Rating: 
Summary: A short story made much too long
Review: ..this would have been better as a short story. Well, it was! The main twist of the story is found in a Poirot short story, "The Mystery of the Cheap Flat." I'm not sure which was written first, but it worked better with Poirot. The heroine is along the lines of Tuppence. In fact, there is very little original matter in the whole story. It's still a fun read, great for killing an hour or two. I read it during my daughter's soccer practice. But I don't really recommend it unless you're just really bored. Agatha did it so much better!
Rating: 
Summary: Wouldn't catch a tired out blue bottle
Review: This is the third example of Charles Osborne's mission to convert Agatha Christie's stage plays into novel format. For some strange reason, considering the excellent job he made of "Black Coffee", this time he has, most surprisingly, produced an absolute clunker. First and foremost it lacks any effective characterisation. I got the feeling that I was reading a description of the play by someone who was very competent at remembering the dialogue, but who really wasn't very interested in either the characters or the play itself. The story, such as it is, moves along in a jerky and very obviously contrived manner - the sort of thing you only notice in a live performance if the actors are second rate. My second criticism concerns the plot itself, which might well have been sufficient for a two hour play, but is far too meagre to justify a full-length novelisation. It is, in fact, a combination of two ideas that appeared elsewhere as short stories - one as a Poirot tale first published in 1923, and one which was subsequently (1979) included in "Miss Marple's Final Cases" . In short, though the original (1954) play was described as a "comedy thriller", the novel is entirely bereft of either humour or thrills. Definitely not worth any kind of recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Osborne manages to be Christie 'Lite'
Review: Agatha Christie is the Master of the sophisticated, too-too British, country manor murder mystery. All that I have to SEE is her name on a book and I grab it up fast as I can! That's how I became the owner of Spider's Web at a recent book sale. After reading the first few pages it didn't have that cozy, snuggle into the book feeling of a Christie and I couldn't figure out why. Finally (LIGHT BULB) I examined the cover and "saw" Charles Osborne's name. With a little digging I uncovered the true facts: This is indeed a Christie. An adaptation of her play, turned into a novel by Charles Osborne. It has some small charm, but leaves me wanting the full-bodied robust flavor of 'Ten Little Indians' which was referred to in the text of this book. When I finally understood WHAT it was I was reading (adaptation of a Christie play, written by another) I was able to finish the book, but under Osborne's hand, the elements of the stage production are not well hidden. When character's come into the room, it is an Entrance. There is an artificial flow to everything that is written, as though it were still a stage play complete with stage directions for each character's actions. Clarissa is 'breezy', her husband Henry 'bumbling', Pippa --- 'hungry'. All Fun for the stage and giving the viewer something to identify, but not very satisfactory for a murder mystery novel. So, gentle reader, if you are looking for vintage Christie, don't be fooled by the cover. You won't find it here.
