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Summary: Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folley (Hercule Poirot #47.5) by Agatha Christie
As a favor to an old friend, Hercule
Poirot finds himself at a summer fete in Devon, taking part not in a Treasure
Hunt, but a Murder Hunt, in this never-before-published novella version of Dead
Man’s Folly. Now released for the first time in print in this illustrated
collector’s edition.
Sir George and Lady Stubbs, the hosts of a village fête, hit upon the novel
idea of staging a mock murder mystery. In good faith, Ariadne Oliver, the well
known crime writer, agrees to organize their murder hunt. But at the last
minute Ariadne calls her friend Hercule Poirot for his expert assistance.
Instinctively, she senses that something sinister is about to happen…
In 1954, Agatha Christie wrote this novella with the intention of donating the
proceeds to a fund set up to buy stained glass windows for her local church at
Churston Ferrers, and she filled the story with references to local places,
including her own home of Greenway. But having completed it, she decided
instead to expand the story into a full-length novel, Dead Man’s Folly, which
was published two years later, and donated a Miss Marple story (Greenshaw’s
Folly) to the church fund instead.
Unseen for sixty years, Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly is finally
published in this collector’s hardback edition. The book includes a jacket
painting, illustrations and exclusive introduction by Tom Adams, Agatha
Christie’s most famous cover artist, who is back illustrating Agatha Christie
for the first time in more than 30 years (Copied from Goodreads)
Book Review: Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folley
Hercule
Poirot and the Greenshore Folley by Agatha
Christie is the Harper Collins, UK publication of 2014 and is #47.5 in the
series about Hercule Poirot.
Poirot
is
summoned by detective novelist Ariadne Oliver, to Greenshore House in Lapton to
assist her. Ariadne is arranging a «murder hunt» as part of the entertainment at
the planned fête. Guests are encouraged to follow clues around the estate to
solve a pretend murder. It goes terribly wrong and someone really ends up dead.
Poirot helps the police investigate the real murder of a young girl.
True to form Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folley is set at an estate in the English countryside in the 1950s. Main characters are rich people of leisure arranging entertainment and games to pass the time and have fun. I enjoy the lifestyle descriptions a lot and would guess inspiration was taken from Agatha Christie’s own life. I am a great fan of fictional historical settings in Britain, so my favorite part of the story was descriptions of the fête. I also thoroughly enjoyed the surprise ending. So thrilling and complicated I could not possibly have seen it coming.
Main character Hercule Poirot is per usual using his skills to gather information. I find it funny how he tries not to express his lack of regard for Ariadne Oliver’s less than methodical investigative skills, while he himself is all about method. He is my absolute favorite in this and every other story about him as he seems so quirky and funny.
Secondary character
Mrs. Folliat is the previous owner of Greenshore House. She acts as kind of a gardener
and hostess around the house, while she lives in a small cottage on the estate
because the family has fallen on hard times. Having been demoted from lady of
the manor, I found it strange how she seemed so at peace with the situation. She
seemed a strange and suspicious character who appeared everywhere and knew
everybody.
I really loved the old fashioned vibe I got from the writing.
It was like going back in time to a beautiful place where you could not really
imagine something terrible happening, and yet a murder occurred. There is
something about the contrasts between the beautiful scenery and the brutal
murder that made this story come alive for me. The writing style is simplistic
which helps carry the message through so brilliantly.
Fans of Agatha
Christie will love Hercule
Poirot and the Greenshore Folley. Anyone who enjoys crime fiction will
probably already have The Queen of Mystery on their radar and thoroughly enjoy
her work too.
Similar authors to explore might be
Arthur Conan Doyle.
All opinions in this review are
completely my own.
My
rating: 5 stars / 5
Main
reasons: great plot, excellent characters, surprise ending
Get Your Copy Here:
Book Details: (from Amazon)
ASIN: B01N910RUX
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