Not Rated 89 min Crime, Drama, Mystery. Poirot investigates the murder of a shady American businessman stabbed in his compartment on the Orient Express when it is blocked by a blizzard in Croatia.
Votes: 4, During a village's Hallowe'en party, a young girl boasts of having witnessed a murder from years before. No one believes her tale until her body is found later on in the evening, drowned in the apple-bobbing bucket. Not Rated 94 min Crime, Drama, Mystery. When a vicar chokes to death on a cocktail while attending a party held by actor Sir Charles Cartwright, Poirot initially dismisses the idea of murder but reconsiders when another guest dies in the same manner.
Four clocks surround an unidentified corpse in a blind woman's house, and a young typist is summoned to the crime scene. However, Poirot is convinced that the complicated setup is merely hiding a simpler solution.
Not Rated 80 min Crime, Drama, Mystery. Syria While accompanying her husband on an archaeological dig, the abusive and overbearing Lady Boynton is found stabbed to death. TV 93 min Crime, Drama, Mystery. After a seemingly neurotic young heiress tells Ariadne Oliver and Poirot that she thinks she may have killed someone, her ex-nanny is found with her wrists slashed.
TV 83 min Crime, Drama, Mystery. A foreign revolution, a kidnapped princess, and a trove of priceless rubies are linked to a prestigious girls' school, where staff members are brutally murdered.
A pair of photographs are the only clues that Poirot has to solve the murder of a village charwoman, and to prove the innocence of the victim's lodger. A young widow is left in sole possession of her late husband's fortune, and her brother refuses to share it with her in-laws - so they enlist Poirot to try to prove that the widow's missing first husband might not be dead after all. When a man disinherits his sole beneficiary and bequeaths his wealth to others just prior to his death, Poirot is called in to investigate.
Poirot investigates the brutal murder of an American heiress and the theft of a fabulous ruby on the Blue Train between Calais and Nice.
The enigmatic, sinister Mr. Shaitana, one of London's richest men, invites 8 guests, 4 of them possible murderers and 4 'detectives' to his opulent apartment. Poirot stumbles on the murder scene of philandering Dr Christow in a country house as his wife standing next to him with a revolver in her hand. TV 97 min Crime, Drama, Mystery. A wealthy American heiress honeymooning on a Nile cruise ship is stalked by a former friend, whose boyfriend she had stolen before making him her new husband.
Votes: 3, Elinor Carlisle seems to be the obvious murderer of her ailing aunt and the beautiful romantic rival who broke up her engagement, but Poirot uncovers darker motives. Lucy Crale enlists Poirot to investigate the year-old murder in which her mother was hanged for poisoning her artist father. Votes: I really like Ariadne Oliver and Christie when she's succinct. She clearly borrowed from or was paying homage to Cold Comfort Farm with this one though, right?
Feb 11, Earl rated it liked it. It seems I'm always saying I finally finished all of Agatha Christie's bibliography but I'm always finding new ones I haven't read yet. Of course, that's a good problem to have! I finally gave in and bought a copy of this novella since it was hard to find. A "lost" story that was set aside and reworked into the novel Dead Man's Folly.
I loved seeing how her ideas worked and evolved. A novella about a murder during a summer fete and the disappearance of the lady of the house. Poirot and Ariadne Oliver help the polio to solve the murder OK but not a favourite. Apr 19, Literati Literature Lovers rated it really liked it. They were a passion of mine at one time and I methodically read through each of the Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple books because I was fascinated by the intricacy of the author's plots.
Poirot and his facile mind. Summoned urgently by his friend novelist Ariadne Oliver, M. Poirot drops everything and hurries to a country estate where Mrs. Oliver has been engaged to plan a fictitious murder as a game — a Murder Hunt, something like a Treasure Hunt — for guests to solve as part of the activities at a festival.
Intrigued as Mrs. Oliver explains what she is supposed to do, Poirot is even more intrigued by the fact that based on her infamous Intuition, she finds the whole thing somehow wrong. That's what I want you to find out. But I've felt — more and more — that I was being — oh! Call me a fool if you like, but I can only say that if there was to be a real murder tomorrow instead of a fake one, I shouldn't be surprised!
Poirot embarks on an investigation of suspicious and non-suspicious characters culminating in murder of course! For fans of Dame Christie, this will be a short and easy read starring one of her most beloved characters.
