The ABC Murders

Agatha Christie is a dab hand at the art of distraction -- and so, at times, is her cerebral detective, Hercule Poirot.I'm not sure how I skipped over this book when I started working my way through her backlist as a teen; hopefully the neighborhood library actually had a copy and it was just continually checked out. I'd hate to think that other Dame Agatha fans also missed out on this cunning puzzler. If you've missed this one, it definitely is worth adding to your to-read list.The premise of this tale is deceptively simple. M. Poirot's deserved acclaim has preceded him among the public at large, and a determined soul thus has chosen the Belgian detective as a cross between confidante and modified cat's paw.What follows is a seemingly linear series of events, though as usual when Christie is at the typewriter, there are tricky, twisty bits that advance the story in the moment but gain additional meaning once the last page is finished and the reader has a chance to reflect.In addition to the faithful Hastings, Inspector Japp makes a cameo, but the rest of the ensemble cast, new to the most loyal of readers, is rather ingenious and illuminating on Christie's part. (Yes, as is the case in several other of her books, there are some dated word choices and frames of reference. It helps to imagine oneself reading this in 1936, the year in which it was initially published.) I hesitate to delve into the plot lest I let something slip. Christie largely plays fair with clues, red herrings and sleight of hand. The story moves briskly, with slower passages calculated to heighten suspense.We also get fascinating glimpses into the thought processes of M. Poirot, such as this rather chilling observation midway through the story. "Crime is terribly revealing," Poirot tells Hastings when the latter expresses frustration about the murderer still being at large. "Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions."KINDLE NOTES: File conversion of this title is spot on -- no hiccups or stray typographical artifacts. Poirot indulges in rather more instances of colloquial French than usual, but the Bing translation feature is able to cope with all of the phrases. If you should get an English-language translation, click "English > French" within the translation screen to reset the function. I had this happen three times during the book and the reset process was simple and accurate.

By my count of Agatha Christie's Poirot NOVELS, this 1936  "Poirot, Book 11: ABC Murders, The"  novel is the 11th in the series. And, as Christie has Hastings and Poirot discuss in the book, it's a different kind of murder from any she's written for Poirot before. It's well done and interesting. But, as is Christie's norm, she has Poirot pull his answer out of his posterior dorsal right at the end with no evidence. That leads me to my difficulty in rating this book. Even though Poirot once again has no evidence, the material earlier in the book (and what she's written of Poirot in earlier books) gives valid reasons for Poirot to go looking for what he does (though, again, he could be saying "space aliens dunnit" just as legitimately). And, I've got to admit, she does stick in a paragraph at the tail of Poirot's ending soliloquy saying that evidence does exist (plus a humorous jab at the kinds of things Hastings looks for as evidence). Plus, I really enjoyed 97% of the book. So, this time, I'm sticking to a rating of a Very Good 4 stars out of 5 instead of marking it down.

I have been doing some reading of Poirot novels, recently. Some, I had read as a child. Others...I'm just not sure. Recently, though, I decided to watch the new British TV version on Amazon Prime. John Malkovich did a great job, actually, as Poirot. I either don't recall at all, or never read the book, though, so here I am.There's only a surface level of similarity between the show and this book. The general plot is the same, but they wrap up much differently. The show also chose to place this at the end of Poirot's life, when he was essentially a non-entity as far as the investigation was concerned. That's far from the case in the book. I won't say anything much about the plot differences because they'd ruin this if you've never read it. Suffice it to say, someone is killing people based on train time-tables. The murders are in places arranged alphabetically. Also each victim's name starts with the same letter as the city. A letter is sent to Poirot each time to tell him where they will happen and when. The challenge, of course is to prevent them.The plot is actually quite tight, and in the end, the whole thing feels proper, not a trick. The murderer is punished, and everyone else goes off to happiness. In Shakespearean terms, this is a comedy!Anyway, I enjoyed this. If you're OK with older "period" pieces, these are still wonderful fun.

This may not be one of my favorite Christie novels that I've read so far, but it's still really, really good! I suppose every reader will have stories by a certain author that they prefer. Many Christie fans see this as one of her best, and though I understand why, of the novels I've read by her so far, I don't quite agree.I mean, it's still GREAT, still deserving of 5 stars, for sure! The concept is great and there's no fault in the storytelling, just something about it didn't captivate me in the way many of her other books do. Death Comes as the End, for example, one of my favorites by her, though not one of her most popular. In the same vein, ABC Murders is one of her most popular, but not one of my favorites. But please don't misunderstand me...I still loved it and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good read!

Sono alcune volte che acquisto da Amazon e ritengo che la qualità dei prodotti proposti e del servizio siano eccellenti, ritengo che continuerò a fare ordini perchè anche i prezzi sono molto convenienti, grazie e a presto.

Não teve suspense !! Não é tão bom como esperava !!

One of her best books. You won't be able to put it down. It keeps you wanting for more. Very exciting book!

eSTA OBLIGARIEDAD ES ABSURDA CUANDO RES UNA COMPRA COMO UN LIBR0 - ASI MI INTERES EN CONTRBUIRR A LA ENCUESTA ES NULO

Solo hay 2 páginas! !El artículo se trata como un e-book. Al comprobarlo veo que es verdad que pone 2 páginas, pero no tiene sentido