DESTINATION UNKNOWN- PB Paperback – January 1, 2017

A very interesting story.

This is a good, not great, standalone novel published in the 1950s. It is a mystery adventure novel with some surprises. I liked it and enjoyed it as a light listening experience.I enjoy all Agatha Christie novels. I have a particular affinity for her standalone novels. I purchased this novel on kindle because it is a standalone. I also purchased the accompanying audiobook. I read and listened simultaneously. This audiobook was very faithful to the written text. Miss Christie’s writing style makes for a very good audiobook. It is clearly written, clever, but not overly complicated. I liked it a lot.In the event that one is looking for another standalone by Miss Christie, my personal favorite standalone remains “The Pale Horse”.In summary I really liked this novel as a light reading experience. It makes a good audiobook. In the event enjoys Agatha Christie as I do and wishes to consider a contemporary novel that reminds me of Miss Christie, one might consider “Murder in Old Bombay”. Thank You for taking the time to read this review.

Not the typical Agatha Christie novel. This book doesn’t have any of the usual recurring characters. It’s set in the near east and is very suspenseful. Interesting plot and personality types.

I am a great fan of Agatha Christie, and I definitely love her Poirot and Marple books but I also greatly love her stand-alone books. Destination Unknown is one of the best of her stand-alone's.A woman decides to commit suicide but is stopped and offered an opportunity to become a spy. They are looking for scientists that are disappearing. One scientist, in particular, Thomas Betterton has disappeared. So Hilary Craven is giving the task of impersonating his wife.For a woman who was moments away from death, this will be the adventure that will reawaken her life.Agatha Christie wrote books that could be happily reread even after known the solution. If you have only ever read her Poirot and Marple I encourage you to try this one I guarantee you will be hooked.

I liked the premise of the story — a woman about to commit suicide is diverted by an offer of a mission that will probably end in death. She accepts, and the intrigue begins.I was disappointed not to encounter any of the witty dialog I love in Agatha Christie’s English village murder mysteries. Also missing are the amusingly eccentric characters. The story moves along like an earnest spy thriller, with good guys pitted against some mysterious evil that could be political or criminal or both. The intrigue I think is okay, although I don’t read spy thrillers as a rule, so I’m not a judge. I read this book out of fondness for Christie.Some plot elements seem farfetched and feel a bit dated. Destination Unknown was first published in 1954.Murder does finally enter the picture, and the ending is quite twisty. So even though this is not among my favorite Christie novels, it’s clever and readable.

A new favorite read from a great author! Can't believe this is my first read of this suspenseful book!! Excellent. I'm spoiling NOTHING, but go read it now.

Another great read! Quite different from her well-known Perot and Ms. Marple stories.. I always enjoy her strong female lead characters.

A fantastical novel of intrigue. I like the idea of someone being saved from suicide by being given an altruistic purpose.Probably highly unrealistic, but still, it keeps the interest and the ending is surprising and satisfying.

Great title, exotic setting (Morocco), interesting story-line, and a potentially interesting heroine (heart-broken red-head on the edge of suicide). so what's not to like? Well, it is Agatha Christie, not known as a deep writer. Still, there is an element autobiography within the lead character and as this is a late work by AC, you think maybe this is where she'll get past the cross-word puzzle plots and middle-class tombstones. Well, the writing is pretty good for the first half of the action until the ensemble gets to where it's going in the desert... and then the narrative falls apart. What you get is a lot of stagey expositional conversation and no action. Perhaps AC was influenced by the utopian / dystopian authors of the 1930's (in particular, James Hilton's Shangri La). The romance isn't credible, nor is the means of finding the secret lab, et cetera. Still, this novel is worth a look because of the plot and its set-up, even if AC didn't have the chops to sustain its early realism and emotional power.

Ripetitivo e noioso, non uno dei migliori Della Christie

"Destination Unknown" ist für mich einer der besten Krimis von Agatha Christie. Ulrich Hoche

The story is absolutely intriguing. Must read.

Intelligent, questioning, and thoroughly entertaining – 5 StarsThis novel, first published in 1954, is a far-cry from the ‘comfortable’ cosy mysteries that the author is so famous for. Beginning with the disappearance of several notable scientists, Jessop, a key investigator, comes across a woman planning to take her own life. Finding Hilary Craven to be a resourceful and intelligent woman, Jessop persuades her to take the place of Olive Betterton, the wife of a missing scientist. Jessop believes Olive was on her way to join her husband, and by using Hilary Craven as a ‘plant’, he hopes to get to the bottom of the ‘brain-drain’ mystery…For me, the novels of the 1950’s often reveal more about Christie than her earlier work. Firstly, Christie empowers the female characters in this novel. From dutiful wives, to eminent scientists, and our heroine as an undercover agent, all are portrayed as having a clear choice over their own destiny. Secondly, the novel repeatedly highlights a distrust in those who hold political and economic power. ‘Destination Unknown’ offers the reader the constant challenge of working-out what motivates the characters, and with Christie so skilled in the art of subterfuge, it’s not surprising that in this novel there are few who can be taken at face-value.While the plot might be considered implausible, it actually reflects many of the preconceived ideas held by the public in that period. Distrust of scientific advances, the motivations of those in Eastern Europe, and the increasing involvement of African and East Asian countries in changing the shape of the global economy are all grist to the Christie mill. Even adding the unpredictable twist-in-the-tale ending for which Christie became so well known, this novel remains one of my favourites. It’s an engaging read, but also one that challenges the political and social norms of the period, and illustrates the changing status of women during the 1950s. Fascinating stuff!