Agatha Christie - The Pale Horse

I recently watched the BBC Marple adaption of The Pale Horse and I was confused by the storyline, things were so convoluted! So I went to the library and borrowed the book. Firstly, no Marple in the story! Ariadne Oliver makes brief appearances, but the main character is Mark Easterbrook, a historian. I found his bungling manner quite endearing, although I did think he was never going to solve the mystery.

It wasn't my favourite Christie, I understand why the adaption was so convoluted, the book itself seems to go in so many different directions before it wraps up into the solution. A bit like real life really, although a tad hard to follow - also like real life. I don't think the adaption needed Marple - Easterbrook and Ginger, his co-opted sleuth, were quite capable of getting themselves into mischief without her guidance.

Still, it was a Christie and that automatically makes it better than most of the other mystery books out there. I was disappointed that Ariadne wasn't eating apples continuously  - but if this came after Hallowe'en Party I forgive her.

One last thing, a white cockerel is killed during a magic ritual in the story. I found it uncomfortable and skipped those pages, so just be warned if you don't like animal abuse - and who does, honestly?