Sad Cypress

by Agatha Christie

HarperCollins
Read by David Suchet
Unabridged CD Edition

Sad Cypress is an unforgettable novel which takes the reader into realms of morbid jealousy and sickening greed.

Read ably by David Suchet, the novel is, in audio form, transformed into a chilling and engrossing drama. Under Suchet's handling, characters come alive displaying arrogance or sensitivity or hysteria in tone of voice as the situation demands.

But such vivid material as Sad Cypress needs careful handling and there is a holding back and even a pulling back in the actor's performance when this is required.

The characters in Sad Cypress stand out by their sheer ordinariness. English men and women living out ordinary lives in provincial England and with nothing but the usual clashes of viewpoints to muddy the scene.

Then an odd letter is received. The recipient is warned that there is scheming afoot and an inheritance rightfully hers might yet go astray... if a recently returned resident has her way.

Is this mischief-making and something to be ignored or is there some underlying truth to the claims? No malicious intention - just a friendly warning, from an anonymous ally? It's make-up-your-mind-time. But in any case, the seeds of doubt are sown. Peace of mind undermined indefinitely.

Sad Cypress has an ingenious plot, but is so easy to follow that the solution must be cloaked in the most expertly wrought of ambiguities and highlighted only by the most subtle clues. Christie's writing not only excels in plotting, but also in the narrative, which not for an instance fails to hold the reader's attention.