Poirot is smart, funny and always catches his man or woman and the imaginative Mrs. Oliver is the perfect foil for his unique personality. I find myself once more drawn to these beautifully written books and highly recommend Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly to readers who love a classic mystery story.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book directly from the publisher. I was not paid to read or review this book. All opinions are my own, and I was never influenced by anything or anyone. Finished this book in one day, or should I say in one sitting. The story is kind of reminds me with story that I ever read in detective manga.
It's about a murder play that turn to be the real murder mystery. The trick and the weapon is not really impressive. I think the good point about the story is the motive. Also the background of every character. I enjoy this story but not really surprised with the conclusion of the case.
This was the shortest of the Christie books that I have read - it only took a couple of hours to finish it. Perhaps that is why I didn't enjoy it as much as the others. It felt fairly rushed and even after I found out who the killer was, I couldn't understand how Poirot deduced it.
This was the original version of the story written for a church fundraiser but it didn't do well so it was later expanded. It's possible the expanded version may have contained more detail that would have made the end This was the shortest of the Christie books that I have read - it only took a couple of hours to finish it.
It's possible the expanded version may have contained more detail that would have made the ending more of a "How didn't I guess who the murderer was" kind of moment. Regardless, it was still entertaining and a decent read.
Clever, and I really didn't see it coming, although I did realize the lady of the house was hiding something. There was nothing to base a clear idea of happened on until the details were filled in later, but once those were provided the whole thing snapped into place and made sense.
I'm looking forward to reading the longer work based on this story, Dead Man's Folly. There are too many Agatha Christie books to review individually.
Some which don't fit the following author review will be done as individual reviews but most will have this review added. I'm going to split this into sections. It will cover the main categories of Christie's work. First though I have to say I love Christie's books. Even when one is a poorer story the writing still makes me happy to read it. Christie's ability to craft good characters shines throughout all of her work and it's char There are too many Agatha Christie books to review individually.
Christie's ability to craft good characters shines throughout all of her work and it's character that drives the stories. Her plots on the whole are intriguing mysteries. Some work better than others but considering the length of time she wrote for, over 50 years, it's hardly surprising. One thing I enjoy is the humour. The books have a lightness of touch that brings the quirks out in characters such as Poirot. Her books aren't blood-soaked horror fests but death is still the constant character that sidles throughout picking off victims as required.
I've enjoyed the vast majority of her books. The rating on the books is an indication of whether I think it's good or decent. You won't find anything under 3 though.
Not for me. Ok a bit more about the various groups. Hercule Poirot. Probably her most famous creation. Poirot is an interesting character. Fussy, self important, arrogant at times but brilliant and determined. The stories are among her best with classics to numerous to mention. Think the murder of roger ackroyd, murder on the orient Express, death on the Nile, evil under the sun, appointment with death and then add many more.
The Poirot books are comprised of novels and short story collections. Most I thoroughly enjoyed. The plots are good on the whole and the characters are uniformly well drawn. Poirot's books are international going from England, France on to the middle east which gives a variety to the stories. One little note here. There are two versions of the novel the big four. One, the first published, has a framing structure that combined what were originally 12 short stories into a novel. This is one of the weaker Poirot books.
Written at a trying time for Christie it has more in common with the likes of sax rohmer than her normal material. A new version, comprising of just the short stories as originally published was printed a few years ago. Its essentially the same book but without the framing material.
It doesn't really mention that though! But that's the publisher not Christie's fault. Back to the books. Several of the later books feature what would now be referred to as cold case stories. Poirot investigates old crimes from the golden age of crime era which of course Christie is undoubtedly expert at.
From the first to the surprising final book and bar very few the Poirot books are one of the best detective series in print. Miss Marple There are surprisingly few marple books. The are very good though. Miss marple is an example of the armchair detective. Although she's not a strict example as she does have stories set both around England and abroad. Its more in the way her character works. She takes in information and her own observations of the suspects then uses her knowledge of people to work it all out.
She's a great character and the books are strong ones for me. As with Poirot some of the the later books are cold cases. Christie's final book, published posthumously was a marple case and one I loved.
I enjoyed these books. The lightness of touch, that subtle humour is in evidence in their short run of books. Great fun and great stories. Short story collections Christie wrote a large amount of short stories. There are 50 odd Poirot stories alone. Miss marple and Tommy and Tuppence also have short story collections. But there are many more.
I like her collections. Books such as the hound of death, the listerdale mystery and the the later collections featuring rarer stories and alternative versions are all of good examples of short story writing. One to look out for though is an American publication. Due to Christie's wishes a novella, three blind mice is no longer available in print in the UK. Three blind mice of course is the novella Christie adapted into the record breaking play the mousetrap.
