Agatha Christie’s The Secret of Chimneys, published in 1925, plunges readers into a web of intrigue featuring Anthony Cade, a mysterious protagonist whose true identity remains unclear. Christie keeps readers guessing: Is Anthony a con man, kingpin, killer, or something else?

Anthony must deliver the memoirs of Herzoslovakia’s dead king to a London publishing house by a set date. Several parties try to persuade or pressure him to hand over the memoirs before publication, showing the documents’ value or danger. When a thief breaks into his hotel room to steal the manuscript, he instead takes private letters from Virginia Revel, raising the stakes for Anthony.

Motivated by responsibility and concern for Virginia, Anthony tracks her down to warn her about the stolen letters. He finds the thief dead in her study, apparently killed after blackmailing her. The two, needing to protect themselves from suspicion, team up to hide the body. Virginia, wanting to avoid alarm or suspicion, continues her plan to travel to Chimneys for the weekend.

At Chimneys, Lord Caterham hosts reluctantly, preferring to avoid George Lomax’s political dealings. His daughter, Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’, handles the guests. One guest, a foreign dignitary using a false name, seeks an audience with a financier, driven by secret diplomatic aims. When Tredwell, the butler, finds the foreigner dead, an investigation begins because of the crime’s gravity and political implications, drawing in both Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté.

As one of her earlier novels, Christie had not yet perfected her style, so the story takes time to develop and the mystery to unravel as she casts doubt on the party members at Chimneys, their varied motives for suspicion and secrecy thicken the plot. The final twist pays off the buildup, making this a 3-star mystery.