by Agatha Christie

A Mystery, 1989 by Doubleday, 714 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

The audiobook narrator for Ordeal attempts to use a time appropriate cliche sort of voice. The problem is it’s breathy and awkward, making it terrible for audiobooks.
“These women secretaries always seem to be in love with the boss.” Ew, hate that cliche.
Ordeal takes a rather gross view of adoption: a mother who hopes they hate their birth mother and love her, children who don’t feel like family because they’re adopted, and the idea that kids are damaged by birth families and that’s an excuse for all behavior. Honestly, outdated and gross.

Both of these books do a decent job of setting an amateur sleuth in the midst of a crime that seems unsolvable and letting them work their way through. It’s a fun way to get the mystery, since you’re on par with the observation skills of the main character.
The dialogue is well done. There’s a sense of who is talking, even in a group, without always having to use dialogue tags. It’s a natural conversation with the proper flow.
The endings provide a full solution with satisfying efficiency. As is common for this author and the genre she made famous, these both provide the reader with every answer.

Old school mystery fans who don’t mind some things that aged poorly for society. The mystery is solid.