In the mood for a cosy crime story? Then The Sittaford Mystery by crime queen Agatha Christie is an excellent choice. It’s a standalone novel, so doesn’t feature Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, instead, the case is driven by the charming and enigmatic, Emily Trefusis.
Opening sentence: Major Burnaby drew on his gum boots, buttoned his overcoat collar round his neck, took from a shelf near the door a hurricane lantern, and cautiously opened the front door of his little bungalow and peered out.
Quite the Sittaford Mystery, indeed
What is a Sittaford, you might be wondering? Well, it’s an isolated little (fictional) village in the middle of Dartmoor, England, dominated by a huge stately home owned by Captain Trevelyan. He has temporarily moved out to rent it to a wealthy mother and daughter. They entertain themselves by asking the neighbours in for tea, cakes and ‘table-turning’ – essentially like a ouija board…
When, one snowy night, the board declares that Captain Trevelyan has been murdered, his best friend (and neighbour) Major Burnaby, despite not believing in this type of thing at all, braves the heavy snow to go and check. It turns out the board didn’t lie – Captain Trevelyan had been murdered. But by who? And are the spirits guiding what happened?
I do like this fun supernatural element that makes The Sittaford Mystery feel different to a lot of her other novels. Agatha is not known for her flight of fancy, and she delivers these parts of the plot in a way very much in keeping with her tone. The only other Agatha Christie book I’ve read that has a supernatural spin is The Pale Horse – also a great read.
It is fairly safe to say that there were only three topics of conversation at present in Sittaford. one was the murder, one was the escape of the convict, and the other was Miss Emily Trefusis and her cousin.
Emily on the case
As mentioned, although there is a policeman on the case, Inspector Narracott, it’s Emily Trefusis who is the character driving the developments. She has a very personal interest – her fiance, Jim has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Captain Trevelyan, but she is sure he is innocent. All she has to do it find the real killer…
Emily is a great character; she’s clever, witty, quick and likeable. It’s nice to see a strong, feminist take on crime-solving, especially when you remember The Sittaford Mystery was first published in 1931.
The Sittaford Mystery is so easy to read, I raced through it and loved it. It had multiple plot threads that wove together beautifully and it delivered all the key moments at the perfect time, while keeping things interesting and it had a super-engaging lead character in Emily. Highly enjoyed it!
- <a href="http://<a href="http://Get your copy of The Sittaford Mystery here;
- First published 1931. This edition published by HarperCollins 2002;
- 248 pages;
- My rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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