Title: The A B C Murders
Author: Agatha Christie
What I think So Far: At about halfway in, I’m greatly enjoying every part of this novel – the writing style, the characters, the plot itself, and of course the murders. This being my first encounter with Poirot, I’ve found his character to be instantly engaging and likeable; his personality is three dimensional and he feels like someone you know and respect after just a few pages in. The narrator, Hastings, is just as enjoyable; in detective terms, Hastings is the polar opposite of Poirot, but their work as partners and friends is entertaining and undeniably clever.
The obvious sign of a good detective novel is whether you spend the duration of it trying to guess the murderer before the protagonist does, and there hasn’t been one page yet that I haven’t analysed for hints at who it could be. Christie is a master at building up suspense without giving away obvious hints to the killer’s identity, and the reader feels a personal engagement with Poirot’s plight as we too suffer the frustration of this difficult case along with the detective. Overall, this novel is cleverly building to a big reveal, and the journey to it makes for a very interesting read.
Would I recommend?: Definitely, the book is not very long, and if you’re a fan of murder mysteries (or perhaps just a fan of sassy Belgians) this would be perfect to pass a summer afternoon.
Rating: 8/10
Words by Charlie Ginger Jones