Absent in the Spring

She was a rule-breaker, and became a megahit by virtue of her difference, and through playing with the reader. Christie defined modern detective fiction by introducing clues, closed settings, and surprise endings, creating an immersive experience that required the user to actively participate to reap the benefits. Who dunnit had never been more fun... She completely changed the plot structure by repeatedly shaking the rules of storytelling. She was radical, creating a main characters like Miss Marple, an elderly woman defying the standards of her age and Christie’s time; smart, observant, incredibly socially intelligent and witty. Christie tuned into what made her different, and it worked. When crime novels focused more on morality or violence, she chose to bet on the reader's intelligence and analytical qualities. Her work was filled with women characters that were complex, which was hard to find in mainstream literature; women capable of violence, morally ambiguous, and filled with dark motives. Reading Agatha Christie feels like solving a puzzle. It’s rewarding no matter the outcome. If Woolf taught us how to think, Christie taught us to enjoy the process of reading and thinking.