Hugh Fraser – Page 3 – Carol's Notebook

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

October 9, 2018October 8, 2018 by Carol9 Comments

Peril at End House is classic Poirot. Lovely Nick doesn't know her life is in danger until Poirot helpfully points out that her near-accidents were probably not coincidence. But why would any of her friends want her dead? She's not rich, she's not mean. Poirot is determined to keep her safe, but that's easier said than done, especially when another woman is killed, mistaken for Nick. This was a fun little mystery. The denouement was a good one, a bit unusual for a Poirot mystery. I mean, there was the typical gathering of all the players, but the excuse he uses to bring them together is a good one. The killer doesn't see the trap he has set at all. (S)he thinks (s)he has everyone fooled. (S)he doesn't, of course, and there are plenty of clues sprinkled through the book - I just missed them....

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

September 21, 2018November 30, 2021 by Carol5 Comments

Yes, Poirot again. I've been on a bit of a kick lately, I know. I'm almost reading/re-reading the series in order. I #4 earlier this year and obviously still remember it well. I skipped #5 because I don't like it. So now we're at #6, The Mystery of the Blue Train. There's a lot of lead up before the murder. We meet an heiress whose millionaire father gives her a fabulous ruby to cheer her up a little. She and her husband are having problems and, as the father sees it, her only real option is to divorce him. We meet the husband and his mistress, a dancer who is only interested in rich men, which he won't be if his wife divorces him. We meet a not necessarily above-board jewelry merchant and his daughter. Finally, I think, we meet a lovely young woman, Katherine Grey, who has recently become rich herself, after the elderly woman she was a companion to...

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

September 12, 2018September 11, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

So, I've discovered that, depending on what's going on in the office and what I'm doing, I can listen to audiobooks at work. When I'm folding newsletter, for example, or copying and pasting graphs. But, they can't be overly complicated or at all potentially offensive, which means vintage mysteries, like Agatha Christies work well. They tend to not have any curse words, most of the violence happens off-stage and is not graphic, there's enough of a plot to keep you interested, but they're not so absorbing that you can't just turn them off to answer the phone. In The Murder on the Links, Poirot receives a letter calling him to the aid of a millionaire in France, frightened for his life because of a 'secret' he possesses. Poirot, with Hastings, immediately leave England, only to find on arrival that Monsieur Renauld has already been killed and his body found on the golf course next door. The plot is pretty convoluted. As...

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

July 2, 2018 by Carol4 Comments

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is definitely one of Agatha Christie's best, but it was a reread for me, so I knew who the killer was. And the whodunnit is what makes this such a great mystery. Hercule Poirot has "retired" to the peaceful village of King’s Abbot, keeping his former career as a detective a secret, but of course someone - Roger Ackroyd - is killed. Ackroyd was actually a friend of Poirot, one of the few who knew his work, and the niece, Flora, asks Poirot to investigate. Poirot doesn't have his Hastings here, so the part of narrator/sidekick is covered by Dr. Sheppard, Poirot's neighbor and the one who discovered the body. Poirot is his usual silly, brilliant self. I like that we meet him before he takes the case and I love that they assume he used to be a hairdresser. "Look at that moustache of his." The mystery is well-plotted with plenty of suspects and red herrings. I enjoyed...