Like "a pocketful of rye" ,"hickory dickory death" "five little pigs" and of course "and then there were none" , "crooked house " is based on a nursery (c)rhymes; it's one of Christie's most unexpected endings, so risqué for the time that the publishers asked the writer to change the ending ; but she did not agree , even though she was blamed by some :her colleague and friend Dorothy L Sayers supported her.
This may account for the absence of Poirot or Marple ; the young Charles tells the story in the first person and the main purpose is to sweeten the horrifying ending ;in the movie ,it's suggested,in the book it's explicit :"I'll marry you and make you happy".
There is an uniformly good cast ,my own stand-outs are veterans Terence Stamp and matronly Glenn Close .The story sometimes drags on ,dealing with politics ,but it represents a continuation of careful quality -control instituted by Christie's family-management :it's not as impressive as Sarah Phelps ' "the ABC murders" and "and then were none" but it is a must for Christie's fans .
Note that the novel was published in 1949 and the action which took place at the end of WW2 was transferred circa 1957 : Presley had not yet happened when the book was written .And Brown was a conscientious objector ("I have religious objections to killing")
This may account for the absence of Poirot or Marple ; the young Charles tells the story in the first person and the main purpose is to sweeten the horrifying ending ;in the movie ,it's suggested,in the book it's explicit :"I'll marry you and make you happy".
There is an uniformly good cast ,my own stand-outs are veterans Terence Stamp and matronly Glenn Close .The story sometimes drags on ,dealing with politics ,but it represents a continuation of careful quality -control instituted by Christie's family-management :it's not as impressive as Sarah Phelps ' "the ABC murders" and "and then were none" but it is a must for Christie's fans .
Note that the novel was published in 1949 and the action which took place at the end of WW2 was transferred circa 1957 : Presley had not yet happened when the book was written .And Brown was a conscientious objector ("I have religious objections to killing")