È un problema

About This Audiobook

*È un problema* isn’t just another Christie whodunit—it’s a masterclass in how money warps loyalty, where every heir is a suspect and every alibi smells like desperation. Set in a claustrophobic English manor post-WWII, the novel dismantles the Leonides clan with surgical precision: the resentful children, the gold-digging widow, the too-clever granddaughter. What elevates this beyond a standard mystery is Christie’s razor-sharp dialogue and her knack for turning domestic trivia (a spilled tray of tea, a misplaced syringe) into lethal clues. The audiobook, narrated by Alberto Onofrietti, leans into the story’s venomous charm with a performance that’s less theatrical, more *confidential*—like a family lawyer spilling secrets after one too many whiskies.

Onofrietti’s delivery is the audiobook’s secret weapon: his voice drips with dry amusement as he voices the family’s thinly veiled contempt, and his pacing mirrors the story’s slow-burn reveal. The Italian translation (from the original *Crooked House*) loses none of Christie’s bite, and Onofrietti’s timing—lingering on a pause before a damning line, or letting a character’s sarcasm curdle—makes this feel less like a reading and more like eavesdropping. At just over six hours, it’s tight enough to binge in a weekend, but dense enough to reward a second listen for all the lies you’ll miss the first time.

"review": "I’ll admit, I approached *È un problema* skeptically—another Christie? How many times can a poisoned old man in a manor house feel fresh? But within 20 minutes, Onofrietti’s narration had me hooked. His voice is the auditory equivalent of a raised eyebrow: wry, knowing, and just cynical enough to sell the Leonides family’s mutual loathing. The standout is how he handles the protagonist, Charles Hayward, whose calm exterior Onofrietti laces with the faintest edge of exhaustion, like a man who’s seen too much human ugliness. That subtlety makes the final reveal hit harder—you realize he’s been judging *you* too, for trusting anyone in this viper’s nest.

The story’s pacing is where the audiobook truly shines. Christie’s plot unfolds like a series of nested dolls, each interview or flashback peeling back another layer of deceit. Onofrietti leans into the rhythm, letting silences do the work—especially in the scene where Brenda, the young widow, ‘innocently’ describes her husband’s last moments. (That pause before ‘*doloroso*’? Chilling.) My only critique: the production occasionally flattens the dynamic range, so some of the quieter, more sinister lines lose their bite if you’re listening in a noisy environment. And while the translation is sharp, a few British slang terms feel slightly off in Italian (*‘old chap’* as *‘vecchio mio’*—close, but not quite the same sting). Still, these are quibbles. By the final act, when the truth lands like a gut punch, you’ll forget you’re listening to a book at all. You’ll just be glad you’re not a Leonides.

"tags": [
"golden age mystery with a venomous twist