The Pale Horse audiobook

4.5 StarsThe Pale Horse is a spooky little mystery that dabbles with the idea of a cabal of criminals who kill for money using supernatural means.Can it be done? Three kooky sisters in a village claim to have powers beyond what mortal men can comprehend. Nobody takes them seriously, of course.But wh

”And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him…”A certain Mrs. Davis dies suddenly in a boarding house. Her death is not remarkable, but the list of people’s names that she shared with a priest before dying turns out to be very interesting indeed. This list includes the names of some people who have recently died of natural causes, or was it? When the priest is found murdered, the police are confounded by how it all ties together. Mark Easterbrook (who will be played by Rufus Sewell in the upcoming BBC adaptation of the book) finds himself drawn into this fascinating series of events. He says the writing on his book is going very well when anyone asks him, but in reality, I think he would use any excuse to escape writing further about the history of the Moguls’ way of life. If the writer is bored with the subject, how can a reader possibly find what he’s written interesting? The Moguls simply can not compete with a real live murder mystery. There is a nice foreshadowing as he goes to the theatre with his pseudo girlfriend Hermia Redcliffe. ”One needs some really good food and drink after all the magnificent blood and gloom of Macbeth. Shakespeare always makes me ravenous.” Watching or reading Shakespeare does always produce an appetite for me as well, but what is interesting about the mention of Macbethis that, during the course of his impending investigation, he is about to meet three witches. He hears through an unreliable source (good time girl Poppy) that, if someone wants someone done away with, she needs to see the three women at The Pale Horse Pub. Rather brazen, don’t you think? If you are in the murder for hire business, to operate under the name The Pale Horse is almost an admission of guilt. It is all poppycock anyway; you can’t use witchcraft to kill someone. Voodoo, a sect of witchcraft, if one is to believe the more sensationalized presentations. But doesn’t one have to believe in Voodoo for a Voodoo curse to work? Doesn’t one have to believe in witchcraft for it to work?When Easterbrook meets these three women, he is certainly unnerved. As he starts to assemble the evidence, he begins to question his own beliefs and wonders if he has stumbled upon something beyond the pale of his understanding. Despite the hazards, it is either putter about with this investigation or return to the dry desert of the Moguls. He chooses to continue to poke about. Of course, this is an Agatha Christie novel, so one must expect there will be twists and turns. No worries, she doesn’t disappoint. She has this interesting passage about the dangers of life and our destructive tendencies towards the planet: ”In the end, perhaps, not only great natural forces, but the work of our own hands may destroy it. We are very near to that happening at the moment…” This would have special resonance with people who happened to pick this book up to read during The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. The book was published in 1961 in the UK, but was published a year later in the US. Living under the threat of nuclear annihilation was all too real in 1962. There are other nice foreshadowing elements that I won’t discuss that are actually clues to the resolution, but only become clear for me at the end. I read the bulk of this book in an afternoon, so all the evidence was freshly presented to me as I reached the conclusion. I can see the way she uses misdirection, but also plants seeds that sprout into flowers of understanding during the reveal. Another interesting aspect of this novel is that it is considered the fifth Ariadne Oliver novel. She is a writer of mysteries who is a background character in several Hercule Poirot novels. I was unaware of the use of this recurring character, but alas, she only has a few scenes in this novel. One is a humorous discussion with Mark of the frustrations with trying to write clever mystery novels. I did want to see more of Ariadne, but unfortunately she isn’t imperative to the plot. The movie is going to eventually be released on Amazon Prime, but I don’t have a date for when that will happen. As an Agatha Christie fan, you can choose to wait and watch the movie, or you can do as I like to do and read the book before watching the movie to analyze the plot decisions made by the writer of the screenplay compared to the original. If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.comI also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten

El libro ideal para leer en pleno Halloween. Brujas, videntes... Agatha consigue llevarte a lo paranormal y creértelo, dándole después una explicación perfectamente lógica para solucionar el misterio.

