Hercule Poirot – Page 3 – Carol's Notebook

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...

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

September 10, 2018October 26, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

Death on the Nile is a classic Poirot mystery. Poirot is on vacation in Egypt, taking a cruise on the Nile - and of course a murder occurs. Happily, Colonel Race is on board too and the two of them take up the investigation. We've got a lot of people on board the cruise, including a young couple on their honeymoon who are being stalked by the husband's ex-girlfriend, a young society man and his mother, a romance author and her daughter, an elderly kleptomaniac and her travel companions, a couple questionable men, a maid, a doctor - so many that it can get a little confusing on audio. The narrator did a good job with all the voices, but it's still a lot. The characters are all interesting and have their own personalities and motives. And Poirot likes them all, or almost all of them. He gives several people passes on their less serious crimes. It's the "hush, hush" house....

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...

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

September 29, 2017September 28, 2017 by Carol8 Comments

I had wanted to read Murder on the Orient Express again before watching the movie, and was lucky enough to win a copy in a Goodreads giveaway. This is at least the third time I've read it, but it's one of those ones that I wish I could re-read for the first time. The solution is so perfect, but also so memorable. Poirot is one of my favorite all-time detective and this particular mystery showcases his reasoning skills. The setting is perfect, a group of people are trapped in a train stuck in the snow, and clearly there is a killer on board. There is no access to people's records, no way to check on their true identities, not contact with the outside world at all. I'll grant you he manages to make some leaps in his deductions, but that's part of his charm. It's by no means a fair mystery, the reader can't solve it, but I do love how...