Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie

Title : Destination Unknown

Author : Agatha Christie

Publisher : Harper/Collins, 2003

Pages : 316

Genre : Adventure, thriller, espionage, a li'l bit sci-fi too I guess ;)

Bought at : MPH Sunway Pyramid

Price : Value Buy-double books for RM39.90 (Yup! This is the double companion
of Dumb Witness.)

First published by : Collins, 1954

This is Agatha Christie Signature Edition.

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Reading this one was a new experience for me, after reading a number of AC's works in the past. It's a rare type of style, no Miss Marple, no Hercule Poirot. No gossiping 'ol dames, no hunt for family treasures, but a thrilling adventure in a punch bowl of war, ideologies and political sentiments. In it, there mentioned the term Iron Curtain several times and it has led me to find its meaning, to which I quoted from the online Britannica Encyclopedia as ...

...the political, military and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern European allies from open contact with the West and other non-Communist area.

However, the dark and gloomy post-war ambiance is just the background of the main plot. The main story is about the investigation of the sudden disappearance of a British scientist, Thomas Betterton, along with a number of distinguished science experts and researchers from all over Europe. The only key person in finding his whereabouts is his wife, Olive. Unfortunately, Olive is suffering critical injuries after a plane crash. Hope comes in the form of Hillary Craven, a suicidal woman who has lost her own hope to live after a failed marriage and the death of her child. How does Hillary play her role in tracking Thomas? Now that's the interesting part. The mastermind behind the geniuses' disappearance is a master genius in his own way, and the discovery of the plot? Superbly thrilling. In it there are mysterious characters, someone that might just pretend to be someone else, but you don't know who, and you don't know his/her motives and objectives. And in the end, the mystery is unraveled  one by one, and you know who is who...and then you can't help but thinking how brilliant it was told. Really, because I felt it.

This is not a usual Agatha Christie's treat and I love it!