The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie

 

Title: The Man in the Brown Suit

Author: Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Alison Larkin

Publisher: Alison Larkin Presents

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 23 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Alison Larkin Presents.  Thank-you!

Agatha Christie continues to delight me.  The Man in the Brown Suit is the January selection for the #ReadChristie2022 challenge with the theme “Inspired by Agatha’s Travels.”  Agatha Christie used incidents and settings from her around the world trip with her first husband as inspiration for this novel.  I had no idea what this novel was about and found it was a fun travel novel filled mystery that I greatly enjoyed. 

 Anne Beddingfeld has recently lost her father and is trying to determine how to move forward in life.  After witnessing the death of a man on the train line, she starts to investigate the crime.  She uses her very small inheritance to purchase a ticket on a ship to South Africa.  Along the way she meets a motley crew of characters.  Will she be able to solve the mystery and how is everyone else involved?

 Anne is a delightful character and is the primary narrator of the novel.  She is looking for adventure and romance.  Alison Larkin is one of my favorite audiobook narrators and she brings a unique voice and humor to Anne’s narration.  Sir Eustace Pedler’s diary entries break up Anne’s narrative.  Larkin had a different voice for these entries, and they were hilarious as well.  Sir Eustace was very full of himself.  The novel also introduces Colonel Race who appears in three more Christie novels, including Death on the Nile.

 The Man in the Brown Suit was published in 1924 and is one of Christie’s early works.  I enjoyed it.  It was different than her other novels that I’ve read.  I would call this one more of a romantic thriller than a detective story.  I loved the adventure, the settings, the romance, and the humor.  Are any of Christie’s other novels similar to The Man in the Brown Suit?

 Overall, I enjoyed The Man in the Brown Suit, and this audiobook version was a charming narration of the story.