Three Agatha Christie Novels, Featuring Detective Hercule Poirot, You Must Read
Compiled In Excitement For Kenneth Branagh's Death On The Nile
Now, of course, you must read Death on the Nile before you watch its adaptation. But today, I want to talk about three other Agatha Christie novels featuring the greatest detective Hercule Poirot.
Buckle in!
Death in the Clouds
Synopsis-
From seat No. 9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers on the short flight from Paris to London. 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 writer of detective fiction was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.
Yes, Poirot is almost ideally placed to take it all in, except what he did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No. 2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman. Murdered, and likely by someone in Poirot's immediate proximity.
Review -
In Death in the Clouds, Agatha Christie takes the murder up in the sky, where one of the eleven passengers is murdered with a poisoned dart.
No one witnessed anything unusual, nor did someone see a person blowing into a pipe to send the dart to its destination. And Poirot was ill in the stomach to notice anything, thanks to the air turbulence.
So the question is - who did the deed and how it was done without anyone noticing.
I was reading the book with my full attention – looking for clues in the mundane, figuring out the characters and trying to find the crack. But all went to waste when Agatha Christie presented the final reveal.
I am pretty sure she was laughing in her grave, enjoying the fact that she made a fool of me. I don't mind it, for this the best kind of fool I can become, that is – at the hands of Agatha Christie.
I loved this book absolutely and can't recommend it enough!
Cards on the Table
Synopsis -
Four people are playing bridge, and in the course of the game their host, who has been sitting out, is murdered.
Any of the four, given the right circumstances, might have committed the crime, for each of them is known to have committed at any rate one murder and is quite capable of committing another.
Review -
Agatha's books are never fast-paced, but they are a breeze to read. The same is the case with Cards on the Table.
Again, this book has the same closed room mystery, this time around with one murder and four suspects. All four suspects had a motive to murder the host. The victim believed that each one of them had murdered someone in their past and got away with it.
With no clues to back up, Poirot has to dive into the past of each suspect to find out whodunit.
This is the first time I came close to solving the case, only to be misled and make a fool of myself.
Never for a moment did the book feel dull. But that's never the case with any Agatha Christie novels anyway.
Murder In Mesopotamia
Synopsis -
It was clear to Amy Leatheran that something sinister was going on at the Hassanieh dig in Iraq; something associated with the presence of 'Lovely Louise', wife of celebrated archaeologist Dr Leidner.
In a few days' time Hercule Poirot was due to drop in at the excavation site. But with Louise suffering from terrifying hallucinations, and tension within the group becoming almost unbearable, Poirot might just be too late…
Review -
Again she bowls me over, pulls the rug from under my feet, pushes me off the cliff only to save me in time. I don't know how Agatha Christie does it, but she does this every time. Every time I am spellbound by her story.
I loved the new way of narration, through Nurse Leatheran's point of view. It brought out the situation and the characters in a new light.
Also, I noticed that in this particular novel, my friend Hercule Poirot had less screen time, so to speak. It was more about and around the characters and their role in the murder mystery.
I get excited whenever I read a Christie novel, especially towards the end. And here too, I felt the same – excited, giddy, nervous and surprised.
For the first time, before I reached the part where the murderer is revealed, I kept the book aside and just gave it a thought – Who could be the murderer? One name struck out to me.
I am super happy and proud to say that I was right! For the first time in my Agatha Christie reading history, I guessed the right murderer!
I think after spending 15+ years with Poirot, his skills and his 'little grey cells' are rubbing off on me. It is always such a pleasure to revisit my old friend.
(All cover images were taken from Goodreads.)
