The A.B.C. Murders

Rating:
Summary: A very exciting, thrilling, and well written novel.
Review: The detective fiction book A.B.C. Murders, written by Agatha Christie, is a thrilling book. Christie's encouragement to read on makes it a "can't put it down" book. She forms the characters in great detail, each detail eventually making perfect sense in the conclusion and making you say, "darn, I should've known." Christie makes the books atmosphere such that it feels as if you are right there, trying to figure out the murders right along with Hercule Poirot, the great detective in the book. Christie's book is such a thrilling and exciting book for many reasons. First, her writing style is unique, in that it excites you from the beginning of the book until the very end. Her style is wonderful because she writes with enthusiasm to keep you interested throughout the book. She grasps your attention in different ways and makes you keep on reading until the very end. Secondly, Christie describes the characters to the last detail, making sure every detail has importance in the conclusion of the murders. These facts tie together at the end, concluding the mystery with great strength and reassurance to the reader. Lastly, the atmosphere of the book is outstanding. Christie absorbs you into the book so well that you want to talk over the mystery with Poirot, as if you were there solving the case right along with him. This book is great because it makes you want to keep on reading and reading, with no end to the book. With absorbing writing, great characterization, and encouragement to read on, Agatha Christie has written yet another outstanding detective fiction.

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Summary: The ABC Murders is an exciting and mysterious thriller
Review: The exciting mystery The ABC Murders written by Agatha Christie has a well thought out plot and good character development. The writing does not have a noticeable style, like The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, but when Christie writes a mystery there is not much need for a literary style. The book keeps the reader thirsting for more and always has some clues that keep you from not ruling anyone out as a suspect. This detective fiction novel uses Hercule Poirot as the detective and his faithful yet not so bright sidekick Hastings who also narrates the book. The two team up with Scotland Yard to try to solve a mystery to find a murderer who goes by the name ABC. He writes Poirot letters as clues to the next murder he is going to commit. The first victim is Mrs. A. Ascher in Andover, then Ms. Betty Barnard in Bexhill, Mr. Charmichael Clark in Churston and finally a murder in Doncaster. The book is fun to read because of the side relationship between Hastings and Poirot is out of the ordinary. Hastings is blindly stupid yet by stating the obvious he makes this mystery clear to Poirot. A little passage from the book clearly shows the relationship between the two, "... But it does not satisfy me. There are things I want to know. Why did he commit these murders? Why did he chose those particular people--?" "Alphabetically-"(Hastings) I began. "Was Betty Barnard the only person in Bexhill whose name began with B? Betty Barnard-I had an idea there.... It ought to be true-it must be true. But if so-" He was silent for some time. I did not like to interrupt him. As a matter of fact, I believe I fell asleep. I woke to find Poirot's hand on my shoulder. "Mon cher Hastings," he said affectionately. "My good genius." "it is true," Poirot insisted. "Always-always-you help me-you bring me luck. You inspire me." "How have I inspired you this time?" I asked. "While I was asking myself certain questions I remembered a remark of yours-a remark absolutely shimmering in its clear vision . Did I not say to you once that you had a genius for stating the obvious?" P 157. This passage from the book is the Hastings Poirot relationship in a nutshell because Poirot is using his scholarly mind to twist and turn what really happened into something very complex while Hastings simply re-states the facts and makes it all quite simple to Poirot. Sometimes the two remind me of little kids playing cops and robbers. Poirot is well described. Christie focuses on his mustache and his hair dye which Hastings cleverly notices in the beginning of the book. Poirot often says little French phrases because Christie wanted to make that one of Poirot's noticeable characteristics. The reason for the confusion about who the killer is, is that Poirot knows nothing of the motive, personality or appearance. All he has are some letters and an ABC (a railway guide) found by the bodies of all the victims. The murderer has left no other clues besides those showing that he is not just killing out of rage and that he is carefully planning the murders out. He even plans the best time of day to commit the murders. Even though Poirot picks through every little piece of the case over and over trying to find a clue, this book makes clear that he needs Hastings and some luck to solve the mystery. People who have read lots of Agatha Christie books will tell you if you like one, chances are that you will like them all. The combination of the character development, a tricky plot and lots of suspense makes for a good mind crank. If you like good detective fiction stories, then Agatha Christie is the author and Hercule Poirot is the detective (and Hastings is the story teller) for you. Good job Agatha Christie!

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Summary: Poirot the magician can be tricked but by whom?
Review: This woman is a killer in murder stories. She has no complex with Sherlock Holmes always in the wings and she is able to do things differently and yet in the tradition. The tradition here is of course the revelation of the real culprit in a conference by Hercule Poirot in the last five pages of the book. The tradition is to use Hercule Poirot's brains more than his magnifying glass. Already a difference in this similarity. But then everything is very different, is in a definitely more modern mood. Hercule Poirot is looking for the psyche of this serial killer and the motivation he has. He follows the line of a madman on the loose and yet keeps his awareness open to facts that could lead to a completely different solution, and sure enough it is the psychology and motivation necessary for these crimes to appear logical that enables Hercule Poirot to tell the name of the killer. This is more important than real evidence which can always be collected afterwards when the mystery is cleared. In other words Agatha Christie is already in 1936 on a « profiling » line that will appear in the world as a standard method only in the 1980s in the FBI to answer the challenge of serial killers. She is in other words postmodern when everyone is nothing but premodern. She is ahead of her times and by at least one if not two generations. The story itself is fabulous in the way it is organized and told. Suspense is perfect. The mystery is dense and dark. The solution is clear and logical. There is only one difficult element : two girls, two victims have a birthday before their murders and their parents or relatives buy them silk stochings for this same reason. This is a little bit coincidental. But apart from that everything is clear, except why Mrs Malbury's daughters call the suspected criminal to warn him that the police is coming. That sounds both fishy and strange, and is definitely not explained in the story. But what a good detective story-teller Ms Agatha Christie was and still is and will still be for quite a while. In other words she is a classic in the genre.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU