Thoughts

I'm making my way through Agatha Christie's back catalogue, and this Poirot was next on the list. He's such an iconic character, I go into each novel expecting great things.

This book starts with a lady requesting Poirot's help in divorcing her husband, not his usual area of expertise. Although, obviously, Poirot thinks he can solve anything:

"I understood that you were an investigator of crime, M. Poirot?" "Of problems, Lord Edgware. There are problems of crime, certainly. There are other problems."

There's murder along the way, though, never fear! In this book, we're dealing with the twisted world of the theatre, which gives Poirot a new challenge to deal with - how to get the truth from people that are trained to put up a front and hide their inner feelings. On top of the additional hurdle of every suspect seeming to have a secure alibi, it's up to our favourite Belgian detective to read people and get to the solution.

There are layers of puzzles here but I found it easy to follow compared to some of the complex narratives Christie weaves. It felt like each character was dealt with in turn, sometimes revisited, but one at a time which helped me follow it.

An adorably smug protagonist having to find his way in the world of theatre and stage production, and a whodunit that has stuck with me rather than being forgettable, this was a 5 out of 5.

Rating: 5 / 5