Sparkling Cyanide
(alternate title: Remembered Death)
Agatha Christie
1944
4/5 stars
After a woman dies of cyanide poisoning at a small dinner party, her husband becomes convinced that it was murder, not suicide. He gathers the group of witnesses to a repeat of the situation, in hopes of surprising the truth out of the killer, but instead, another death occurs.
Christie does a fantastic job of introducing the characters, chapter by chapter, while slowly revealing both the past and the present of the story. One of her especial talents is the ability to make all characters appear guilty, and she does that to near perfection here. The romance is rather cringe-worthy, hence the four stars instead of five, but otherwise, this character driven mystery is an example of Christie at her best.
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