Summer of Agatha Christie #3- After The Funeral

After the Funeral by Agatha Christie
Published by William Morrow ISBN 979-0-06-235731-1
Trade paperback, $12.99, 286 pages

For those of you following along, you know that bookclubgirl is hosting a Summer of Agatha Christie, culminating with the publication of a new Hercule Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah, The Monogram Murders, publishing in October.

We are on book number three, After the Funeral, which I enjoyed thoroughly. On September 2nd, bookclubgirl will post some discussion questions, so feel free to join in the fun.

After the Funeral begins with Mr. Entwhistle, a lawyer attending a funeral for one of his oldest clients and friends, Richard Abernethie. Mr. Abernethie ran a successful family business and with the death of only son occurring years earlier, the heirs to the family money include Richard's hypochondriac brother Timothy, his sister Cora, whom no one has seen in twenty years after she married a man considered 'unsuitable', nieces Susan, a businesswoman, Rosamund, an actress, and nephew George, in finance.

At the home after the funeral, Cora carelessly tosses off a comment about Richard being murdered. Most of the family chalked it up to Cora just stirring up the pot, as she is wont to do. But the next day, Cora is brutally murdered in her home, and now Mr. Entwhistle is concerned that perhaps Richard was murdered.

He goes to Hercule Poirot to investigate and find out if Richard was murdered and who killed Cora. I found it amusing when Poirot turns to Mr. Goby, a man "famous for the acquiring of information." Goby calls government snooping "God's gift to investigators." Given what we know about the NSA, one could infer that government's spying on their citizens is a time- honored practice.

The family members all have money issues: Timothy hasn't worked due to his "illnesses", and his house and car are falling apart. Susan wishes to buy a pharmacy for her husband. Rosamund wants to use the money to support her and her husband's dreams of staging a play. George apparently has a gambling problem and has been using clients' funds to cover his losses.

They all have motives for wanting the money, and Poirot discovers that many of them had opportunity as well. It's great fun following the clues and trying to put the puzzle pieces together to discover the murderer. (I confess that I was wrong.)

It's interesting that Poirot does not dominate the story. He comes into the story late and stays in the background for the most part. In today's mystery/thriller series books, the protagonist (a cop, investigator, medical examiner) tends to dominate the stories of the books, with the crime relegated to equal or lesser plotlines.

I also found it interesting the lengths that people will go to when money is involved. Like government spying, greed appears to be something that has been with humans for a long time, and probably will be for a long time to come.

Now that I have read three Agatha Christie novels, two of them featuring M. Poirot, I'm curious to read Sophie Hannah's take on the iconic character in The Monogram Murders.

rating 5 of 5
My review of And Then Were None is here.
My review of Dead Man's Folly is here.

Summer of Agatha Christie- Book #2- Dead Man's Folly

Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks ISBN 978-0-06236462-3
Trade paperback, $12.99, 226 pages

This has been declared The Summer of Agatha Christie by bookclubgirl.com, and after reading book number one- And Then There Were None- the next book on our list is Dead Man's Folly, a Hercule Poirot Mystery. All this leads up to the new Hercule Poirot mystery, The Monogram Murders, publishing in October.

Dead Man's Folly was also televised last night on PBS' Mystery! series, and it was great fun to see the characters come to life on screen after reading the novel. Actor David Suchet is the embodiment of Hercule Poirot; his penguin-like walk had me smiling when he first came on screen.

Poirot is summoned to an English estate by eccentric mystery writer Ariadne Oliver. I suspect that Agatha Christie had a good chuckle creating an older, female British mystery writer and giving her exaggerated characteristics.

Oliver created a Murder Hunt for a fete hosted by Sir George Stubbs, the wealthy owner of an estate. (Anyone who watched PBS' Downton Abbey may recall that Lord Grantham's family hosted a similar carnival-like event on their estate.)

There were games, food, a tea tent, even a fortune teller. Oliver feared that the Murder Hunt game she created would lead to an actual murder, which was why she summoned Poirot. Of course, a murder does occur, and it is up to Poirot to assist the local constable in discovering the culprit.

Naturally, there are several suspects, including Sir Stubbs, his overly-loyal secretary, the Legges (a young couple hiding something), an older woman who had to sell the estate to Stubbs to pay death duties, and an architect with an attitude problem. When Lady Stubbs' wayward cousin shows up, he becomes a prime suspect.

