Why Didn't They Ask Evans

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? has as its main characters two Bright Young People from the upper/ middle classes. No, it’s not Tommy and Tuppence.

It's Lady Frances Derwent (known to her friends as Frankie) and Bobby Jones, fourth son of the vicar of Marchbolt, a small seaside town on the coast of Wales.

The title of the book is taken from the last utterings (heard by Bobby) of a man who ‘accidentally’ falls from a cliff and shortly after dies.

There follows a somewhat convoluted chain of events. With the two young people trying to discover the significance of the man’s last words. Along the way, of course, narrowly escaping death.

I don’t consider this to be one of Dame Agatha’s best books by any means. I don’t feel that I really got to know Frankie and Bobby – maybe because they aren’t as well drawn as other Christie characters.

For me, it doesn’t have that ‘can’t put it down’ quality that I expect to find in an Agatha Christie crime novel.

But for all that, I’m sure it will keep the first time reader guessing.

The blurb on the back of my (1972) edition reads: Breathlessly exciting…entirely original.

The only trouble with a thriller as enchantingly clever as this is that it doesn’t last long enough’ So, please, don’t let me put you off reading it and making your own mind up.

You can get hold of Why Didn't They Ask Evans via the following links.

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