Hello and welcome back to my Project Poirot series after a long gap! In case you’re new here, I launched this project to honour my love of Agatha Christie’s classic Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. For this project, I’m re-reading all the Poirot novels in the order that they were published so I can analyse the character’s story arc the way original readers had access to them.
This time I’ve read seven books before getting around to discussing them! So, please forgive me for the long gap but you can’t deny that the pleasure of reading far surpasses the pleasure of writing about the books. Hahaha! I plan to stick with my three-book discussion rule for this series, so today I will share my thoughts on books 8, 9 and 10 in the Poirot series. These are: Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, Murder on the Orient Express, the last of which is one of my all-time favourite Poirot novels. So here goes Project Poirot Episode 4.
Peril at End House
Goodreads Blurb:
Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckley. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo.
Poirot quickly takes a particular interest in the young woman. Recently, she has narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. Something like a bullet! It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.
My Review: 4/5 stars
This is perhaps one of the few Christie’s, where the killer was evident to me from the very beginning. Admittedly, I didn’t pick up on the reasoning for the murder because Christie masterfully keeps her ace card hidden till the last chapter. However, the premise doesn’t allow any other person to fit the role of murderer, which I felt was unlike other books written by her. I also felt she scrambled to add on one-too-many diversions in the end, which could’ve been avoided.
Not one of Christie’s best works, but enjoyable nonetheless!
Lord Edgware Dies
Goodreads Blurb:
It’s true; Hercule Poirot had been present when the famous actress Jane Wilkinson bragged of her plan to ‘get rid of’ her estranged husband, Lord Edgware.
Now the man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn’t help feeling that he was being taken for a ride. After all, how could Jane have stabbed her thoroughly detestable husband to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally agreed to grant her a divorce?
My Review: 5/5 stars
I re-read this Christie after years and it was brilliant. As I’m reading all of her Poirot novels in the order they were published, it is a treat to witness this character’s trajectory. The last 2-3 I read were disappointing, but this one has the mark of her true genius. A solution that was so simple as to be ingenious – yet it has the reader hoodwinked till the end! No one can do it like her!
Murder on the Orient Express
Goodreads Blurb:
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the famous Orient Express in its tracks as it travels through the mountainous Balkans. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year but, by the morning, it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.
One of the passengers is none other than detective Hercule Poirot. On vacation.
Isolated and with a killer on board, Poirot must identify the murderer—in case he or she decides to strike again.
My Review: 5/5 stars
I re-read this gem after years as part of my ‘Project Poirot’ series where I’m reading all the books in the order they were published. The story of this one was fresh in memory, however, because I saw actor Kenneth Branagh’s movie based on this book only a couple of years ago.
It is truly one of her best novels – an ingenious plot even if it seems very far-fetched. Poirot is at his best, finding an improbable solution despite numerous practical difficulties, not least of which is our engendered belief that there can be only one murderer in a crime!
I highly recommend this book as one of Poirot’s best capers.
Here is my discussion of the books on my Instagram Live:
So, having read my thoughts, would you agree with me? Or are you intrigued about picking any of these up? Let me know in the comments below!
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This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Mads’ Cookhouse.
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