The fete scene is my favorite, both in the book and on screen. The book gives you a full picture of the scene, and as a reader you feel like you are there enjoying the day.

Poirot is a fabulous character; from the way he answers the telephone ("Hercule Poirot speaks") to telling Mrs. Oliver that she does not "derange him in the least" (meaning she is not bothering him), these are things I would like to incorporate in my daily speech.

Christie gives the reader a clear physical picture of characters; Mrs. Masterton is said to look like a bloodhound, and Captain Warburton is "horsy".  The manner in which the characters speak of each other fascinated me as well. Lady Stubbs is called "feeble-minded' and worse by many characters, and the awful manner in which the police and doctor talked about the young fourteen-year-old female victim spoke volumes about the way in which men looked upon poor, unattractive women.

Although in many instances women were looked down upon or treated as inferior, there is a sentence I liked that that spoke positively about women. When things needed to be accomplished for the fete, the men drifted away and "the women, as women do, worked energetically and conscientiously." I think we've all seen that before.

I was surprised by the unveiling of the culprit. I tip my hat to Hercule Poirot because, while I figured some things thanks to clues dropped, I did not have any idea who actually did it. I'm looking forward to book number three- After the Funeral.

Pop over to bookclubgirl to join in the fun.

rating 4 of 5 stars
My review of And Then There Were None is here.

The Summer of Agatha Christie #1- And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Published by William Morrow ISBN 978-0-06-232554-9
Trade paperback, $16.99, 247 pages

I've never read any of Agatha Christie (I know, I'm so ashamed), so when BookClubGirl decided to host The Summer of Christie to introduce their new thriller in September, The Monogram Murders, featuring Christie's favorite protagonist Hercule Poirot, I jumped in.

We begin with perhaps her most famous novel, And Then There Were None, about ten people summoned to a secluded island where they are murdered one by one until there are none left. The reader has to puzzle out who the killer is and why and this is a doozy of novel.

The book starts with the Frank Green poem detailing how ten little soldiers each end of dead, foreshadowing for our story. Then we meet each of the island visitors and get a bit of their backstory. They each receive a letter inviting them to Soldier Island, which is the subject of much public interest.

No one knows exactly who owns the island; a wealthy American was the last known owner, but he reportedly sold it. Was it to a Hollywood film star or a wealthy newlywed for his bride? Did the government buy it to carry out secret experiments? If TMZ were around then, this would have been a mainstay topic for them.

The guests are greeted by two housekeepers, a married couple who hadn't met the owners. A young school teacher had been hired to be a secretary to the owner. A captain in the armed forces was hired to be there, as was a doctor and a police officer, all hired by a solicitor. A respected judge, a spinster, a retired general, and a wealthy playboy received strange invitations, all from supposed acquaintances.

One by one, the ten end up dead. There are ten figurines on the dining table, and following each death, a figurine disappears. The island is searched top to bottom, and there is no one else there. Whoever is murdering them is one of the ten.

But why? We discover that each of the ten have been responsible for another person's death, but not held accountable by law. They are each being punished for their deeds, but who is doing the killing?
How each of them handled their feeling, or lack of feeling, for the guilt in causing another person's death is an intriguing concept here.

The manner of murders follow the poem, and the tension ratchets after each murder. Trying to figure out who is doing it will test your deductive powers and then when you think maybe you have the right answer, the clever epilogue will either confirm your suspicion or give you the answer you seek.

I really enjoyed And Then There Were None, it may just be the perfect mystery. It made me think and parse every page carefully for clues. I also loved the slang, like saying "That's a rum go!", which means a strange turn of events. I will be using that one in the future.

I'm looking forward to the next book, Dead Man's Folly, where we meet Mr. Hercule Poirot. If you want to join us in the Summer of Agatha Christie, the link is here. 

rating 5 of 5

It's An Agatha Christie Read-Along

I can't believe I have never read any Agatha Christie novels. But I am going to rectify that by joining in the Agatha Christie Read-Along, hosted by bookclubgirl this summer.

We will be reading three Agatha Christie novels featuring Hercule Poirot, And Then There Was None, Dead Man's Folly, and After The Funeral, leading up to the new Hercule Poirot novel, The Monogram Murders, written by Sophie Hannah and publishing in October.

There will be discussions of each book on bookclubgirl.com and you can find more information here.

So join the fun of the summer of Agatha Christie!