Look out for it as it's a favourite story of mine. Both in its original form and the play version. Other novels There are lots of standalone novels and a few which do feature some recurring characters, such as the detective, battle. Some are brilliant and then there were none, one of my all time favourite novels some are good death comes as the end and some are weak. One of the weakest for me is they came to Baghdad but despite its weaker story I still enjoyed the writing.
From the ancient Egyptian setting of death comes as the end, via the creepy pale horse to the more traditional crime novels Christie's general novels are as entertaining as her more famous characters books. By Mary westmacott The six novels published under this name are very good. They are well written, character dramas.
Some have said they are romance but I found them darker than that in places. If you just like crime then don't read them but if you like good characters going through personal dramas then try them. Not my normal genre but I enjoyed them. The plays I enjoy reading scripts, film, TV and theatre but they aren't to everyone's taste.
Christie wrote more plays than people might think. Obviously the mousetrap is the most famous and it is a great story. But there are others that are very good as well. The Poirot plays are good, black coffee being one I enjoyed. Then you have various plays adapted from novels. Often these differ from the novel. And then there were none is a good example. The play has a different ending and it's good but I personally prefer the novel's ending.
There are plays written for television and theatre that are exclusive to those media. Some plays were actually written before the novel. The recently printed a daughter's a daughter play is very well written and predates the novel by some years. If you like reading plays then Christie wrote some very good ones. The Charles Osborne adaptations plus one other Charles Osborne adapted three of Christie's plays into prose form.
Black coffee is a good Poirot story. Then there were two others, spider's web and the rather funny the unexpected guest. I enjoyed the opportunity to read "new" Christie novels and the books are decently written. One thing to note is that Osborne does have to place some vital stage directions into the prose.
Goofs The opening music and titles to Poirot together set the scene that these are tales from the 's. Towards the end of the titles, a stylised and complete Battersea Power Station is shown, which was built in two phases the second of which was not finished until the early 's.
Quotes [repeated line] Captain Hastings : I say, Poirot! Crazy credits The opening credits has Poirot disembark at a train station and bow to the viewer. Murder Made Simple User reviews Review. Top review. Excellent portrayal of Hercule Poirot.
Granada Television scored another hit with David Suchet's faithful delineation of the irritating little habits and precise fastidiousness of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot to provide the most credible interpretation to date.
The same production company had also been responsible for the earlier extremely watchable Sherlock Holmes series with the incomparable Jeremy Brett. Hugh Fraser is appropriately laid back as Poirot's companion, Captain Hastings, in noticeable contrast to his more commanding Wellington in the enjoyable and successful ITV dramatisations of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels.
A convincing Chief Inspector Japp is provided by Philip Jackson who, whilst in respectful awe of Poirot still attempts to promote Scotland Yard as other than the implied bunch of duffers most famous fictional private detectives encounter.
Pauline Moran played the ever-efficient assistant Miss Felicity Lemon. Other than these four constants, a host of guest actors, directors, scriptwriters and cinematographers were involved in the series to provide a variety of storylines and styles. Over the past decade Carnival Films amongst others have also made various one-offs with the same key cast.
The two episodes I have seen recently, and first shown in February , seem to particularly warrant some observation on their themes. In this instalment the motive for the inevitable murder is given as the absurdly flat refusal by one spouse to grant a divorce to the other, a common mechanism of Christie's that is rather extreme and not wholly satisfying.
Fine photography and attention to detail prevail to create a nostalgic impression of 's London although there is not much evidence of the Great Depression affecting this particular society.
There is a superb evocation of the art deco period with the Mansion flats being particularly impressive and similar to those found around Marylebone.
With Italian troops occupying Rhodes there is some recognition of history as Poirot passes on his observation of the strengthening of harbour defences to a highly improbable MI5 type, ineffectively trying to hide as a harmless Major Timothy Knightley by paying unreciprocated attention towards another English hotel guest Frances Low holidaying on her own, who in turn seeks Poirot's protection. Incidentally with being the 25th anniversary of Dame Agatha's death on 12 January her books are being relaunched by HarperCollins and the Palace Theatre in Westcliff-On-Sea, Essex has dedicated a festival season to all 23 of her plays.
Filmtribute Oct 26, FAQ 3. The Episodes seem to be out of order, what is the timeline? How faithful are the adaptations? Is there anything that hasn't been adapted? Details Edit.
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