The Man in the Brown Suit is my first foray into the 2022 Christie challenge, and I knew nothing about it before starting.
Our main character is the spirited Anne Bedingfield, a young woman who is not without intelligence and who finds herself firmly embroiled in a mystery like no other, the mystery concerning the man in the brown suit.
After the death of her father Anne finds herself low on funds but determined to make something of herself. When travelling one day she finds herself caught up in some rather unusual events.
A young man, scared by something he has seen, falls onto the rails and is killed. A doctor in a brown suit attempts to help, but Anne soon realises that this mystery man is far more involved than initially suggested.
With the murder of a Russian ballerina at the home of a respected gentleman, Sir Eustace Pedlar, it seems that there is more to this. Rather than walk away, Anne determines to investigate further and finds herself on a boat headed for South Africa.
The story focuses on Anne’s attempts to work out what’s happened, and a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between characters who are not all that they seem. Diamonds, double crossing and attempted murders keep the frantic pace going, although it felt the ending rather fizzled out. However, as a first journey into the Christie back catalogue it wasn’t a bad start.