Category: Agatha Christie Challenge

The Big Four by Agatha Christie (Review)

The Big Four by Agatha Christie

Blurb

A ruthless international cartel seeks world domination…

Framed in the doorway of Poirot’s bedroom stood an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man’s gaunt face stared for a moment, then he swayed and fell.

Who was he? Was he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what was the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper? Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life to uncover the truth about `Number Four’.

Review

I haven’t read many Agatha Christie novels this year which is bad because I am trying to read all of her novels in order of publication so this one has been on my TBR pile for a very long time. 

My first impression of this book was wow what a lot of characters! Christie is a master of juggling many plot lines and lots of characters but this book is overflowing with characters. I know Christie liked to include a lot of characters because this was perfect for creating red herrings but it seemed like every chapter there were another new load of characters to get to grips with. To be honest I struggled at times to keep up with all the characters in this book but I think I managed it. 

In this story Hastings has returned which I am very pleased about because he always makes me laugh. He is always convinced he knows more than Poirot but of course he has no idea at all. It is also very clear that Poirot has been missing his good friend Hastings. 

The story begins with a strange man somehow turning up in Poirot’s bedroom and collapsing but not before giving Poirot a vital clue which will set the scene for the rest of the book. As the story continues Poirot finds just how far the Big Four are willing to go to take control of the world. The story sees Poirot travelling all over the place and encountering any number of characters from Professors to Government officials, from Criminals to Nobility. 

The one thing I did find with this story was it didn’t flow like Christie’s usual books and it felt at times like it was pieced together. After some research I found out that this book was actually made up of 12 short stories that Christie had written and published in a magazine. This made a lot of sense for me because once I knew I realised that this was why I struggled with the pace of the book and sheer amount of characters. 

Although I felt the amount of characters was overkill and struggled with the lack of fluency with the story I still thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down. Poirot was on his usual fine form and Hastings was still his bumbling self and I loved every minute of it. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons. 

🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Book Depository | Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones | Wordery

(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)

About the author

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections. She also wrote the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap. She also wrote 6 novels under the name Mary Westmacott.

Etsy

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Agatha Christie Challenge #3

Hello

I thought it was high time for an update on my Agatha Christie Challenge. My last update was on 28th August 2021 so it is definitely due. For anybody who hasn’t come across my challenge before I am attempting to read all the complete full length novels by Christie in order of publication.

So here is the big list of books. The crossed off titles are the ones I have already read and reviewed, click them to be taken to the review.

  1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
  2. The Secret Adversary
  3. The Murder on the Links
  4. The Man in the Brown Suit
  5. The Secret in Chimneys
  6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
  7. The Big Four
  8. The Mystery of the Blue Train
  9. The Seven Dials Mystery
  10. The Murder at the Vicarage
  11. Giant’s Bread
  12. The Floating Admiral
  13. The Sittaford Mystery 
  14. Peril at End House
  15. Lord Edgware Dies
  16. Murder on the Orient Express
  17. Unfinished Portrait
  18. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
  19. Three Act Tragedy
  20. Death in the Clouds
  21. The A.B.C Murders
  22. Murder in Mesopotamia
  23. Cards on the Table
  24. Dumb Witness
  25. Death on the Nile
  26. Appointment with Death
  27. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
  28. Murder is Easy
  29. And Then There Were None
  30. Sad Cypress
  31. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
  32. Evil Under the Sun
  33. N or M?
  34. The Body in the Library
  35. Five Little Pigs
  36. The Moving Finger
  37. Towards Zero
  38. Absent in the Spring
  39. Death Comes as the End
  40. Sparkling Cyanide
  41. The Hollow
  42. Taken at the Flood
  43. The Rose and the Yew Tree
  44. Crooked House
  45. A Murder is Announced
  46. They Came to Baghdad
  47. Mrs McGinty’s Dead
  48. They Do It with Mirrors
  49. A Daughter’s a Daughter
  50. After the Funeral
  51. A Pocket Full of Rye
  52. Destination Unknown
  53. Hickory Dickory Dock
  54. Dead Man’s Folly
  55. The Burden
  56. 4.50 from Paddington
  57. Ordeal by Innocence
  58. Cat Among the Pigeons
  59. The Pale Horse
  60. The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
  61. The Clocks
  62. A Caribbean Mystery
  63. At Bertram’s Hotel 
  64. Third Girl
  65. Endless Night
  66. By the Pricking of My Thumbs
  67. Hallow’en Party
  68. Passenger to Frankfurt
  69. Nemesis
  70. Elephants Can Remember
  71. Postern of Fate
  72. Curtain
  73. Sleeping Murder
  74. Hercule Poirot and Greenshore Folly

Just 68 books left to read. I have the next two on the list currently on my TBR.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Agatha Christie Challenge #2

Hello!

