Also, there are witches. Easterbrook and a picture restorer called Ginger are determined to find out. I commend the book to all who find the Classic Mystery Tradition still part of the core of the genre as well as to any others who seek a readable story without the writing crutch of unnecessary sex play, vulgarity or soppy romance. Or what if a person could be psychologically predisposed to die of a natural disease? This hot mess -- especially the ending -- is an embarrassment to the genre. The book is a bit wordy at times but the plot is easier to follow. There is a suitably perplexing plot, stirling hero and heroine, assorted character actors of distinctive qualities,and a suitably Christie denouement. ... A mazon Studios continues its development run of classic mysteries from the late Agatha Christie with The Pale Horse. The main character, Mark Easterbrook is too sensible to believe in such nonsense...at least most of the time. Amazon delivers a delightfully dark and twisted mystery told in two parts for its Prime subscribers. Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse (Amazon) — Review. The cynosure of the action occurs in The Pale Horse a rustic inn in a small English village where live three women who claim to have the powers of witches. I’d read it many years ago, but didn’t remember much about it. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness. By far my favorite character from The Pale Horse is Zachariah Osborne (Bertie Carvel), the seemingly random repair man whose name just happens to also be on the fateful list. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. But there doesn't seem to be any other obvious answers. Matt Roush Mar 18, 2020. The Pale Horse is said to be the home of three witches, led by the mysterious Thyrza Grey. Imagine the setting circa 1960. The writer is said by the Guinness Book of Records to be the best selling novelist, ever. This page works best with JavaScript. In the blood-drenched pantheon of Agatha Christie, 1961’s The Pale Horse is an oddity. The Pale Horse is another detectiveless mystery, one which follows the story of a man named Mark Easterbrook, who's searching for answers regarding a woman who died with a list of names hidden in her shoe. This is a … I don't read many mystery novels, but christie's are always good. Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2014. And although nearly all of Christie’s mysteries involve murder, The Pale Horse is particularly dark and Sewell’s performance plays well into that. I have no idea who did what and really don't care now. I have one whole shelf of What He Christie books and really liked every one of them. He continues to be haunted by visions of his first wife (Georgina Campbell) as his current bride (Kaya Scodelario) grows ever the more suspicious of his infidelities. Essentially, however, this is a non-series work, one of those delightful tidbits that Dame Agatha turned out every now and again to vary her output. A man is haunted by the deaths of two women he’s connected to (first his wife and then his mistress) as he works to unravel the mysteries surrounding their sudden demise. It is much better than the BBC two parter on recently. Review: 'Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse' trots rather than gallops ... this Amazon Prime series takes place in London in the 1960s. When it comes to a some what lighter side of Easterbrook, he’s a bit harder to swallow. It was a lovely, hard to put down read! Sean Pertwee (FOX’s Gotham) plays the lead inspector and focuses in on Easterbrook very quickly. Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2016, I had never read this particular story but thanks to Amazon's listings, I was able to obtain a lovely 53 year old copy. Classic Christie. There are always challenges with adapting great literature to the screen. My personal conclusion is that the TV version is more memorable but the novel more sound. The cynosure of the action … She bears a striking resemblance to Agatha Christie. Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2020. Read full review. It was the first Agatha Christie I have read. This hot mess -- especially the ending -- is an embarrassment to the genre. I finally skipped to the end just to finish. It's a shame that Sean Pertwee, who excelled as Lejeune in the TV adaptation, didn't get a chance to play it as per the book. You can still see all customer reviews for the product. With Georgina Campbell, Kaya Scodelario, Rufus Sewell, Kathy Kiera Clarke. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2020. I’m here in corona virus quarantine mode, and I think a rereading of more of her books will definitely be a great way to pass the time. His most notable work of late has come in The Man in the High Castle (Amazon) where Sewell plays the lead American Nazi in an alternate future tale. His work is featured at Frame Rated (UK) and you can follow him on Twitter: Brick_Says . By Gabrielle Bruney Instead of Poirot and Miss Marple, we have Mrs Oliver and Mrs Dane Calthrop (I love the way she mixed and matched detectives). Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2020. Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. It turns out to be a former pub now inhabited by three eccentric ladies of a certain age who are only too happy to tell you about their hobby - black magic. I found the book to be delightful. I was very confused with the show and needed to read the book in hopes of tying all the loose ends that the episodes created. While I enjoyed his performance overall, the likable parts of Easterbrook are clearly harder for Sewell to pull off. Approved third parties also use these tools in connection with our display of ads. The Pale Horse Is Based On an Agatha Christie Novel—But the Story is Pretty Unrecognizable Here are all the differences between Amazon's two-part film and its source material. Carvel, who is probably best known for Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell (BBC), is stellar in his portrayal of Osborne. What if people could be killed from a distance...using witchcraft, voodoo, casting a hex, or using some type of magicial "death rays"? My loose ends were never tied, which still upsets me. I watched a film version on Amazon prime, which was a terrific thriller, but mostly bad reviews because it strayed from Christie’s plot. Not everything that plays well in one’s mind plays as well on one’s television. Metacritic reports an aggregated score of 69 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". Rather, this has a feel of Dennis Wheatley about it, with a real sense of the supernatural. 60. This story has special meaning for me, because it happened to be the very first Agatha Christie story I read. Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle) plays Mark Easterbrook, a man who lost his wife just shot time prior after she visited a strange trio of fortune tellers in a town nestled in the quiet English countryside. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for THE PALE HORSE at Amazon.com. She bears a striking resemblance to Agatha Christie. The novel's main character is straightforward, whereas the one briliantly interpreted by Rufus Sewell keeps you guessing. When a strange women dies and a list of names is found hidden in her shoe, Easterbrook is called in by the police. When the list is linked to a spate of recent deaths and a trio of strange women at The Pale Horse Inn, Mark Easterbrook sets about discovering what’s going on. © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2013. This is not my favourite Christie novel so I was not upset by the alterations in recent stylish TV version . Mrs Christie has a sharp eye for contemporary fashions (hairstyles like birds nests, thick jumpers worn for dinner) and mores (coffee bars, flower shops that sell one bloom in masses of maidenhair). And Carvel’s oddball antics and charismatic performance is fun to watch. This is not a cosy mystery, set in a stately home, amid the drawing rooms of the aristocracy. Don't think I can add, Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2020. I was very disappointed on the many variations from the beginning of reading this book. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2020. Marvellously tangled and misleading, this story leads you up the garden path and back again before laying the solution out before you. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 February 2020. For the most part, this works on the screen and especially with the casting of Sewell. I am presently reading all of the Agatha Christie novels. For one, Rufus Sewell breathes a sinister air to an otherwise whodunnit mystery — the actor is perhaps the only part about two miniseries that will not leave you disappointed. This one is nothing like any of her others. The characters are warm and believable despite being lodged in the past. Dame Agatha still has it after all these years, although some of the characters and descriptions are a bit dated. She has a strong sense of evil, is brilliant at misdirection and is readable, too. While Easterbrook easily wears an exterior of wealth and success, he’s shallow and bankrupt on the inside. I read it after watching the first episode but finished it before the second was shown. Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. The two-part series will officially come to America this March, premiering on Amazon Prime beginning March 13. The central character, Mark Easterbrook, is a serious, bookish man who stumbles across some odd happenings and begins to add two and two when he bumps into an old friend, now a forensic pathologist. Their search leads them from mansion flats to boarding houses to dusty offices in Birmingham to draughty country vicarages. I’m a big Poirot and Marple fan and so I seldom venture into Agathas other writings. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 February 2020. And her policeman was of his time but not Inspector Japp! The Pale Horse was published in the 1960s and is a fine murder mystery. All this in crystalline prose which, whether listened to (as I do) or read, carry one along effortless from one act to another until the very satisfying end. THE PALE HORSE is also memorable for its unusual characterizations, most particularly in the opposing figures of Mrs. Dane-Calthrop, a vicar's wife who fights on the side of angels, and Thyzra Grey, a woman who claims to possess dangerous mystical powers. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. While Miss Marple is my favorite, I also am particularly fond of her stand alone novels. After wasting two hours of my life watching the BBC adaptation of this book, and being left completely baffled at the end, I felt compelled to buy the book to see what the story was really like. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2020. While they play a prominent role in the story, there are some extended periods without them which seems to diminish the supernatural qualities of the story a bit. I liked Mark Easterbrook although at first I thought him an unreliable narrator. I was first interested in this book after watching it on prime. Along with his sidekick, Ginger Corrigan, he begins to uncover a sinister organisation. Although I’m a huge fan and thought I had read most of her books, I couldn’t really remember this one, so I watched the film and enjoyed.