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Loving The Queen of Crime

Why I'll always be a fan of Agatha Christie.



I was in Wallingford, in Oxfordshire, recently and discovered that there is a bronze statue of Agatha Christie at the edge of one of the town's parks. It's the work of sculptor Ben Twiston-Davies and was completed in 2023 to celebrate Wallingford's most famous resident. Christie and her husband, Max Mallowan, lived in Wallingford for over 40 years and it's here, at her home, Winterbrook House, that she died, in 1976.


I love a statue you can get close to and touch and this one is perfect for that. Christie is sitting on a bench, book in hand, with ample space for someone (and dogs) to join her, and so we did. I couldn't stop beaming - I'm such a huge fan, and have been ever since I started reading her around the age of 12. (I always used to scurry to bed early so I could find out who did it.) I'm as enthralled by her writing now as I was then.


In my mind, no one does crime fiction better than Christie. To come up with one unforgettable detective is an amazing feat, so to create Miss Marple AND Hercule Poirot is astonishing. I love the tight plots, the settings, the fact that I can't ever guess who did it and that her books are almost always closed environments (the murderer can only ever be one of a handful of suspects). I also love that she manages to pack everything into under 200 pages. There's not a wasted word.


If you've never read any of her books, what a treat you have in store. If you have read them, they really do stand up to a reread. They're also a must for anyone writing crime fiction. See how the Queen of Crime pulls you into her world - so that your entire focus is Who did it? and Why? Sheer brilliance.





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