Rach's Reading Club

The Case of the Weird Sisters  , by Charlotte Armstrong. Originally published in 1943.

ASIN: ‎B00729PUTS

The Weird Sisters is a fun, whirlwind mystery that I need to read again to find out how it made such a big impression on me. The story put me in mind of a recent film made of the Agatha Christie novel, Why Didn't They Ask Evans? When I recognized that connection, I realized that I don't feel like I just read this book – I feel like I watched a movie, and it's seamless. Every scene of the story I imagined so clearly that I barely noticed I was reading, and when I finished it, I wanted to talk to my partner about it because I felt as though we'd just experienced the story together. How does one write a book like that? Hence my need to read it again, but next time I'll take notes.

The mystery itself is a fun one. The young woman, Alice, is out to marry a millionaire, her boss, Innes, Her boss's driver, Fred, is a school friend of Alice's, and the three are driving to a camp where Innes has research and he's bringing Alice along to take notes for him. At a rest spot along the way, Alice barely has to smile at Innes for him to ask her to marry him. Then they have car trouble and have to stop at the house where Innes grew up, and his three elder sisters still live. Yes, they're weird. They think they're high society women because their father was a wealthy man, but none married. One lost an arm in an accident but remains prim and proper; one is deaf and slovenly, and the third is blind. When Innes, Alice, and Fred arrive, Innes announces his engagement to Alice, the trouble begins. The sisters don't want Alice inheriting their money, and odd accidents begin to happen, becoming more serious and end up with Innes bedridden and afraid to be left alone. With help from a former professor turned detective, Alice and Fred risk life and limb to keep Innes safe while working out which of the sisters is trying to kill Innes – or is it all three of them? And does one know what the other two are doing?

The professor/detective is wonderful, asking questions and helping Alice and Fred come to their own conclusions. Alice finds out what Innes is like in a crisis, and rethinks her desire to wed a millionaire. Maybe if she calls of her engagement, they'll all be safe? Or will it put Innes in even more danger? It's a wild ride and worth the trip if you want a weird mystery to get you through a rainy day.