Product Description

This is a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Agatha Christie's darkly suspenseful psychological thriller. 'Some are born to sweet delight/Some are born to endless night' - William Blake. Agatha Christie wrote "Endless Night" in 1967, and it is one of her greatest - and most unusual - novels. Creepy, malevolent and claustrophobic, it is a story about choices, the nature of good and evil, and grim retribution. Mike Rogers had a childhood fantasy about what life would be like as an adult; he'd have a beautiful wife, they would live in a beautiful home, and this would be a peaceful and deserved reward for a turbulent early life.When he meets Ellie Gutman at a lovely, remote spot known as Gypsy's Acre, suddenly it is all within his grasp. However, things are not as idyllic as they seem - local legend has it that the land is cursed, and several terrible accidents have occurred there. Mike and Ellie pay no attention to these tales: but when they move into their new home, the curse suddenly seems to come to life and they find themselves in grave danger...Starring Jonathan Forbes and Lizzie Watts, this is a menacing drama that perfectly evokes the atmosphere of Agatha Christie's brooding, malevolent tale, infused with passion, hauntings and grim retribution.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1594 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-11
• Released on: 2008-09-11
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

About the Author
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 100 foreign countries. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott.

Customer Reviews

One of the best
I have read every Agatha Christie novel, and rank this book as one of the elite 3 or 4 (Along with Ackroyd, Orient Express, 10 Little Indians). The ending of her novels usually make or break them for me, and the ending to this book was unexpected and superior. This is one of the few books that gave me that "spine-chilling" sensation that I wish I experienced during the reading of all mystery novels. Excellent!

Endless Night
"Endless Night" is in many ways a real departure from Agatha Christie's normal style. There's no frothy drawing room games here, but a steady building malevolence that culminates with, of course, a murder.

Written in the first person, young poor drifter Michael Rogers tells of his story of discovering the mystical and enchanting location of Gypsy's Acre. The current building that occupies the land is for sales and penniless Michael dreams of building his perfect house there, designed of course by the mysterious architect Santonix, who Michael has met during his duties as chauffeur to the rich.

All Michael needs though is the money to build the house with and the girl to marry and live there. Solving both of these requirements is rich heiress Fenella (Ellie) Guteman who Michael bumps into by chance whilst viewing Gypsy's Acre. The two young people fall for each other and after a whirlwind romance they are married in secret, much to the displeasure of Ellie's extended family who seem quite concerned that Michael might be a gold digging rogue, only after Ellie's money.

The couple decide that they will build their dream house on Gypsy's Acre and they engaged Santonix to perform the work. The only grey cloud on the horizon is the creepy and possibly sinister figure of Mrs Lee, a villager and gypsy who claims that the land the Rogers are building on belongs to the gypsys and woe betide anyone who plans to live there.

I found it was one of those Christie novels where you can guess who the victim is going to be and who the murderer is almost immediately, but that's not to say the book is any less enjoyable for that. The writing style, as I say, is almost poetic in approach and she really creates an atmosphere of brooding evil around the location of Gypsy's Acre.

There is time for some Christie standards in amongst all of this, the retired military chap and the beautiful governess, but there are a couple of other characters which are well worth reading about, Michael's mother is a prime example of this.

Ultimately it is a rather tragic book and there isn't really any light relief amongst the chapters, but fans of Christie will find it well worth the read and other mystery or crime readers will also enjoy it.

Do not read these reviews!
I must be very careful with what I say for fear of ruining this book or possibly other Agatha Christie's for you. The reviews that are here have the potential to spoil more than one great mystery of hers. I suggest not reading any of the reviews on this page. Look simply at the average star rating for this book and go off of that.

To give you what you're looking for without comparing this book with others, I found Endless Night to be a fantastic mystery. It is the only Christie that I have read more than once. It's wonderfully creepy, although not a traditional "murder mystery." A few very well placed surprises catch you off your guard and make this one of the most original books she's written. I highly recommend it.

I also recommend that you move on to another web page. You've got to be careful when reading reviews of mysteries. Someone's bound to say too much, which is the case here. I strongly, STRONGLY urge you to read no further in these critiques.