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Towards Zero by Agatha Christie

The Characters and the plot

 Neville Strange is handsome, athletic and wealthy. He is a gentleman who wears his heart on the sleeve and cannot help but be sportive even when he loses a tennis match at Wimbledon. His good looks and impeccable manners make him irresistible to all women. Neville is planning for a fall vacation at Gull's Point with both his wife Kay and his ex-wife Audrey. Neville plans to use the vacation to make it up to Audrey for leaving her to marry Kay. Kay reluctantly agrees to Neville's plan but deep in her heart resents Audrey very much.

Ted Latimer, the childhood friend of Kay Strange is tagging along with the couple to Gull's Point. Ted cares for Kay beyond anything else and carries a flame in his heart for her even after her marriage to Neville.

Thomas Royde, the Malayan planter and cousin of Audrey is coming to Gull's point too. Thomas adores Audrey and intends to ask her hand in marriage during the course of the vacation.

Lady Tressilian is the matriarch of the estate at Gull's Point. After the death of Neville's parents, Lady Tressilian and her husband bring Neville up like their own son. Lady Tressilian adores Audrey and blames Neville for their divorce. She also doesn't approve of Neville's plans to bring his new wife and ex-wife together under the same roof but unwillingly agrees to it after she sees Audrey's inclination.

 Mr. Treves, famous Solicitor and expert on Criminology and old friend of Lady Tressilian's family is on his way for a vacation to Balmoral Court (see the map below). At eighty, he has a photographic memory and cannot forget a perverted mind once he sees it.  Mr. Treves' memory is put to test once he arrives at Gull's Point to pay Lady Tressilian a visit.

Angus MacWhirter, perennial loser and down on the luck drifter has suddenly found a purpose in life. A year after trying to end his life by jumping off the cliff near Gull's Point, Angus decides to return to the same spot to assess how far he has come since that incident. Little does he know that the cliff has more surprises in store for him this time around.

Superintendent Battle, the eternal crime fighter is in Salt Creek (see the map below) helping out his nephew and enjoying a long overdue vacation. Little does he know that his peace is soon going to be interrupted by a series of unfortunate events.

The Killer (yes, you heard it right) is heading to Salt Creek too this fall. The killer is a perfectionist with an eagle eye for detail and the victim cannot help but fall into the deadly trap that has been laid out with extreme precision.

What are the hidden agendas of these diverse characters? Who is going to fall as the clock winds down to the zero hour? Will the killer ever be caught? For the questions to all of these answers you gotta read Agatha Christie's 'Towards Zero'.


Towards Zero


What did I like?
  1. Take a quadrangular love story and wrap up it up in a psychological drama filled with intuition, coincidence and reasoning and you get 'Towards Zero'. More than half of the novel focuses purely on establishing the characters and their complex relationships and just when I thought this felt like a daily soap, the action picked up. At the end I realized that the steady buildup was absolutely necessary for the reader to understand the complex multi-dimensional characters that pervaded this story. So I tip my hat to the characterizations.  
  2. I loved the climax (no spoilers here). Everyone who reads my blog knows how much I like a happy ending. I was thrilled to see that while there was a happy ending for some characters there was also a 'just' ending for some others.
  3. Agatha Christie novels are known for their attention to detail and 'Towards Zero' takes this one step forward by allowing readers to visualize Salt Creek and it's adjoining areas through a map. The locations outlined on the map clearly show where various characters were when an event happened, This not only helps us understand the investigation better but also allows us to make our own deductions before the final culprit is revealed. This is the reason why I love Agatha Christie novels, you get to put the detective hat on, draw your own inferences and match them with the final conclusion when it is presented.

Map of Salt Creek


 The Final Word

 If you are a fan of crime fiction or if you just want to read a suspense thriller that is well worth your time then you have to read 'Towards Zero'. It's definitely one of the best detective novels in Agatha Christie's collection. Despite the haphazard beginning where several seemingly unconnected events happen all at once, the queen of crime weaves a tale which grows onto you with every page. In a world where instant gratification is the name of the game, a book like 'Towards Zero' is necessary to help remind us why patience is a virtue. That's my takeaway from the book. What's Yours? Don't forget to leave your comments.

Rated: Must Read

 Until Next Time,

Yours Always,
J.J. Chaitanya
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