CLASSIC CRIME  | Daily Mail Online

DEATH ON THE NILE

by Agatha Christie (HarperCollins £14.99, 336 pp)

The bestselling of all bestselling crime writers, Agatha Christie is critic-proof. What then can usefully be said of the reissue of Death On The Nile, one of the best known titles in the Christie canon?

Well, for a start, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the publication of Christie’s first novel, this is a deluxe-edition begging to be gift-wrapped.

Then again, with a star- studded film version in the offing, there is pleasure to be had in the game of compare and contrast.

But, for the uninitiated, the promise is of a rattling good tale. When a poor little rich girl is shot dead on her honeymoon, there is not a single passenger on a Nile steamer who is beyond suspicion.

It is up to Hercule Poirot to explain the twists and turns to arrive at a wholly satisfactory denouement.

TREAD SOFTLY

by Brian Flynn (Dean Street Press £10.99, 212 pp)

As every crime writer knows, an original plot is hard to come by. Variations on a familiar theme are the best that can be hoped for.

But in Tread Softly, Brian Flynn pulls it off with the story of a self-confessed murderer who claims to have strangled his wife in a terrible dream, only realising what he has done when he wakes up. If it can be shown that he was not responsible for his actions, a jury is bound to find him innocent. Convinced that it is all a put-up job, Scotland Yard calls in super-sleuth Anthony Bathhurst to break the defence.

It is not long before Bathhurst detects inconsistencies that point to a more complex explanation for events. But if, as he believes, the defendant is not guilty, there are others who should be in the dock.

A SHOOTING AT CHATEAU ROCK

by Martin Walker (Quercus £18.99, 352 pp)

Benoit Courreges, otherwise known as Bruno, is a man for all seasons. An army veteran, he is now chief of police in rural Dordogne where he leads the good life. When he is not cooking exotic meals for his friends, helping to run a riding school or teaching youngsters how to play tennis, he finds time to investigate local crime.

But with Bruno there are always wider implications. An investigation into the death of an elderly farmer who has sunk his life’s savings into a luxury retirement home leads to the exposure of a financial scam headed by a Russian oligarch with links to the Kremlin.

The climactic shoot out is closer to James Bond than to the routine of a country constabulary, but Walker is unrivalled at interweaving the professional and private pursuits of a thoroughly likeable cop.