Classic Agatha Christie with a distinctly modern flavour! Father Gorman attends to one of his parishioners who, with her dying breath, asks for forgiveness and gives him a list of names with a wish that the evil be "Stopped ... it must be stopped ... You will see?" When Father Gorman was found murdered later that night, the police suspect that the murderer failed to find the crumpled list of names stuffed in Gorman's shoe and that the list was likely the reason he had been murdered. This list of names and a series of serendipitous events, happenstance conversations and fortuitous meetings put Mark Easterbrook, Dame Agatha Christie's ever-present amateur sleuth, onto the trail of a gang of ruthless murders for hire. But Easterbrook is terrified to discover that the murders seem to be committed by a coven of three odd witches dispatching their victims for a fee with a malevolent brew of witchcraft, psychic arts, black magic and the mere power of suggestion.The Pale Horse retains many of the characteristics of Agatha Christie's earliest cozy mysteries - country fêtes and bazaars, afternoon tea, parish vicars and their long-suffering wives and the obligatory parlour room confrontation with the suspects. Agatha Christie even allows herself a cameo appearance in the novel in the person of twittering author Ariadne Oliver. But The Pale Horse also has a much more modern flavour as an aging Dame Christie brings her craft into London of the early sixties - Soho, Chelsea coffee bars, discussions of avant garde productions of Shakespearean plays in ways the bard would never have imagined, a more graphic approach to violence and brutality and a somewhat grudging if critical acceptance of the popular culture of London's younger people.But the ending, whether you think of it as vintage mystery or new age police procedural, is classic Agatha Christie - a beautiful blind-side twist that no reader will see coming until it's right on top of you!Highly recommended and thoroughly entertaining!Paul Weiss

Christie at her poisonous best. What sets apart this novel from her other writings is the development of the plot is not linear. There are interesting diversions to keep you glued till end with great deal of occult and witches in the plot. The inspiration for solving the murder appears to be too sudden. Mrs. Oliver without her friend Poirot manages to add that extra bit of fun and frolic.

A mystery which contains non of the Christie regulars (except Mrs. Oliver), which was surprisingly much better than I expected from the lukewarm first half. The discovery made by Mrs. Oliver gives the vital clue for solving the mystery - interestingly, it was instrumental in saving a person's life also in the real world.(view spoiler)[ "In 1976, the year Agatha Christie died, a 19-month-old girl from Qatar was brought to Hammersmith Hospital, London, suffering from a mysterious disease. A nurse noticed that the symptoms resembled those of victims in The Pale Horse. When she reported this, doctors immediately tested for thallium, found it, changed the treatment and saved the girl's life. Inquiries revealed that her parents had been using thallium sulphate to kill cockroaches in their home."- from The Independent (hide spoiler)]

Dame Agatha’s first novel of the 1960’s demonstrates that not only does she have her pulse on current trends, while also writing another brilliant engaging mystery.Opening in a Chelsea coffee shop our main protagonist Mark Easterbrook witnesses an argument between two girls, when Mark learns that one of those girls has subsequently died and is included on a list of surnames of a recently deceased priest he soon fears that the other names are marked for death.Whilst the trendy London setting really gives a feel for the vibrant times ahead in the English capital, it’s the rest of the stories setting in the little village of Much Deeping that the story really comes to life.Talk of witchcraft and black magic is very reminiscent of movies around that time (I was thinking Hammer Horror).Could supernatural elements really be at play and what secrets does The Pale Horse Inn hold in this chillingly good atmospheric read.

Superba poveste! Cartea face parte din colectia Ariadne Oliver, dar nu ea este personajul principal. Cel care descalceste misterul este un tanar, Mark Easterbrook, care din pura intamplare afla de o moarte suspecta. Astfel, impreuna cu detectivul Lejeune si noua cunostinta Ginger vor descalci misterul.Spre final cartea este alerta si te tine in suspans.Superba 😉

I have seen to versions of this done TV the ITV version had Miss Marple in it and was ghastly. The last was even worse the BBC did set in 1961 but was not right.Agatha Christie did lot of Hercule Poirot books and Miss Marple but she also did stand alone books such as And then their were None this one of those. One of her much later mystery books towards the end of her life with Macbeth hint and biblical over hints. Behold a Pale Horse and his name was death. She did love her poisons

Extremely dark and chilling - read with a stuffed animal or a huggable friend nearby! Very thrilling and powerful read, and definitely my favourite non-Poirot or Marple mystery, hands down. Definitely a tense and creepy affair; the atmosphere is very much like what I would imagine the dark streets of Whitechapel would be during the late 19th Century. Mark Easterbrook is a loveable hero, intelligent and brave, and you can't help but be nervous and root for him at the same time as he plunges headlong into danger in order to solve the mystery. The romance was reasonably well-developed and rather cute, too; totally cheered when he found the right girl and came to his senses about the boring, snobby one. The random appearances of Ariadne Oliver made a nice tie-in with her other cases, and her slightly batty, cheery personality made a great contrast with the rest of the case. This is probably the first time I liked her rather than finding her annoying!

This book started super strong, got a little wonky midway through, but totally delighted me with the ending! I thought I was reading one type of Christie tricks (type A) but it was actually a totally different type of mystery (type b), and it has been so long since I’ve been totally faked out by her. The type b version of mystery is so much more my kind of Christie, anyways, so that made me happy. Overall, this gave me all the happy, cozy Christie vibes, and I’m now super interested to see the new adaptation that is coming out