Book Description

Reclusive tycoon Sir Oswald Coote and his melancholy wife, Lady Coote, have hit upon the ideal plan to spice up their quiet lives. They'll host a lavish weekend party at Chimneys. their isolated estate, and invite only "bright young things." But the festive mood is clouded by doom. A practical joke involving seven clocks and a sleeping guest has ended in accidental death--and cause for alarm. For the guests may not be all that they appear. And as whispers of a strange club called Seven Dials echo through the halls of Chimneys, all hands will be pointing to murder...

From AudioFile

This production suffers in two aspects: The story is weak, and the narration is routine, even listless. Despite a melodious voice and attractive British accent, Jenny Funnell has to struggle with sketchy, unmemorable characters and a heroine with a cutesy nickname, "Bundle," aka Lady Eileen Brent. (Remember Christie's Tuppence? Both female sleuths are from her earliest works.) When researching the history of this book, I encountered rave reviews, puzzling, until I noticed that they involved the unabridged original. Reviews of abridgments have not been so generous--like this one. The story: Bundle encounters a murder and a secret society. Enough said. D.R.W.

Book Dimension

length: (cm)17.1 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)10.8