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Friday, November 27, 2020

Peril At End House by Agatha Christie

 "Ah! but he made a grave mistake, that would-be murderer, when he shot at his victim within a dozen yards of Hercule Poirot! For him, it is indeed la mauvaise chance. But you see now why we must make our entry into End House and get in touch with Mademoiselle Nick? Three near escapes from death in three days. That is what she said. We must act quickly, Hastings. The peril is very close at hand."

 Brief summary:  Claiming to be retired, Poirot is vacationing in Cornwall with Capt. Hastings when a stray bullet lands at his feet. It seems the bullet was aimed at Nick Buckley, a pretty young lady who lives at End House. Poirot quickly determines to find the person trying to kill her. But he soon finds it is easier to solve a murder than to prevent one. Especially when he has a list of ten possible subjects and no clear motive for why anyone would want to kill Nick.

My thoughts:  This is another entertaining mystery from Agatha Christie. It was fun seeing Poirot a bit flummoxed throughout this one. Of course, he figures it out in the end, but he has to work for it. The solution surprised me a bit, but then I hardly ever figure out the real culprit in any of Christie's novels. I have a lot of fun reading them though, especially when Poirot is on the case. He always makes me laugh. All in all, this is exactly the kind of mystery that makes me glad Agatha Christie was so prolific. 

Happy Reading!

38 comments:

  1. Poirot flummoxed? That alone makes this one a good choice!

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    1. It was fun to see him have to scratch his head and puzzle things out a bit more than usual. :)

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  2. Hercule is always so entertaining! I'm listening to Sleeping Murder right now and enjoying my re-read! I'll must re-read this one someday. Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, Lark! :)

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    1. Sleeping Murder was so much fun! I liked this one almost as much. :D

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  3. Agatha Christie is always so much fun!

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  4. Christie mysteries are so good. I need to read another one soon!

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    1. Every time I finish one of her books I wonder why I'm not reading her more often. Her books are so much fun. :)

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  5. This sounds fun! I have enjoyed my first few Christie mysteries and I definitely need to read more!

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  6. I definitely need to read more Christie after enjoying And Then There Were None this past summer.

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    1. Her books are a lot of fun. I haven't read them all yet, but I keep working my way through the list. And enjoying every one of them. :)

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  7. I love this one. It is pretty ingenious.

    I only have one quibble (without giving anything away!). How was the bullet/bee incident supposed happen? If you think back on it, how could the killer know that Nick would be sitting near anyone when it happened?

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    1. Yeah, that was never explained really well was it?

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  8. I love how Poirot makes me laugh. AC doesn't get enough praise for the humour in her books.

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    1. I agree! Poirot always makes me laugh. All his little quirks and comments. :D

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  9. This sounds like so much fun! I need to read more Agatha Christie. :)

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  10. I've never read an Agatha Christie book but I'm glad you liked it.

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    1. Someday you should give her a try just to see for yourself what a good writer she is. :)

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  11. Hercule Poirot is my favorite Agatha Christie character. I have read many of her novels and would like to reread some of them.

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  12. Hi Lark, I had not heard of this Agatha Christie novel. An interesting idea in that here Poirot is being asked to stop a murder that hasn't taken place yet. Her books are great all year round but even better to read during the winter months.

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    1. Her books are good ones to curl up with when you don't want to do anything else, that's for sure! :)

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  13. Agatha Christie rules!!
    And Peril at End house is a great one, glad you enjoyed it.

    Kind regards,

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    1. It was so much fun. It just made me smile. But Poirot usually does that. :)

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  14. I need to read more Poirot books. Every year I say I will... :)

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    1. I say that, too. This year, I've actually managed to do it. :)

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  15. I love Agatha Christie. I saw an Agatha Christie play called Toward Zero a while back and the way the director made it with the Cliffs and the actors running up and down the stairs to get into the new setting was so memorable. Hope you read some more @theglobaldig.blogspot.com

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  16. Ooh this sounds like a fun Christie. I need to read more of her stuff. I want to explore both the Poirot and Marple series... I've been in such a mood for mysteries lately.

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    1. She's a good one. And there are so many Marple and Poirot books to enjoy!

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  17. I haven't read an Agatha Christie book for a while. They're always so fun to read!

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  18. I swear I'm going to read one of these one day...but "when" is the big question.

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    1. I have so many books like that! And somehow 'someday' never comes...and my list of books just keeps on growing. :D

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  19. I read so many of Agatha Christie's novels, especially his Poirot ones, in my younger years. I really need to re-read her books.

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    1. I'm still working my way through her list. :)

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