The Unexpected Guest

Rating:
Summary: A posthumous Christie with a vengeance
Review: After getting his car stuck in a ditch next to a desolate road hidden in thick mist, Michael Starkwedder walks to a cottage to get some help. To his surprise he notices that the front door of the cottage is ajar. Once inside the house he finds a woman with a gun in her hand, crouched next to a lifeless body. The woman, Laura Warwick, immediately admits to having killed her husband. Michael decides to help the woman to cover up her crime, but never expected to get involved so deeply into the intrigues of a guilt ridden family.

The Unexpected Guest is an original play by Christie and as such not based upon a novel or short story. The play opened at the Duchess Theatre, London, on August 12, 1958, and ran for 604 performances. It is considered to be one of the better Christie plays, but cannot be compared to her absolute masterpiece The Mousetrap. Charles Osborne, the nephew of Christie, did an excellent job in translating the play into a full novel. The original Christie touch is still present and by reading the book you can almost smell the theater curtains and hear the silent coughing of the audience. No question about this: Christie would have loved this adaptation.

Rating:
Summary: More Proof of Christie's Prevailing Witt
Review: Agatha Christie once more proves that things aren't always what they seem. When I was about halfway through the book, I was convinced that I knew the outcome and had, finally, after reading so many of Christie's mysteries, conquered her ingeniousness. But in the end, I realized that I was once again mistaken. Although I greatly appreciate the beautiful writing techniques that Christie uses, I sometimes prefer the writing of Charles Osborne. I find that he uses words that I am more familiar with and less outdated, and he does not prolong the beginning of the book. He seems to get more to the point, and this keeps me intrigued throughout the book. After reading Black Coffee, I knew that I must read The Unexpected Guest. The only fault that I found in this book was of my own opinion--I did not like the ending. I am a fan of Hercule Poirot's triumphant cases, but I disliked the very end (although I liked the twist to it). Moreover, this inadequacy proved too imparticular for me to rate this book less than five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Not too bad
Review: Although this is a story plotted by Agatha Christie, Charles Osborne novelized it. He does a somewhat good job at it, although I felt that "Black Coffee" was a lot better. The action is rather slow going. The characters could've been more developped too. Overall, a disappointing, quick read. If you're a big fan of Christie, do yourself a favor and wait for the paperback...

Rating:
Summary: Silly and badly done...
Review: As a huge fan of Ms. Christie I am sorry to say this reads nothing like her books. Maybe its because it was meant to be a play and should have been left at that. A true waste of time!!

Rating:
Summary: Stiff, Predictable, and Poorly Adapted
Review: As an avid reader of Agatha Christie's novels (Hers were the first mysteries I ever read. I skipped right over Nancy Drew), I was incredibly disappointed in the adaptation of The Unexpected Guest. It is stiff, predicable, and (I never thought I'd say this)BORING! I honestly can't recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A Disappointing Read
Review: Being an avid mystery fan and a great fan of Agatha Christie, I was delighted when I came upon this novel. My delight turned to dismay as I started reading this "novel". I use this term loosely since it reads more like the play that it was originally meant to be. The book reminded me of a Nancy Drew mystery , which were favorites of mine in the fifth grade. If I ever get a craving for a good old fashioned Agatha Christie mystery, I'll just have to re-read one of her classics, and enjoy watching her plays performed on stage, as Miss Christie intended.

Rating:
Summary: A Disappointing Read
Review: Being an avid mystery fan and a great fan of Agatha Christie, I was delighted when I came upon this novel. My delight turned to dismay as I started reading this "novel". I use this term loosely since it reads more like the play that it was originally meant to be. The book reminded me of a Nancy Drew mystery , which were favorites of mine in the fifth grade. If I ever get a craving for a good old fashioned Agatha Christie mystery, I'll just have to re-read one of her classics, and enjoy watching her plays performed on stage, as Miss Christie intended.

Rating:
Summary: I would give this 4 and 3/4 stars if I could
Review: Even though I am 13 years of age, I have read about three-quarters of the books Agatha Christie has written. Most of the books I have read by her I found to be flawless and exciting. I am a devoted fan of her books and refuse to read other murder-mysteries. When I found out there was a "new" Agatha Christie book out I went straight to the shops to buy it. I found the book to be very enjoyable and even though it only took me 24 hours to read it (I couldn't put it down and stayed up 'till the early hours of the morning to read it until I got caught and had to go to sleep) I thought it was excellent. I usually find that the beginning of Agatha Christie books are a bit confusing but this was one of the least. The murder in the book is a masked mystery until the sureness is proved wrong. I found the book didn't have much suspense but I don't think it mattered. Charles Osborne writes very much like Agatha Christie and he even added things that Agatha Christie didn't usually add like a map of the room the murder occured in. For all people who read and liked The Murder of Roger Ackroyd this book is an absolute must.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not what I had hoped for
Review: I am a big fan of mysteries and Agatha Christie, but I found this book a disappointment. I know that these are co-authored (to a big extent) by Charles Osborne, and it shows. The story opens with a man entering a house to find a woman standing over the body of her dead husband. He covers up for her. There are lots of twists along the way, but I had the whole thing figured out halfway through the book. I know sometimes you can guess the ending and still enjoy it, but halfway through? I was expecting so much more. Still, it's the best of the Christie/Osborne books so far. Too bad that's not saying much.

Rating:
Summary: My faviort book
Review: I am a person who enjoys non-fiction and mystery novels. I think that this book was great. Agatha Christie did a wonderful job on this book. She made it all seem real. As I was reading the book it felt like I was watching it all happen in my head. I like the part when Michael helps Lauren plan a way to keep herself out of jail. She made Michael seem like he has done this type of thing before. The whole book was great. I just love to read books by Agatha Christie.