A man, who has fallen from a cliff, is dying. Before he dies, he speaks just five words - a question, heard only by the young golfer who has seen the fall and is waiting for police and a doctor to arrive on the scene. The question the dying man asks is simply, "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
It's amazing how much tantalizing information Christie has packed into those five words - how many questions she forces the reader to ask, including:
- Who is Evans?
- Who, in this case, is "they"?
- What question did "they" not ask, and why?
- Why was that question the last thing on the mind of the dying man - and did he fall or was he pushed?
- And - implied - who was the dying man?
"Why Didn't They Ask Evans" is a mystery disguised as an action-filled "thriller." When young golfer Bobby Jones overhears the question from the dying man, he thinks nothing of it - in fact he forgets it until he is asked, by someone claiming to be a relative of the victim, if that dying man had said anything before he died. That's when Bobby remembers and dutifully reports the question. Doing so immediately puts his life at danger - but why? And from whom? What does he know that he shouldn't know? Only answering those questions about Evans will reveal the truth.
It's a well-done mystery (complete with red herrings, surprise plot twists and misleading clues) and a fine thriller. Bobby and his friend, Lady Frances Derwent, are cut from the same character pattern as Christie's Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. It's one of my favorite Christie novels, and I recommend it strongly.
One of my favorites too. I've read it many times.
It was adapted into a really good movie years ago starring James Warwick and Francesca Annis.
I believe this book is also known as The Boomerang Clue.
But I've always liked the other title best.
It is so enigmatic.
Posted by: Yvette | July 27, 2010 at 08:57 AM