Rating: 
Summary: An Entertaining But Minor Cold War Thriller
Review: In the 1920s and 1930s Agatha Christie often created novels that were more "thriller" than "mystery"--but as time passed she became less and less interested in such material. 1954's DESTINATION UNKNOWN (also published as SO MANY STEPS TO DEATH) is one of her few such novels from the latter half of her career.The novel has a topical story line that references the Cold War, defections, and even the notorious House Unamerican Activities Committee. In the aftermath of her child's death and a painful divorce, Hilary Craven travels to the Middle East in an effort to escape her past--and when this fails determines to kill herself. But her attempt at suicide is foiled when she is confronted with an intelligence officer aware of her intention, an intelligence officer who makes her an unusual proposal: if you are so determined to die, why not do it in a way that would serve your country? A nuclear scientist has defected; his wife, rushing to join him, has died in a plane crash. And Hilary, intrigued, agrees to take the wife's place in an effort to trace the missing scientist and uncover the intent behind his disappearance. It is a mission from which she is unlikely to return alive. Although the premise is interesting, the resulting novel reads rather like the outline for a minor Alfred Hitchcock film. Christie writes with her usual expertise, but the characters here are not greatly memorable and the story itself falls down a bit toward the novel's conclusion. Still, it is a fast and fun read, and fans of the writer will likely enjoy it as a change of pace from her more typical fare. Mildly recommended. --GFT (Amazon reviewer)--
Rating: 
Summary: VERY INTERESTING
Review: It's nice to take a break from Poirot and Marple. Usually, when Christie gets away from her usual detectives, you get a story that has plenty of adventure and a much more interesting story. A harried detective sends a girl ready to commit suicide on on a hunt for some murderers...dressed up like a dead woman. Needless to say, your heart is racing thru-out the whole thing. Buy it, especially if you feel bored or rather depressed yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: Dull, dull, and, oh yeah, dull!
Review: Ok, Agatha Christie is my favorite author, but this has got to be the worst book she's written; I wish I could give it a 0. I thought it was a murder book by the title, but once I read only 1/4 of it, I knew it was boring and confusing; by the time I got to the middle of a page, I forgot what I read one page before. I almost began wishing Hillary HAD decided to kill herself. I got this book among 8 more books by Agatha Christie, and even though this is the first one I began reading, I know it's the most boring. If you like Agatha Christie like I do, get books that look interesting; believe me, this one isn't
Rating: 
Summary: A letdown
Review: The scientist Thomas Betterton, a brilliant young American who developed the ZE Fission technology that can be very important for modern warfare, has disappeared suddenly out of England. Has he been kidnapped or did he depart out of free will to work for the enemy? If Betterton's wife asks for permission to leave the country for a relaxing trip to Morocco, she gets followed by security agent Jessop. It all turns bad when her plane crashes on its way to Cassablanca. Nevertheless she succeeds in continuing her trip, but is not fully aware into which beehive she stumbles. First of all it must be stated clearly that this is not a detective story, but an atempt at an espionage novel. When Agatha published Destination Unknown in 1954, Ian Flemming had just created his famous James Bond character in the novel Casino Royale. Although Agatha clearly has the intention of making the plot flamboyant and bursting with action, she never succeeds in coming close to the fantastic plots that Flemming created. It is clear that the specialty of the Queen of Crime lies in the typical whodunit with Poirot and Marple as the key-characters and not in novels of espionage. The plot of Destination Unknown is straightforward and, although some admirable attempts were made to surprise the reader, lacks the level of suspense that normally characterizes this type of thriller. This book certainly does not belong to Agatha Christie's highlights. But then again, it is still remarkable that seen the enormous size of her oeuvre, she only wrote but a few really bad books.
Rating:
Summary: NOW, WHAT WAS I READING?
Review: Too bad you can't give a book 0 stars, I would if I could. I read this book and found it SO boring (this might be because I read it when I was 10). I couldn't remember what I had read at the top of the page before I go to the bottom! This just proves how boring it was. And believe me, I was reading other mysteries at the time so I know a good one when I see it. Agatha Christie was NOT a good one.
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