Book Review: Passenger to Frankfurt

Agatha Christie, in an Introduction to Passenger to Frankfurt, terms it an 'extravaganza', something fantastic. But I never knew she could come up with such a weird and out of place espionage thriller that looks like a poor imitation of what Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy and others churn out. Here is what happens - a British Foreign Office diplomat's flight journey back home takes an intriguing turn when he, a Stafford Nye, decides to help a woman who fears her life may be in danger.

Not being entirely dismissive, the plot does have its fair share of ingenuity. But they are too far and few and do less to brighten up the proceedings that otherwise evoke tedium for the most part. Thus what begins on a promising note degenerates into an unfathomable mess, as Agatha Christie saddles the novel's fictive universe with youth uprising and conspiracy theories (including one involving Adolf Hitler).

Too many characters (none of them memorable save for the amusing great-aunt Matilda) and a disjointed narrative play major spoilsport, and as for the preposterous ending, the less said the better. Seems like Christie wanted to try her hand at science-fiction, alternative history and a spy thriller all in one book, and the concoction, needless to say, is completely avoidable. To be frank I was so bored by the end that I just skimmed through the last few chapters. I couldn't have cared less!

Ending this with Robert Barnard's review of the book:
"The last of the thrillers, and one that slides from the unlikely to the inconceivable and finally lands up in incomprehensible muddle. Prizes should be offered to readers who can explain the ending. Concerns the youth uproar of the 'sixties, drugs, a new Aryan superman and so on, subjects of which Christie's grasp was, to say the least, uncertain (she seems to have the oddest idea of what the term 'Third World' means, for example). Collins insisted she subtitle the book 'An Extravaganza.' One can think of other descriptions."