Agatha Christie`s detective collection! Part 1.

Good time of the day, bookworms! My Agatha Christie`s collection is here for you! It consists of 14 books, thus, this selection is divided in 2 parts. Let’s start in chronological order in which they came out.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926).

At first, the murder of squire Roger Ackroyd didn’t seem mysterious to the police — everything pointed to the guilt of the victim’s stepson. But Hercule Poirot, who recently moved to the area, having once again decided to retire, thinks otherwise. He begins an investigation, surrounded by many suspects — relatives and acquaintances of the squire, each of whom had a motive for his death. The story is told from the perspective of Dr. Sheppard, the last person to see Ackroyd alive…

In this book readers are being assured of Hercule Poirot`s intelligence and quick-wittedness for a hundredth time. The methods he used are mind-blowingly simple, yet genius. Book`s flow is quiet unhurried as most of the times. Although, at times, the characters were a bit cliché.

7/10

Big Four. (1927)

This novel is uncharacteristic of Christie in its form. It is not structured as a cohesive plot but rather as a series of novellas, each featuring different members of the mysterious and elusive «Big Four» — a secret organization seeking world domination. A worn-out man in a dirty suit breaks into Hercule Poirot’s house. He is barely alive. A few drops of brandy bring him back to his senses. The man tries to explain something, but his strength is only enough to repeatedly write the number «4» on a piece of paper…

Hear me out, “Big Four” is completely distinct book among others. The circumstances Poirot had been put in are crazier that I could ever imagine. Despite the fact that it is not a popular one of Agatha Christie`s, it is definitely worth of time and resources.

I am slightly disappointed it is almost never mentioned in social medias. On the other hand, it makes “Big Four” special.

9.5/10

The Seven Dials Mystery. (1929)

Guests gathered for a weekend at Chimneys Castle, rented by millionaire Oswald Coote. However, the celebration was hopelessly ruined when one of the guests suddenly died in his sleep under very strange circumstances: someone had placed seven alarm clocks next to his body. Soon after, another guest — a handsome young man — was also killed. Before dying, he managed to whisper: «Seven Dials…» The residents and guests of the castle had to begin investigating the mysterious murders. But soon Superintendent Battle joined them…

Oh, my first book of hers. Mostly popular for “And Then There Were None”, Agatha Christie`s detective novels were very different from my expectations. This book has a slight similarity with a best seller mentioned, however, it dives you in a completely unique circumstances – secret society, which no living soul knows about. One of the protagonist is a delightful and brave woman that aims to assist in recovering the truth.

Needless to say that this book honored to be my first of Christie`s collection began my exciting journey of engagement by her books.

8/10

Murder on the Orient Express. (1934)

The great detective Hercule Poirot, who was in Istanbul, returns to England on the famous «Orient Express,» where, it seems, passengers of all possible nationalities are traveling with him. One of the passengers, an unpleasant American named Ratchett, offers Poirot a job as his bodyguard because he believes he is going to be killed. The famous Belgian dismisses this absurd request. The next day, however, the American is found dead in his compartment, with the doors locked and the window open. Poirot immediately begins the investigation and discovers that the compartment is full of all sorts of clues pointing… to almost every passenger on the «Orient Express.» To make matters worse, the train gets stuck in deep snowdrifts in a remote area. Poirot must find the murderer before the express continues its journey…

Straight to the point, Oriental Express is a-hundred-percent unpredictable book in most of possible ways. It is exactly that I never knew what happens next. Everybody heard of it. The end blows your mind and leaves no questions. I am a little jealous of people who haven’t read it yet. The general atmosphere of a cozy winter adventure accompanied me all the way until the last page.

Despite the fact that it`s a murder story, the vibe remained comfy.

9.5/10

Death in the Clouds. (1934)

On board the Paris–Croydon flight, the famous detective Hercule Poirot is peacefully sleeping, unaware of what is happening right next to him. Upon waking, he learns that his fellow passenger, an elderly Frenchwoman named Madame Giselle, has been found dead. At first, her death is attributed to a wasp sting, but Poirot discovers that the woman was killed by a poisoned dart. According to the doctor’s report, death resulted from poisoning by an extremely rare toxin. There are only ten passengers and two stewards on the plane — and one of them is the murderer. Even Poirot himself is under suspicion — an unusually uncomfortable role for the famous detective…

It was, indeed, entertaining to observe the ridiculous situation Hercule Poirot found himself in. He can`t be justified easily, even though he is a famous detective that dealt with dozens of cases throughout his life, helping crime victims and English government. Therefore, my forwardness to quickly reach the outcome of the book doubled.

Eventually, some aspects of the resolved crime were unusual comparing to the common ones. (Although none of the outcomes of Agatha Christie`s books can be called common).

8/10

Cards on the Table. (1936)

As she saying goes: «Let sleeping dogs lie»… But Mr. Shaitana, when inviting his friends and acquaintances to his house for a game of bridge, forgot this common wisdom. All evening, he talked about murders and murderers, insisting that most such crimes go unsolved. And, as they say, he brought it on himself…

A short time later, he is found in the living room with a stab wound in his chest. Fortunately, among the guests are four renowned detectives — Hercule Poirot, Ariadne Oliver, Superintendent Battle, and Colonel Race. A gathering of brilliant minds… Yet even they have to use all their analytical skills to uncover the killer. The key to the mystery lies in the course of the bridge game, and the one who best understands bridge will solve it…

Unexpected neatly committed murderer of a man in his own house right in front of Poirot himself, Superintendent Battle, popular writer and Colonel. I kept on asking, who in their right mind would ever do that?

How was it possible to pull it off quiet and fast enough and leave almost no sign? I also fancied a lot of expressed thoughts of Hercule Poirot`s and other characters.

8.5/10

Death On Nile. (1937)

On the luxurious steamboat “Karnak”, sailing down the Nile, a young heiress who had recently married is murdered, and it turns out she had many enemies among the passengers. Anyone could have killed the arrogant and brazen girl, who had stolen her best friend’s fiancé. But none of the likely suspects committed the crime… Fortunately, the great detective Hercule Poirot is on board, and he knows the social circle present on the cruise from London, as well as the possible motives of each passenger. Naturally, the first thing the Belgian considers is the «love triangle» involving the victim, her newlywed husband, and the very passionate woman he left for the heiress…

First thing to mention is that the summary tells us the Young Heiress dies and everything happens afterwards. BUT for some reasons, the introduction is overly long. Although I am not the type of reader who needs a super catchy beginning, it was too much even for me.

The book dazzled me with a multitude of characters, thus, I needed to return to passed pages to recall them later on. Despite this, the denouement was quiet worth it all.

7/10

Part 1 is finished! Second part will be very soon. I hope my reviews were useful.

See you!