I've read a few Agatha Christie's lately and thought I would move on to other authors, but I was travelling recently, and wanted a book I could finish from check-in to landing. With Christie I assumed there would be murder, etc. but Passenger turned out to be a spy thriller. Quite a different tone and not all together successful.
Sir Stafford Nye's journey home from Malaysia takes an unexpected twist in the passenger lounge at Frankfurt - Young Miss Theodofanous confides in him that someone is trying to kill her. He is actually game for her suggestion that he wander off without his passport or ticket, while she dons his coat and bluffs her way onto his plane. "I was robbed", he would say, and they would let him onto the next plane. Once back in New York, he meets up with his diplomatic colleagues, and his wily socialite Aunt Mathilda who are keen to hear of his adventures. At an Embassy dinner, he is introduced to the Countess Renata Zerkowski - the woman from Frankfurt! - who soon has him whisked away to a secret mansion to meet an underground of spies, well placed in upper society, fighting the rise of a new "Young Seigfried", poised to unite the rebellious youth of the world to a new Reich and re-build facism. With his blond hair and rousing speeches he might succeed, however, there is a larger and more well placed financial and political machine behind this puppet which Stafford and the Countess must expose.
Again, there are the patterns of psychology which hallmark Christie's murder mysteries, but this had a little too much packed into it for me. The original title included "An Extravaganza".
Once they travel across to Europe and infiltrate the enemy camp, there is everything from chemical warfare stockpiles and a new airborne drug called Benvo designed to make people benevolent, Hitler's ingenious escape from Germany to South America, traitors in their ranks and an evil millionairess named Charlotte Krapp, owner of the vast Krapp yards in Germany - all to the tune of a Wagner opera. The plot got muddled for me and I glazed over a little bit.
It's probably someone's favourite book, but I found too many side diversions and not enough momentum. Interesting ideas that seemed out of place, and interesting characters with not a lot to do with all the machinations of the plot.
Christie has said "It is not an impossible story - only a fantastic one". Critics of the time said "it slides from the unlikely to the inconceivable and finally ends up an incomprehensible muddle. Prizes should be offered to readers who can explain the ending". It was published to mark her eightieth birthday (!) and as her last spy novel is a diversion from her usual style, but it was a little too talky for me.
1970 / Paperback / 363 pages
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