#ReadThis @AgathaChristie @HarperCollins @Morrow_PB #PerilatEndHouse by #AgathaChristie Seventh #7 #HerculePoirot #Mystery
We are officially addicted. The Peril at End House will absolutely suck you in from the start and as we head into colder weather it is that much more pleasant: it takes place on the English Riviera. Take us away Agatha!!!
Previously on Whom who know, Agatha Christie has earned high accolades for Poirot in order:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Murder on the Links
Poirot Investigates
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Big Four
The Mystery of the Blue Train
To the delight of both Poirot and the readers, Hasting returns. And we see Japp again and we love it best when he is joking about Poirot's face fungus. (p. 166) And of course remember mes amies, Poirot has completely retired and has the vegetable growing ambitions. But as aptly employed in the title, PERIL is imminent and his five senses and his sixth sense where the grey cells come to life are ignited with a bullet through a hat. Poirot simply cannot escape mystery; it follows him around every corner. He thinks God created him for the purpose of interfering!! (p. 123) However, it is refreshing to see his ego come back to earth a bit in this work: (p. 161)
"...what good is it to Hercule Poirot with grey cells of a finer quality than other people's, if you do not manage to do what ordinary people cannot?"
With this work it is more than clear that Christie has really hit her stride by the time it's published in 1932 (a great year for Ford.) The word choice, plot structure and character development are pristine and hit the mark every time as the tightness is powerful and gripping at a new level.
Nick Buckley, heiress to End House, is being followed by one big raining grey cloud of death, but what is causing this surreptitious master of disaster? Poirot using his personal sense and sensibility makes notes on characters A to J and then perhaps even a K (we shall not give it away!). Nick is a retro-millenial in style and those younger readers will adapt to her modern approach of the times.
As you read pay attention to names, relationships, timelines and details that may go unnoticed. The red herrings you'll have to pick out of the mud for yourself. What's an accident? What's a coincidence? What's plotted murder? Watch Poirot count the many motives that may be in play.
Of course as always you'll pick up some useful French from the famous Belgian. This story should particularly appeal to aviation enthusiasts as the character Michael Seton attempts a flight around the world. It all culminates in a concluding play that is to-die-for.
Tightly written: simply smashing.
The Peril at End House is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
Born in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie became, and remains, the best-selling novelist of all time.
She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play – The Mousetrap. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation.