I thought it was time for an update on my Agatha Christie reading challenge as my last update was in June. I am attempting to read all of the complete full length novels by Christie in order of publication.

So here is the big list of books. The crossed off titles are the ones I have already read and reviewed, click them to be taken to the review.

  1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
  2. The Secret Adversary
  3. The Murder on the Links
  4. The Man in the Brown Suit
  5. The Secret in Chimneys
  6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
  7. The Big Four
  8. The Mystery of the Blue Train
  9. The Seven Dials Mystery
  10. The Murder at the Vicarage
  11. Giant’s Bread
  12. The Floating Admiral
  13. The Sittaford Mystery 
  14. Peril at End House
  15. Lord Edgware Dies
  16. Murder on the Orient Express
  17. Unfinished Portrait
  18. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
  19. Three Act Tragedy
  20. Death in the Clouds
  21. The A.B.C Murders
  22. Murder in Mesopotamia
  23. Cards on the Table
  24. Dumb Witness
  25. Death on the Nile
  26. Appointment with Death
  27. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
  28. Murder is Easy
  29. And Then There Were None
  30. Sad Cypress
  31. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
  32. Evil Under the Sun
  33. N or M?
  34. The Body in the Library
  35. Five Little Pigs
  36. The Moving Finger
  37. Towards Zero
  38. Absent in the Spring
  39. Death Comes as the End
  40. Sparkling Cyanide
  41. The Hollow
  42. Taken at the Flood
  43. The Rose and the Yew Tree
  44. Crooked House
  45. A Murder is Announced
  46. They Came to Baghdad
  47. Mrs McGinty’s Dead
  48. They Do It with Mirrors
  49. A Daughter’s a Daughter
  50. After the Funeral
  51. A Pocket Full of Rye
  52. Destination Unknown
  53. Hickory Dickory Dock
  54. Dead Man’s Folly
  55. The Burden
  56. 4.50 from Paddington
  57. Ordeal by Innocence
  58. Cat Among the Pigeons
  59. The Pale Horse
  60. The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
  61. The Clocks
  62. A Caribbean Mystery
  63. At Bertram’s Hotel 
  64. Third Girl
  65. Endless Night
  66. By the Pricking of My Thumbs
  67. Hallow’en Party
  68. Passenger to Frankfurt
  69. Nemesis
  70. Elephants Can Remember
  71. Postern of Fate
  72. Curtain
  73. Sleeping Murder
  74. Hercule Poirot and Greenshore Folly

Just 70 books left to read! I had thought I would have read more of them by now but I have fallen behind with my reading due to work and studying. I have The Secret in Chimneys lined up to read next.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (Review)

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie

Blurb

A young woman investigates an accidental death at a London tube station, and finds herself on a ship bound for South Africa… Pretty, young Anne came to London looking for adventure. In fact, adventure comes looking for her – and finds her immediately at Hyde Park Corner tube station. Anne is present on the platform when a thin man, reeking of mothballs, loses his balance and is electrocuted on the rails.The Scotland Yard verdict is accidental death. But Anne is not satisfied. After all, who was the man in the brown suit who examined the body? And why did he race off, leaving a cryptic message behind: ‘17-122 Kilmorden Castle’? 

Review

This is the fourth book in my Agatha Christie challenge and I will be honest it is the first Agatha Christie novel that I actually considered not finishing. The main reason for this was that I just found the lead character Anne Beddingfield ridiculous and extremely annoying. The only thing that kept me reading was the very humorous diary entries of Sir Eustace and wanting to find out who the culprit was. 

