read was this one, The Secret of Chimneys, and at the time I thought it was about as good as literature could get. It features neither Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple (although the recent television adaptation did recast it as one of Miss Marple’s cases), and it isn’t even a true whodunit, being instead a simple thriller, straight out of the John Buchan mould. Certainly all the key ingredients of a boisterous story are there – stolen jewels, beautiful but mysterious women, a stately home and quasi-Balkan intrigue (it was, after all, written just a few years after the end of the First World War when the map of Europe had been redrawn under the auspices of Versailles, and newly-minted states were strewn across the continent) and a handsome, intelligent and boundlessly gallant hero thrown in. Sadly, other clichés of the 1920s shocker are also to the fore, and the book is shot through with casual anti-Semitism manifested through a succession of throwaway remarks from most of the characters.The story does rattle along, and I could see why I enjoyed it so much at the age of thirteen. Forty years on I found it rather irritating. None of the characters displayed any vestige of realism. Of course, one doesn’t read Agatha Christie for her gritty verisimilitude, but this book also lacked her lightness of touch with regard both to characters and plot. It was one of her ealier books, and she was clearly still getting to grips with the genre.

[graeme.bell3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Terrific AC novel. Outside Poirot/Marple novels Christie enjoys herself. Eastern Europe, Oil, Americans, jewel thieves and, best for last, Lady Eileen's some what lunatic driving. (LE's point of view:- They did not catch Grace Kelly) .

[TP · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My personal favourite Agatha Christie book. A classic Christie plot but with many twists and with more character.

[Rachel Sommer · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Sadly, no more than a few pages in, I landed on an anti-Semitic slur. I'm sure it is there to establish how villainous the viewpoint character is, but I didn't care to continue.

[amphipodgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure whether it's a spoof of spy novels or an honestly heavy-handed spy novel, but it was good fun.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Finally, a group of individuals interested in reading Agatha Christie, after I decided to take the plunge in 2021. Agatha Christie adores following Shakespeare model with the mistaken identity or multiple aliases of a character. In this novel, Anthony Cade goes through three different monikers. I fervently wish that Christie had provided a list of characters in her novels as I felt compelled to list all the name changes. The Scotland Yard officer, Superintendent Battle, enters and exits too often and does not seem to detect what is happening. Anthony Cade agrees to deliver a manuscript to England for a friend and immediately encounters problems. Politics, intrigue, and romance follow as many people meet at Chimneys, the stately home Lord Caterham. The story provides amusement, but other novels, especially with Hercule Poirot, delight the reader.