Saturday, May 3, 2025

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

 
The plot:  A man falls from the top of a cliff in Wales. His last words: Why didn't they ask Evans? Bobby Jones is the only one to hear him. In the dead man's pocket is the photograph of a hauntingly lovely young woman. But at the inquest, the dead man's sister looks nothing like the photograph. And then an attempt is made on Bobby's life. And he and his childhood friend, Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent, start to think that the dead man might have been murdered. So they come up with a scheme to look into the matter themselves.

My thoughts:  I never know how much to say about a mystery like this. But I do think that the less you know going in the better. And Agatha Christie's mysteries are always full of hidden clues and unexpected surprises. I've been working my way through her books and quite enjoy them. There's no Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple to solve the murder in this one, but Bobby and Frankie make for two delightful amateur sleuths. They get into several entertaining escapades along the way, and their interactions are pretty funny. I liked them. And the mystery itself kept me guessing. Though I thought it got a little too convoluted. And I didn't love the long letter at the end explaining all the reasons and details of the crime. But it was still a fun read.  3.5/5 stars.

Happy Reading!


42 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this one. I loved Bobby and Frankie!

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    1. Frankie and Bobby were so great. I loved them, too. Their escapades totally made me laugh.

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  2. This sounds like a fun mystery! I really need to read more Agatha Christie books! :)

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    1. I really enjoy her books; I think I might almost have read half of them. Someday I hope to read them all.

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  3. I guess Bobbie and Frankie were not as popular as Hercule Poirot or Mrs. Marple.

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    1. Apparently not. But they are a very fun team and I really enjoyed their amateur sleuthing.

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  4. At least it was a fun read for you.

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    1. It was. But then most of Christie's books are fun to read.

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  5. I've never read any of the non-series Christies. I might have to change that someday! (I think this never became a series?)

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    1. No, I don't think it did. I count it as one of her standalones.

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  6. I have several of her books on my shelves i need to read. The last one I read I didn't enjoy very much, so haven't picked another one up yet.

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    1. She does have a lot of really good mysteries. It's too bad the last one wasn't so good.

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    2. No worries, I just need to read the next one, LOL!

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  7. I haven't read this one but recently I read Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which I really enjoyed. It's a pretty straightforward mystery and I was hooked and it's considered one of her best. And a good point about Christie's mysteries being filled with hidden clues. That's the way I need to start reading them because Christie is an expert in this area.

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  8. I read this one many, many years ago during my Agatha Christie period. I remember that I quite liked it. (In fact, I never read a Christie that I didn't like.) I didn't actually remember much about the plot but your notes have brought it back to me.

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    1. I think I've only run across two of her books that I didn't really enjoy; the rest have all been very fun reads.

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  9. This is a fun one but I fully agree it gets a bit convoluted. I do love Frankie and Bobby and this is one I hope to reread soon.

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    1. Frankie and Bobby are so fun! They made me smile all the way through. :D

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  10. This does sound like fun! I really do need to spend time exploring Christie's books -- I've only read one so far, and this feels like a big gap in my reading history!

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    1. She's written so many good books. You should at least try one of her Marples and one of her Poirots if you haven't yet.

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  11. I enjoyed this one. I really liked Bobby and Frankie! Have you watched the newer adaptation of it? I keep meaning too, but haven't yet.

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    1. I've seen one movie version of it, but I don't think it was the newer one. Still good though. :D

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  12. I've been re-reading Agatha Christie's by audio lately. Also, watching the film adaptations on Britbox. There's always a clever twist!

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    1. She did clever twists so well. I like that about her books. Plus, her writing is just so good!

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    2. I just started watching the new film adaptation last night! After seeing your review I thought I'd give it a go. It's good so far. More than one episode. We'll watch the second one tonight. :)

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  13. That is what I love about Christie's books: even if one of her books isn't a favorite, it is usually a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the TV adaptation.

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    1. Her books are fun! And I saw a movie version of this book that I enjoyed...though I don't know when it originally came out.

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  14. I've enjoyed reading many of Agatha Christie's novels over the years, but this is one I have not read before.

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    1. The characters are so fun, I'd recommend it just for them. :D

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  15. I read this one for Reading Wales and then watched the movie. I enjoyed the movie more than the book, but it was long. Nice review, Lark.

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    1. I've seen one movie version of it...and it was kind of long. But I do like the two main characters. :D

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  16. I feel certain that I read this one way back, but I don't have much memory of it right now. Honestly, several of her non-series books were read, but not reread. I do like the sound of it. Maybe I'll do an 'Agatha C' reading time later in the year. Hmmm....

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    1. Setting aside some time for Agatha Christie's books is always a good idea imo. :D

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  17. I agree that saying too much would be a disservice to readers. All my reviews of Christie's novels have been relatively brief because of that. I've not read this one yet.

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    1. I thought the two main characters were a lot of fun. Though the wrap up at the end in one big long letter wasn't my fav.

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  18. It's been years since I've read Agatha Christie, I'm glad you reminded me:-)

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    1. Her books are fun! I've been enjoying them.

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  19. Yeah I just read a convoluted crime novel and it was too much for me. While a little convoluted plot is fine ... too much can sort of ruin things. Still I'm glad you were able to get some joy out of it.

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    1. The two main characters are humorous and fun, so they made up for the convoluted plotting in regards to the mystery/murder. :D

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  20. I read this after I watched the TV mini-series, which I thought was actually better than the book, which was definitely fun.

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    1. I need to check out the mini-series! :D

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