Ordeal by Innocence

Jacko Argyle, adopted son of Rachel and Leo Argyle, is dead. Accused of killing Rachel, Jacko was sentenced to prison, where he became sick and died, news of which dredged up the murder case 2 years after his sentencing. Jacko insisted he was innocent of the crime until his death, but there was no proof to substantiate his story – until Dr. Calgary reads of Jacko’s crime and is able to prove his innocence posthumously. Dr. Calgary approaches the family with this information, expecting relief from the family, but instead receives anger and dismay. The family is forced to acknowledge if Jacko didn’t commit the murder, they’ve been living in the midst of a murderer for the past two years.

In classic Christie whodunit style, I was guessing the outcome until the end. The story took a while to get going, and didn’t keep me quite as captivated as some of her other stories have until about halfway through the book. However, once I was hooked, the twists kept coming.

The character development for the main suspects was lacking, but the investigators were well portrayed. It is refreshing that Christie doesn’t portray the cops as incompetent, like many detective stories from the time do.

The conclusion of the novel is very different from the conclusion of the BBC special – which is also very good, but in a drastically different way.

All in all, worth the read, but not one of the Christie books I’ll be revisiting anytime soon.

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