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Thursday, August 5, 2021

An Agatha Christie Mystery...

"I am the best!" said Hercule Poirot. "I do not need to bend and measure the footprints and pick up the cigarette ends and examine the bent blades of grass. It is enough for me to sit back in my chair and think. It is this" -- he tapped his egg-shaped head -- "this that functions!"
 

Carla Lemarchant will need Poirot's best if she hopes to prove that her mother did not poison her father, the well-known artist Amyas Crale, sixteen years ago. Even though her mother is now dead, Carla still wants Poirot to find the real murderer. There are five other suspects for him to consider:  Philip Blake, Crale's best friend, Meredith Blake, an amateur herbalist and Crale's neighbor, Elsa Greer, the lovely young girl who was having an affair with Crale, Cecilia Williams, the governess, and Angela Warren, Caroline Crale's tempestuous younger sister. As Poirot gets each of their stories, he hopes to find the truth lying somewhere between the lies. It won't be easy, but Poirot is nothing if not persistent. 

Five Little Pigs is an entertaining mystery. There's a lot of questioning by Poirot, both of the police and of the five suspects, and each account of the murder he hears paints a little more of the total picture. But questions always linger. I had fun trying to figure out the who, how and why. Although Poirot did it much better than me, I did guess one of the twists at the end before he revealed it. But I couldn't figure out the real murderer. Still, I had a lot of fun trying. I really enjoy the way Agatha Christie writes; she's one of my favorite authors. And I love Hercule Poirot. Which makes this the perfect book to fill the New-to-you Classic by a Favorite Author category in this year's Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen over at Books and Chocolate.

Happy Reading!


A few other Christie novels I've reviewed over the years:

45 comments:

  1. Glad you enjoyed this one. I'm one of those rare people who haven't had much success with A.C., not sure why.

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    1. We're all such different readers, aren't we? That's why it's good that there are so many different kinds of books out there. :)

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  2. I enjoyed this book too and didn't guess who the murderer was either. My last few Christie books have all been Miss Marple ones, but I'm hoping to read more Poirot soon.

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    1. I've been switching back and forth between Miss Marple and Poirot, and loving them both. :D

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  3. I just got a complete collection of Christie's works, so I'm excited to dig into them!

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    1. Lucky! I'm jealous. I'd love to have a complete collection of her books. :D

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  4. I've read and loved many Christie mysteries over the years. She really was the most amazing plotter of puzzles for her readers. I think my favorite is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd with And Then There Were None a close second.

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    1. And Then There Were None was the first Agatha Christie mystery I ever read. And I loved it. What a surprise twist at the end of that one. :)

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  5. This sounds like a fun mystery! I always like it when I'm surprised by the actual culprit. :)

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    1. And Agatha Christie mysteries usually do end up surprising me. :)

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  6. I love Poirot too. I haven't read this one but have seen the TV edition as I remember that brilliant quote about the footprints and blades of grass, and David Suchet delivers these hilarious lines so perfectly.

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    1. Poirot always makes me smile. He's such a great character!

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    1. Well, if you're ever in the mood for a mystery you should give her a try. She writes a good book. :)

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  8. Oh, I think I remember this one! If I remember correctly I couldn't stand Elsa Greer rubbing the wife's nose in the affair basically happening right under her nose. Of course, it was mostly the husband's fault. He was a painter, right? Jerk. Love Poirot! I've been re-watching some of the adaptations on Amazon Prime with David Suchet. He really does the best Poirot!

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    1. You do remember this one! I can't always remember the other Christie mysteries I've read. Too many plots in my head. ;D

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    2. I know! But I think I've read this one several times and I think there's a film adaptation with David Suchet. It may not be called Five Little Pigs, though. Not sure why she had alternate titles on a bunch of her books...

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  9. Although I read many of her books years ago, I have not read one for such a long time they'd all seem new to me. :)

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    1. I could probably go back and reread some of her books and still not be able to figure out (or remember) whodunnit. :)

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  10. Five Little Pigs is one of my favorite Christie books. If you get the chance to re/watch the David Suchet TV show episode, I hope you do, because I think it's even better than the book!

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  11. I've yet read Agatha Christie, and I can only imagine how different they must be from the modern mysteries and thrillers you read. A kinder, gentler approach to murder. LOL

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    1. :D But it does surprise me a little you've never read even one of her books; you're so well-read!

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  12. I need to read morrrrre Christie...

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    1. I feel like that every time I read one of her books! :)

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  13. I haven't read AC's books for a while and they're hit-or-miss to me. This one sounds intriguing. :)

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    1. I liked watching Poirot work his way through all the suspects, trying to figure out who did it.

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  14. Interesting cast of suspects! I like the sound of this one. I've read very few Agatha Christie books and need to change that!

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    1. I've been slowly working my way through her books and enjoying each and every one. They're fun mysteries. :)

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  15. Good job on guessing the twist! I almost never manage that. I read this one a few years ago and enjoyed it also, though it was rather sad ultimately.

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    1. I usually don't guess anything right in her books, but this time I got close to figuring everything out.

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  16. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this one. I've been trying to read more of Christie's works since I've enjoyed all of the ones I have, but this is one I haven't tried yet.

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    1. I liked it. Most of it is Poirot questioning people about that day in the past when Crales died, so there's not a lot of suspenseful action, but I still really enjoyed it.

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  17. Lark, I've not read Christie. I've just read Sophie Hannah's books that are homage's to her writing. I'm thinking I need to finally pick up one of Christie's books. I'm glad you posted about this one - it sounds so good!

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    1. You should try one of her books at least once! Just so you can see what a good writer she was. :)

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  18. Glad this was a good one for you. I am not a big Agatha Christie fan, I have read a few and it has been hit and miss.

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    1. I've had good luck with her books so far, but then I like the feel of these old-fashioned mysteries. :)

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  19. Ohhh, I haven’t read this one — but it is a great title!

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    1. Christie quotes that rhyme about "this little pig went to market, this little pig stayed home" in this book. It didn't have much to do with the actual murder, but it was still kind of fun to see Poirot peg each suspect with part of the rhyme.

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  20. I've read this one before but it's soooo long ago I don't remember a thing. Which is always nice with a mystery!

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    1. Yes! It means you can read it again and again. :)

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  21. This sounds excellent. I haven't read this one yet, but I've been enjoying reading Agatha Christie novels this year as part of the #ReadChristie2021 challenge.

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    1. I should do that Christie reading challenge sometime. I do love reading her books. :)

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