Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie Narrator: Hugh Fraser
Series: Hercule Poirot #12
Published by Harper Audio on July 3, 2012 (first published March 10, 1935)
Source: Purchased
Genres: Vintage Mystery
Length: 6 hrs 18 mins
Pages: 240
Format: Audiobook
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A woman is killed by a poisoned dart in the enclosed confines of a commercial passenger plane…
From seat No.9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers. Over to his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No.13, sat a Countess with a poorly-concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No.8, a detective writer was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.
What Poirot did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No.2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman.
So, my favorite part of Death in the Clouds is that a jury believes Poirot is guilty of the murder, although their opinion is not upheld. And really, someone is always dying around him. Granted, the fact that he was foreign had more to do with their suspicion than anything, but nonetheless.
A woman is killed on the same plane Poirot was on. Unfortunately, Poirot was asleep at the time. Flying does not agree with his stomach. From the clues on the plane, the woman was killed by a dart from a blowgun. We have a nice limited group of suspects – it had to be someone on the train. We also get appearances by Inspector Japp from Scotland Yard and Parisian chief inspector Giraud, showing the different ways the three go about investigating.
The suspects are an interesting lot, the solution’s well done. It’s perhaps not memorable, but it is a solid book.
About Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright. She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world’s longest-running play, a murder mystery, The Mousetrap, and six romances under the name Mary Westmacott. In 1971 she was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contribution to literature.
Not one of the Poirot novels I’m familiar with, I’m presuming it isn’t one of the more well read books in the series.
It wasn’t one I remember reading before.
I love the thought of Poirot on trial. This is another Christie I haven’t read, but hope to in the near future. 🙂
He wasn’t on trial. It was that jury that rules if something was murder or accidental. They originally wanted to say it was him but had to come back with murder by persons unknown.
I didn’t love this book. I thought the plot was pretty outlandish, although the eventual resolution was clever.
It’s not one of my favorites either.
Agree with your assessment – a solid book but not memorable. Somehow I remember only the first half from the TV episode, the resolution is hazy in my mind. Might have to go back and rewatch this one.
I haven’t seen many of the tv episodes, and remember even fewer.