The Man in the Brown Suit

The clue leads Anne to book a passage on the ocean liner Kilmorden Castle, sailing for Cape Town. On board she meets a colourful group of passengers: a wealthy, self-indulgent politician and his secretaries, a cheerful society lady who becomes her friend, a mysterious colonel and a young man with secrets of his own. Someone on the ship is clearly dangerous, and Anne soon finds herself in peril.

The story mixes Anne's lively narration with extracts from the diary of one of the passengers, whose comic observations add to the fun. In South Africa, the adventure continues among stolen diamonds, false identities and a romance in the wild. The book is more of an adventure story than a classic puzzle, with a fast pace, humour and one of Christie's cleverest twists. It introduces Colonel Race, who appears in later Christie mysteries.

Fun, fast and surprising, a perfect light read. It shows a playful, adventurous side of Christie that surprises readers who know her mainly from Poirot and Miss Marple, and it remains one of her most purely enjoyable books. About 336 pages in the William Morrow paperback.