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When his wealthy benefactress is poisoned, Poirot looks into the matter, but while he works diligently and carefully follows many leads, he seems very reluctant to conclude the case. Most of the evidence points strongly to her unusual husband, who seems to want to help put his head in the noose, evading and contradicting himself many times, and generally making himself quite unpleasant. His guilt seems so palpable that Inspector Japp comes down from Scotland Yard to arrest him despite Poirot's energetic pleas to the contrary. This first novel is a lovely demonstration of Christie's plotting skills, with much back and forthing of suspects and clues - nearly every participant except Hastings seems guilty at least once. Has an absolutely perfect gather-the-suspects-in-the-library scene for finish plus a neat bit of double-take business at the end, and is a deserved classic. May seem slow-moving and a bit stodgy for modern tastes, but still a very good read, especially for a quiet afternoon. Holds up really well even upon rereading, for even knowing The Big Twist the story is still enjoyable, quite evocative of the time and place, and the writing is extremely good for a first novel. Also in print and also enjoyable is Christie's first short story collection, POIROT INVESTIGATES (Berkley), originally published in 1923. All fourteen were filmed for TV in the late 1980s and were the first to star David Suchet as Poirot.. While they are slow-moving and terribly old-fashioned in style, they are also beautiful to look at and are comfortably entertaining. Christie's actual stories are sharper and far darker than these otherwise faithful adaptions, with a quite pragmatic attitude towards evil, something many modern readers and filmmakers don't seem to grasp. Life wasn’t always a pretty garden even amongst the wealthy in the early 1920s, and Christie knew it. She shows it clearly here, albeit very subtly at times. Beautifully crafted, each of these quiet stories is carefully twisted, and all are enjoyable.
Reviewed by Abbey Hamilton, September 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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