Book Review: Ordeal By Innocence

Leo Argyle and his wife Rachel are devastated to learn they cannot have children of their own, but to make up for it, the couple decide to adopt five young children from a mix of different backgrounds. Unfortunately Rachel's smothering affection for them proves to be fatal when she ends up being murdered with a poker, and her youngest son Jacko, the quintessential delinquent, is suspected owing to the strange turn of events preceding her death. His alibi doesn't hold water and he is convicted of the crime which he vehemently denies. Worse, he dies in prison six months later.

Ordeal by
Innocence

Flash forward to the present, two years later, the family has somewhat resigned themselves to the unpleasant happenings of the past and badly try as much to forget them. Unfortunately, a Dr. Arthur Calgary, returning from an expedition to the South Pole, plays spoilsport by providing a concrete piece of evidence that exonerates Jacko. Now the young man's innocence could only mean that the act was committed by someone else, and that someone wouldn't hesitate the slightest bit to strike again even after all these years.

The plotting is ingenious and the climax is sure to spring up as a nice if not totally unexpected surprise. Since the murder has already occurred in the past, Christie delves deep into the minds of each family member, eventually bringing out their true colours and making us, readers, suspect every one of them. Calgary as the protagonist has an immensely likeable persona, and his genuine wish to prove Jacko's innocence only succeeds in causing further angst and grief to the family who are now troubled at the thought of having a killer in their midst. Exciting and thrilling, Ordeal By Innocence may be short on detection, but stodgy it isn't.