Anne has had an odd childhood and spent most her life making sure her genius but eccentric father doesn’t do anything crazy but when he passes away she decides it is time for an adventure and gets the chance to move to London. She then witnesses the death of a man and decides to investigate. This leads to her going off all on her own with barely any money on a ship bound for South Africa. Thankfully she meets Colonel Race and Suzanne who can keep an eye on her but this doesn’t stop her falling into ridiculous traps and just walking into trouble. The amount of times she got into trouble really started to annoy me as the girl really had no common sense. 

Sir Eustace just wants an easy, comfortable life but due to his mysterious secretary Pagett he never gets a moment’s peace from work or the annoying stationary trunk. Sir Eustace, who is also ship-bound for Cape Town, befriends Anne, Suzanne and Colonel Race. Sir Eustace has a very odd obsession for girls with fine legs and liquid eyes and complains a great deal if women do not have these items. 

Colonel Race is a true gentleman who I must admit I felt rather sorry for during this book. Suzanne is the wife of a wealthy man and she delights in travelling without her husband and spending all of his money. She is a rather spoiled character who also drove me a little insane.

Overall, the plot was interesting and had plenty of red herrings to keep you on your toes but sadly the female characters just drove me a little bit mad. I think that with a different lead character I would have been a lot happier with the book. I give this book 2 Dragons out of 5. 

🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Book Depository | Foyles | Waterstones | Wordery

(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)

About the author

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections. She also wrote the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap. She also wrote 6 novels under the name Mary Westmacott.

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Agatha Christie Challenge

Hello!

Some of you might have read that I have been attempting to read all of the Agatha Christie novels in order of publication but I haven’t really made it into a challenge but I have decided that it needs to be a challenge because I like ticking things off lists. This challenge only includes Christie’s full length novels and not her books of short stories.

So here is the big list of books. The crossed off titles are the ones I have already read and reviewed, click them to be taken to the review.

  1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
  2. The Secret Adversary
  3. The Murder on the Links
  4. The Man in the Brown Suit
  5. The Secret in Chimneys
  6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
  7. The Big Four
  8. The Mystery of the Blue Train
  9. The Seven Dials Mystery
  10. The Murder at the Vicarage
  11. Giant’s Bread
  12. The Floating Admiral
  13. The Sittaford Mystery
  14. Peril at End House
  15. Lord Edgware Dies
  16. Murder on the Orient Express
  17. Unfinished Portrait
  18. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
  19. Three Act Tragedy
  20. Death in the Clouds
  21. The A.B.C Murders
  22. Murder in Mesopotamia
  23. Cards on the Table
  24. Dumb Witness
  25. Death on the Nile
  26. Appointment with Death
  27. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
  28. Murder is Easy
  29. And Then There Were None
  30. Sad Cypress
  31. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
  32. Evil Under the Sun
  33. N or M?
  34. The Body in the Library
  35. Five Little Pigs
  36. The Moving Finger
  37. Towards Zero
  38. Absent in the Spring
  39. Death Comes as the End
  40. Sparkling Cyanide
  41. The Hollow
  42. Taken at the Flood
  43. The Rose and the Yew Tree
  44. Crooked House
  45. A Murder is Announced
  46. They Came to Baghdad
  47. Mrs McGinty’s Dead
  48. They Do It with Mirrors
  49. A Daughter’s a Daughter
  50. After the Funeral
  51. A Pocket Full of Rye
  52. Destination Unknown
  53. Hickory Dickory Dock
  54. Dead Man’s Folly
  55. The Burden
  56. 4.50 from Paddington
  57. Ordeal by Innocence
  58. Cat Among the Pigeons
  59. The Pale Horse
  60. The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
  61. The Clocks
  62. A Caribbean Mystery
  63. At Bertram’s Hotel
  64. Third Girl
  65. Endless Night
  66. By the Pricking of My Thumbs
  67. Hallow’en Party
  68. Passenger to Frankfurt
  69. Nemesis
  70. Elephants Can Remember
  71. Postern of Fate
  72. Curtain
  73. Sleeping Murder
  74. Hercule Poirot and Greenshore Folly

So just 74 books to read! Thankfully, I have already read 3 of these books so that just leaves 71 which is still a lot of books.

Wish me luck!

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you