Project Poirot Episode 9: Evil Under the Sun, Five Little Pigs, and The Hollow

Welcome back to another episode of Project Poirot, where I re-read all the Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot’s in the order they were published. It’s been slow going on this project for me this year, because I’ve been having a really good reading year with many excellent books, and I’ve signed up for two reading challenges in addition to my monthly book club! But I’m hoping to read at least three more Poirot books before the year ends. So, without further ado, here are the next three instalments and my thoughts on them.

Evil Under the Sun:

Goodreads Blurb:

The beautiful bronzed body of Arlena Stuart lay facedown on the beach. But strangely, there was no sun and she was not sunbathing… she had been strangled.

Ever since Arlena’s arrival the air had been thick with sexual tension. Each of the guests had a motive to kill her. But Hercule Poirot suspects that this apparent ‘crime of passion’ conceals something much more evil.

My Review:

This book has a thrilling and totally unexpected ending. Christie generously throws in multiple clues and employs a believable yet ingenious method of deduction. It was a pleasure to read. However, it doesn’t stand up as well to a re-read. Once you’ve gone over the plot again and again, it becomes easier to spot the solution as well as the reason for the crime.

My Rating: 4.5/5

LINK TO BUY: https://link.amazon/B0hdwTGCX

Five Little Pigs:

Goodreads Blurb:

It was an open and shut case. All the evidence said that Caroline Crale poisoned her philandering husband, a brilliant painter. She was quickly and easily convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Now, sixteen years later, in a posthumous letter, Mrs. Crale has assured her grown daughter that she was innocent. But instead of setting the young woman’s mind at ease, the letter only raises disquieting questions. Did Caroline indeed write the truth? And if she didn’t kill her husband, who did?

To find out, the Crale’s daughter asks Hercule Poirot to reopen the case. His investigation takes him deep into the conflicting memories and motivations of the five other people who were with the family on the fatal day. Will his keen understanding of human psychology help him discover the truth behind the artist’s death?

My Review:

For the first time I was able to predict the ending on the basis of the clues Christie dropped through the book. But I could only guess it towards the end. Every mystery novel written by Christie, has the distinction of introducing a new trope and an unpredictable ending. Though she has used the concept of “crime from the past” in “Elephants Can Remember”; the true genius of this book lies in the individual narratives of the people involved. It is a true feat that Christie can repeat the same story/events multiple times over through different characters, bringing something essential and interesting to light every single time, without ever being repetitive. For this reason, this book really stands apart.

“Five Little Pigs” is not one of her best books, but it is excellent, nevertheless.

My Rating: 4.5/5

LINK TO BUY: https://link.amazon/B05yymk6S

The Hollow:

Goodreads Blurb:

Lady Angkatell, intrigued by the criminal mind, has invited Hercule Poirot to her estate for a weekend house party. The Belgian detective’s arrival at the Hollow is met with an elaborate tableau staged for his amusement: a doctor lies in a puddle of red paint, his timid wife stands over his body with a gun while the other guests look suitably shocked. But this is no charade. The paint is blood and the corpse real!

My Review:

This was such a fun read! It was different from other Poirot’s by Christie because it focused on extramarital affairs and how complicated human relationships can be. I’ve never read Christie’s “Mary Westmacott” novels but I imagine they would be as richly evocative of their characters as this one. The solution was perhaps guessable but the sheer pleasure of getting to it was worth it, as was discovering some highly unusual but memorable characters along the way.

My Rating: 4/5

LINK TO BUY: https://link.amazon/B07aqQWNN

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more episodes of Project Poirot! Here’s a video of me discussing the books:

View this post on Instagram

__________

*This is not a sponsored post but it contains affiliate links. If you buy a product through my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please support my blog by using my links to buy the products of your choice!

**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.

__________

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Ratna Prabha.

__________