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    Towards Zero
    Towards Zero
    Towards Zero
    Audiobook6 hours

    Towards Zero

    Written by Agatha Christie

    Narrated by Hugh Fraser

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    One of Agatha Christie’s own ten favorite novels, Towards Zero puts Superintendent Battle and Inspector Leach on the case as they investigate the murder of an elderly widow.

    What is the connection among a failed suicide attempt, a wrongful accusation of theft against a schoolgirl, and the romantic life of a famous tennis player?

    To the casual observer, apparently nothing. But when a house party gathers at Gull’s Point, the seaside home of an elderly widow, earlier events come to a dramatic head. As Superintendent Battle discovers, it is all part of a carefully laid plan—for murder.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 3, 2012
    ISBN9780062234056
    Author

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.

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    Reviews for Towards Zero

    4/5

    678 ratings23 reviews

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    • 5/5
      One of her better ones. Both characters and the plot are perfectly developed, their motives make sense and Christie’s writing is clear and witty - the type of writing that made her famous in the first place. Don’t skip this one.
    • 5/5
      couldn’t put it down until I found out who did it and why. Agatha C is such a great author!
    • 5/5
      Awesome! I def had it wrong lol I LOVED the ending!!!!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this. This was one of Agatha Christie's best. I enjoy the character of Superintendent Battle, and the rest of the characterisation in this was just as good. I particularly liked the fact that any of the characters could have been the murderer. It makes it that much more satisfying a mystery. There were also a fair number of unrelated matters, snippets out of the characters' ordinary lives that helped make the story believable and more satisfying. Particularly as they were given without comment or anything relating them to the later bit they were to do with. At the same time, it still managed to be a quick, light read. All in all, I'd certainly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
    • 4/5
      In which Superintendent Battle comes across a familial murder.

      Superintendent Battle makes his final appearance in Christie’s canon in this nifty little novel, published toward the end of WWII. I’ve always liked Battle, who – like Japp before him – is a thoughtful investigator whose books fit him like a glove. His previous books – "The Secret of Chimneys", "The Seven Dials Mystery" and "Murder is Easy" – are all rather light affairs, but Battle is nonetheless an admirable part of the canon, and a good way of her writing a standard detective story that could still utilise a recurring character. "Towards Zero" is Battle’s best solo outing (although he’s lucky enough to join Poirot, Colonel Race and Ariadne Oliver in "Cards on the Table"), and it’s a splendid novel. Backstabbing households were always a strong point in Dame Agatha’s repertoire and the inter-relationships here are particularly well-drawn. Just genuinely a good book.
    • 5/5
      Christie at her best. She is first and foremost a great storyteller and Towards Zero is a good mystery. The characters are interesting and entwined in each others lives in a way that makes murder no surprise. I not only love the mystery but how much I learn about that era. Christie is great at all the details of society. I enjoy the journey she takes us on and this was one of my favorite trips with a love story to boot. What a fine Italian hand. This would be a great movie or PBS mini series.
    • 3/5
      It’s okay. The beginning is the best part with the unusual premise. But, otherwise it’s just filler until it’s “zero hour” so definitely not my favorite.

      The plot twist is like my least favorite Poirot, “The Hollow.”

      Endless Night, They Came to Baghdad, The Unexpected Guest, And Then There Were None, Murder is Easy, Spiders’s Web, & Black Coffee were all much more enjoyable than this stand alone.
    • 5/5
      Loved it! I don’t care for Inspector Battle, but the family feud was really interesting and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end
    • 5/5
      Since this is the first Agatha Christie I read, the ending really had me. It was one of those "how could I have not seen that coming?". It's a classic murder-mystery story which I love, and you can never forget the first novel of the author you read. Christie said this was one of her favorite novels to write, and I can see why.
    • 5/5
      A great story and another great job from Hugh Fraser.
    • 5/5
      Very good mystery, lots of twists and turns. I love Agatha Christie and especially enjoy them when narrated by Hugh Frazier who does an excellent job.
    • 5/5
      This is a fine Agatha Christie. I enjoyed it and absolutely didn't guess the end, which I enjoy very much. The character development was superb and the interactions between them all were excellent. Inspector Battle is a treat. I also personally enjoyed the philosophical conversation about "towards zero" from the law gent* in the beginning.*I don't know from barristers vs solicitors etc.
    • 5/5
      How did I miss Superintendent Battle all these years? What a great character.
    • 5/5
      A brilliant construction of criss-crossing motives and red herrings , very suspenseful. I think the only reason it's not more well-known is that it hasn't got any of her best-loved detectives -- not dapper Poirot, not clever Miss Marple, just stolid old Inspector Battle.
    • 4/5
      Murder is the last act in a process that begins months or years earlier. Towards Zero begins with the contemplation of a murder and proceeds toward zero hour. Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard is familiar enough with Hercule Poirot to begin to think like him as he unmasks a murderer.Christie has used both the setting – a seaside home/country house with suspects limited to members of the household – and the plot before, although she adds a twist to make it a little different. Christie's policemen usually need the help of Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple to identify the killer. Inspector Battle isn't as eccentric as Poirot or as genteel as Miss Marple, but he does get the job done without outside assistance. I listened to the audio version read by Hugh Fraser (who plays Hastings on TV), and his Inspector Battle sounds a lot like Philip Jackson's Inspector Japp from the Poirot TV series.
    • 3/5
      This one's about functions.
    • 5/5
      What is the connection between a failed suicide attempt, a wrongful accusation of theft against a schoolgirl and the romantic life of a famous tennis player? To the casual observer, perhaps nothing, but to Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard, these are the only potential clues available to him when he's sent to investigate a murder that takes place during a house party being held at the seaside home of an elderly bedridden lady. I did really enjoy this book. It's actually the second Agatha Christie book that I've ever read and I give it an A!
    • 4/5
      I felt like reading this one as it was completely spoiled by 'Sherlock Holmes was Wrong' (Pierre Bayard). How could I turn down such an opportunity to study methods as I went along? Admittedly, it takes some of the fun out, but there was a different level of interest involved by knowing the solution in advance. This story has to rank right up there with the best of Christie that I have read, but it probably would not be very high in any poll of her fans. I could have done without the part at the very end with McWhirter (for anyone familiar,as I wouldn't dare spoil a mystery story by giving out details). Still, I really liked the clarity and depth of description without overdwelling on it. Maybe that has something to do with this particular book being dedicated to Robert Graves, who is a master of the English language.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite Agatha Christie novels. Nevile Strange takes his new wife on vacation at his family home at the same time that his first wife, Audrey is also vacationing there. His elderly guardian, Lady Tressilian is murdered, and suspicion is immediately cast on the housemates.
    • 3/5
      nice one !!! the only flaw on this story is .. there are no poirot here , too bad , because the culprit are just genious , poirot and the culprit will make a great show
    • 4/5
      No Poirot or Miss Marple in this one, but a strong mystery especially as it shows the build up to a murder, with a couple of other murders on the way. Battle and his nephew solve the mystery neatly, with a reference to Poirot and his neatness which provides the final clue to who the murderer is
    • 3/5
      More Aggie - one of her better ones with Supt. Battle. Good reading for relaxation...
    • 4/5
      This is a Miss Marple mystery, with the usual assemblage of characters who turn out to be connected in far more entangling webs that the reader realizes at first. I am always struck in reading Marple stories by what a heavy hand coincidence seems to play. Marple seldom seems shocked but that's all part of the fun.