“A child, you know, translates desire into action without compunction. Charles’ father, a lawyer, mulls the nature of murderers in chapter 12: At any rate, it’s something new for Christie, so “Crooked House’s” fatalistic finale and theme make a strong impact amid a chronological read of her works.) The moral questionĬhristie directly addresses the topic of moral immaturity early on, although we don’t know at the time that she’s sneakily describing Josephine. (“Crooked House” is a first for Christie in exploring this topic, but where does it fall in literary history? I know “Of Mice and Men” predates it, but that’s about a mentally challenged adult. Others that jump to mind include the kid from the “Angel” episode “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” “Walking Dead” tween Lizzie, who is famously instructed to “Look at the flowers” and Olivia Cooke in “Thoroughbreds” - although she is a bit older. Recently we’ve gotten the “Orphan” sequel (although those familiar with that franchise know why Esther doesn’t quite fit this mold). Children who haven’t yet learned morality (and perhaps aren’t capable of learning it) are among the most unsettling horror and murder-mystery villains, in my opinion. More to the point, Josephine is a sociopath. Josephine is precocious, so that makes the writing easier. She does a masterful job with Josephine, described as being 11 or 12 by narrator Charles, an informal assistant to Inspector Taverner.

Setting: The Leonides estate, London, Fall 1947Ĭhristie hadn’t written many children at all up to this point.

Agatha christie leonides