The Clocks

Agatha Christie is a comforting formula for me at this point, so it'll take a lot for anything by her to go wrong for me.

I'm pretty sure I've read this one but I have no memory of it. Or maybe I subconsciously did because I did kinda sorta guess the murderer in the end.

My initial guess at around Ch 24, around 2/3 through the book:
we're not yet quite at the denouement of the story and we still have no idea how Harry Castleton is connected with any of the witnesses/suspects, but i'm placing my bets on Miss Martindale, the owner of the typists' bureau. i've a feeling she's one of the jilted/duped wives of Castleton and she probably concocted this wild scheme. idk yet what her relationship is with Miss Pebmarsh and why she decided to do it at 19 Wilberham Crescent, but i'm kinda feeling that the clocks were put there to make reference to a date or something? and that Sheila is perhaps the illegitimate daughter of Castleton. i also find it very curious and sus that 19 Wilbersham Crescent backs up on 61 Wilbersham Crescent which could look like the same number if you read it the wrong way up, so i'm feeling like the Blands are somehow connected to the murder too.

And y'know what, I wasn't too off the mark. Thoughts about the ending:
I correctly guessed that the Blands were involved, and that Miss Martindale had been the murderer after all, so I feel pretty good about that. I also kinda correctly guessed that Sheila's parentage could come to light although I was off the mark in thinking that the victim might be her unknown father. I'm particularly proud of guessing that there would have been a mix-up between 19 and 61 Wilbraham Crescent, although I got the order reversed - Lamb was looking for 19 and not 61 all along - but that did lead me to suspect the Blands. Things that caught me completely off-guard was really that Miss Pebmarsh was not just Sheila's biological mother, but also a Russian sympathizer and spy. No wonder she was so cool and collected when a dead body turns up in her own house. Wouldn't have guessed even after we find out that Mr Ramsay did turn coat and went to Russia. I was a little disappointed that all the extra clocks were really just a ruse though.

Overall, this was a pretty entertaining story that did the job.