Rating:
Summary: Osborne manages to be Christie 'Lite'
Review: Agatha Christie is the Master of the sophisticated, too-too British, country manor murder mystery. All that I have to SEE is her name on a book and I grab it up fast as I can! That's how I became the owner of Spider's Web at a recent book sale. After reading the first few pages it didn't have that cozy, snuggle into the book feeling of a Christie and I couldn't figure out why. Finally (LIGHT BULB) I examined the cover and "saw" Charles Osborne's name. With a little digging I uncovered the true facts: This is indeed a Christie. An adaptation of her play, turned into a novel by Charles Osborne. It has some small charm, but leaves me wanting the full-bodied robust flavor of 'Ten Little Indians' which was referred to in the text of this book. When I finally understood WHAT it was I was reading (adaptation of a Christie play, written by another) I was able to finish the book, but under Osborne's hand, the elements of the stage production are not well hidden. When character's come into the room, it is an Entrance. There is an artificial flow to everything that is written, as though it were still a stage play complete with stage directions for each character's actions. Clarissa is 'breezy', her husband Henry 'bumbling', Pippa --- 'hungry'. All Fun for the stage and giving the viewer something to identify, but not very satisfactory for a murder mystery novel. So, gentle reader, if you are looking for vintage Christie, don't be fooled by the cover. You won't find it here.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, What A Wonderfully Tangled Web Agatha Did Weave
Review: and Charles Osborne has transcribed it beautifully in his third novel adaptation of Christie's plays. Spider's Web is a light, easy, and fun read that encompasses all the elements of an English houseparty. The mansion complete with French doors for easy entrance by a murderer, the lovable hostess, the diverse houseguests, the professional detective, the required red herrings, the secret panel, and just for good measure, a sympathetic child---all combine for a delightful mystery. Clarissa is the beloved mistress of the manor, and her self-proclaimed duty is to hide a body she finds in her parlor so that it won't interfere with her distinguished husband's entertaining a V.I.P. later in the evening. Into her web of lies and deceit she brings her three doting houseguests, a brusque female gardener, and the butler. Truth will out in the end, and whether you guess the culprit or not, you will enjoy this fast-paced, delightful evening with the British upper class.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best of the Series
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. I didn't care for Black Coffee. But I felt that in this book the Spider's web the characters were well-developed. The plot was very well-written. ending was very good. I was throughly stumped. Thank you Charles Osborne. Can't wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry Agatha...
Review: I was thrilled after searching for years to find a transcript for "spider's web" that it was available as a novel. The thrill was soon gone. How one can manage to turn a most charming play in a bore is a mystery to me. The large print didn't help neither. You will be better off watching the movie with Glynis Johns and John Justin or the more recent BBC tv-adaption starring Penelope Keith as the perfect Clarissa.
Rating:
Summary: What a Tangled Web We Weave
Review: In this play adapted as a novel, Clarissa Hailsham-Brown discovers a body in the drawing room. If that isn't bad enough, she has to dispose of it before her husband Henry returns home with an important foreign politician. She gets her three house guests, Sir Rowland Delahaye, Hugo Birch and Jeremy Warrender to help her in her attempts to hide the body when the police ring her doorbell in response to an anonymous tip about a murder. Now, she must keep the body hidden, convince a police inspector that there has been no murder, while attempting to uncover the identity of the murderer while the plot seems to spin around in circles, like a spider's web.
I really liked this story and I believe it's as good as anything Agatha Christie has ever done. If you like the way she hooks you into a murder, than you'll like this book.
Rating:
Summary: Why bother? Only if you've read all the other Christies
Review: Like "Black Coffee" an adaptation of an Agatha Christie play. Also like "Black Coffee" it is interesting as a relic, not really as a novel in its own right. Osborne has, with the desire to be true to Christie, taken her script, used the dialogue and stage directions to tell the story, with very little addition of imagination. Curiously, perhaps fortunately, the telling improves during the last third of the book; less stilted, more humourous, more real. The plot itself is pure Christie, as are the characters; they have just the right quirks that her creations are capable of. One problem, though, and this is perhaps inherent with the translation from stage to paper, is that in the biggest action of the story ~ the hiding of the dead body ~ the motivation of the three men is not clear; why do they agree to do what Clarissa wants? On stage the advantage is that the action moves more quickly, the audience has less time to wonder such questions, and there is a greater suspension of disbelief than can be assumed in a novel. The action, therefore, which probably makes perfect sense on the stage is questionable here, and since that action is a, if not the, hinge of the plot, a weakness results. This raises the question, Should plays be translated in this fashion? Answer: Probably not; except that this does make an additional way new readers can be introduced to Christie. Of course, that raises the question, With more than eighty books available, who still needs an introduction?
Rating:
Summary: Oh, What a tangled web we weave...
Review: Originally written as a play by Agatha Christie in 1954, this book was successfully adapted as a novel by Charles Osborne in 2000. All of Christie's books are listed in the front of this book which is a nice touch for Christie fans. This is the typical English country house murder that Christie did so well. Clarissa, the main character of this book, has a vivid imagination and likes to play pranks on her friends. She is sometimes a stranger to the truth which adds to the plot. This is perfect reading for a cold winter's afternoon.
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