MUST READS
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Agatha Christie
Hodder £10.99, 432pp
by Lucy Worsley
(Hodder £10.99, 432pp)
Agatha Christie’s enduringly popular murder mysteries have firmly established her as the pioneer of ‘cosy crime’.
But in her new biography, Worsley argues that Christie’s experiences of loss and trauma gave her novels a psychological depth that is often overlooked.
Agatha was born to a rich Torquay family, but their wealth declined and her father died when she was 11. Aged 23, she met a young pilot, Archibald Christie, whose photograph shows, Worsley observes, that he was ‘incredibly hot’.
A hasty marriage then followed, but 13 years on, Archibald fell in love with another woman and, in December 1926, Agatha went missing. Her disappearance sparked a huge investigation, with headlines suggesting it was a publicity stunt.
Worsley’s sparkling biography brings a fresh eye to Christie’s life and work, firmly busting the myth that she, or her novels, were cosy.
The Skeleton Key
Read Related Also: Zone 7: Alcatraz’s Most Notorious Escape
by Erin Kelly
Hodder £9.99, 512pp
(Hodder £9.99, 512pp)
In 1969, aspiring young artist Frank Churcher has an idea for a book that will make his fortune. The Golden Bones is an illustrated treasure hunt, based on a macabre folk song about a murdered woman named Elinore. Hidden in the story are clues to the whereabouts of seven tiny golden bones, representing Elinore’s skeleton.
The book becomes an instant best-seller, with a fanatical following among readers who call themselves Bonehunters. While Frank’s creation makes him famous, a shadow soon appears when his daughter Nell is attacked by a deranged Bonehunter.
Fifty years on, with one golden bone still left to find, Frank is planning a spectacular anniversary edition, but triumph turns to tragedy as long-buried secrets come to light. Kelly’s best-selling thriller is a compelling story of fame, toxic families and the enduring power of love.
The World
W&N £14.99, 1,344pp
by Simon Sebag Montefiore
(W&N £14.99, 1,344pp)
‘The word family has an air of cosiness and affection, but in real life families can be webs of struggle and cruelty,’ writes Sebag Montefiore in his immense world history, told from a family perspective.
The oldest traces of a family are footprints from around 950,000 years ago, found on a beach in eastern England. After that, it all gets quite Game Of Thrones. He chronicles murder, torture, incest, wedding massacres and fratricide. ‘There is such a thing as too much history,’ he concludes. But not here: his book may be vast, but its 1,344 pages tell the story of our human families with wit, humanity and a wealth of entrancing detail.
