Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

 

(hb; 1934)

From the inside flap

“Believe it or not, Bobby Jones had topped his drive! He was badly bunkered. There were no eager crowds to groan with dismay. That is easily explained─for Bobby was merely the fourth son of the Vicar of Marchbolt, a small golfing resort on the Welsh coast. And Bobby, in spite of his name, was not much of a golfer. Still, that game was destined to be a memorable one. On going to play his ball, Bobby suddenly came upon the body of a man. He bent over him. The man was not yet dead. “Why didn’t they ask Evans?’ he said, and then his eyelids dropped, the jaw fell. . .

“It was the beginning of  a most baffling mystery. That strange question of the dying man is the recurring theme of Agatha Christie’s. . . story.”

 

Review

Evans is a light-hearted, fast-moving, and fun read, even with its underlying (relative) darkness about the goings-on of its villain character(s). Its two main characters, Bobby Jones and Frances (“Frankie”) Derwent, are hardly practical amateur sleuths─though Frances is clearly the smarter and more forward-looking of the two, despite her spirited faith in Bobby. The villain(s) is/arent’ difficult to spot for eagle-eyed readers, and the twists are solid. Evans is a good (possible) murder romantic comedy by a great writer.

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Four television or streaming app adaptations have resulted from this novel, broadcast/streamed in these years: 1980, 2011, 2013 and 2022.