Summary: The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot #13) by Agatha Christie
Alice Ascher, a poor,
elderly shopkeeper, is murdered in Andover. Betty Barnard, a young waitress, is
strangled with her own belt at Bexhill-on-Sea. Next comes Carmichael Clarke,
collector of Chinese art, clubbed to death in Churston. Only in Doncaster does
the pattern vary: the man found stabbed in the Regal Cinema is called George
Earsfield. But each time, an ABC railway guide is found by the dead bodies, and
each time, Poirot is warned in advance by a taunting letter from someone signed
'ABC'. Who is ABC? And can Poirot find out in time to prevent the death of a
whole alphabet of victims? The police doubt him and the public are in a state
of panic, but Poirot is convinced that the murderer's luck will turn, and
sooner or later he will make a crucial mistake. And Poirot will be there when
he does... This full-cast dramatisation of one of Agatha Christie's most
imaginative mysteries stars John Moffatt as the great Belgian detective, Simon
Williams as his faithful sidekick Captain Hastings and Philip Jackson as Chief
Inspector Japp.
Book Review: The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot #13) by Agatha Christie
Poirot receives letters
warning him of murders, all signed ABC. A homicidal maniac seems to be working
himself through the alphabet challenging Poirot’s little gray cells. In every
case the ABC railway guide is found close to the body.
The ABC Murders is #13
in the Series about Hercule Poirot, written by Agatha Christie and I listened to it as an audio CD edition.
This story is about a
murderer sending letters to Poirot warning him that there is going to be a
murder. A pattern develops of victims and murder scenes chosen in alphabetical
order.
While confident of a
successful outcome of this investigation, Poirot seems to be slightly less
cocky than he might seem in the TV adaptations I have seen. Maybe he develops a
super confident celebrity persona as time goes by and he solves many more
cases.
In this story Poirot manages to collaborate
well with Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard. He uses what proof the investigation
offers, including fingerprints, combined with his analytic skills to solve the
case. The little gray cells work in his favor yet again, which is not
unexpected but still nice to see.
I got caught up in a strong red herring, which
distracted me right until the real culprit was revealed. It became a surprise
element I enjoyed very much. The affluent settings of Agatha Christie's plots I
always love. This is no different. There is just something about the characters,
the settings and the time period which I can't get enough of. I just get drawn
to stories set in a historic time frame, both 1930s and earlier.
Poirot is the Agatha Christie's expertly
crafted fashionable and rather vain private sleuth of the 1930s. I find he has
a funny and demeanor, being very conscious about his appearance. In this story Poirot
gets fired up by the way Hastings is wrinkling his clothes when trying to pack
his luggage.
Captain Hastings is the hands-on, devil’s
advocate-like assistant. He seems the type of character who wants to act and
not think too much, which occasionally leads to funny situations in spite of
the murder investigation. I find it funny that Poirot picks on him because he prefers
to stay close to the ladies. I think Poirot and Hastings have a quite
interesting, and sometimes amusing, working relationship where Hastings is sometimes
sent off to deal with some minor detail of the case, whereas Poirot gets to use
his "little gray cells" in peace.
The ABC
Murders (Hercule Poirot #13) by Agatha Christie is expertly crafted as we come
to expect from the Queen of Crime, building this particular plot around the
alphabet. I found the ending surprising. There are numerous works to choose
from by Agatha Christie, both featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, so there
should be no problem finding one that suits.
I have
previously read several of Agatha Christie's books and
seen numerous tv-adaptations. I can safely say I love them all. The ABC Murders
(Hercule Poirot #13) works well as a standalone. It would be a perfect read for
fans of Agatha Christie and for readers of Crime Fiction. Similar works to
explore might be the Sherlock Holmes Series by Arthur Conan Doyle. All opinions
are completely my own.
My rating 5
stars / 5
Book Details (from Amazon)
Audio CD
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks (May 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1483035433
ISBN-13: 978-1483035437
About The Author (from Amazon.com)
Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and created the detective Hercule
Poirot in her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). She achieved
wide popularity with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and produced a total of
eighty novels and short-story collections over six decades.
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