Endless Night was first published in 1967, in the latter part of Christie's long writing career. This is a stand-alone novel that really packs an unexpected punch at the end. The narrator and protagonist of the novel is Michael Rogers who works as a sometimes chauffeur by taking well-to-do people on tours of Europe by motor car. While in a remote village in England, he visits an old estate up for auction called "The Towers" and longs to own the land around it and build a proper house on it. The locals call the place Gipsy's Acre and they think it has a curse on it because of several accidents that have occurred there. While Michael is there, he is warned away from the property by a local gypsy named Mrs. Lee. But Michael yearns to own the land and randomly meets a young lady, Ellie Goodman, who seems to share his passion for the spot and she is also a wealthy heiress. Michael and Ellie hit it off and our soon married in secret once Ellie turned 21 and was able to inherit her fortune. They hire a noted architect to build their dream house at Gipsy's Acre which seems to make them happy but is there really a curse on the property?
This novel seems to go on for a long time laying the groundwork for a very disturbing and surprising climax that I was not expecting. Endless Night was one of Christie's own favorites which she ranked highly along with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Pale Horse, and Moving Finger. This is according to Max Mallowan, Christie's second husband. He believed that Christie liked this work "because it gave the reader a penetrating understanding of a twisted character who had a chance of turning to the good and chose the course of evil."
I have read quite a few of Christie's works including her Poirot and Miss Marple stories and I usually enjoy them as leisurely "cozy" mysteries. Endless Night was somewhat out of her normal story-telling techniques in that the murders take place near the end of the narrative and were quite unexpected.
This novel seems to go on for a long time laying the groundwork for a very disturbing and surprising climax that I was not expecting. Endless Night was one of Christie's own favorites which she ranked highly along with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Pale Horse, and Moving Finger. This is according to Max Mallowan, Christie's second husband. He believed that Christie liked this work "because it gave the reader a penetrating understanding of a twisted character who had a chance of turning to the good and chose the course of evil."
I have read quite a few of Christie's works including her Poirot and Miss Marple stories and I usually enjoy them as leisurely "cozy" mysteries. Endless Night was somewhat out of her normal story-telling techniques in that the murders take place near the end of the narrative and were quite unexpected.
