Five Little Pigs

This is one of my favorite Poirot mysteries because in it all he has is \”the psychology\” and the \”little grey cells\” to decipher the mystery. Carla Larchmont comes to Poirot with a request. She tells him that her real name is Carolyn Crale and that her mother, of the same name, was accused and convicted of murdering her father, the famous painter , Amyas Crale. Carla shows him a letter written by her mother,to be given to her on her 21st birthday, that states that she did not kill Crale. Carla has a fiancee who says nothing but whom she believes thinks that there may be a streak of madness in her family. She wants Poirot to discover a sixteen year old truth. There are five people (five little pigs, as Poirot imagined them) who could have killed Crale: his two best friends and brothers Meredith and Phillip Blake , Elsa Greer, the 20 year old girl posing for Crale for a painting who lets it be known that he plans to leave Carolyn and their child for her, Angela Warren, Carolyn\’ s teen-age half-sister whom Carolyn disfigured in a fit of jealous rage when she was a baby and Angela\’s governess, Miss Williams. Poirot asks each to write an account of the day before and day of the murder. It is after reading those letters that Poirot divines the murderer and in the final denouement brings all the principals plus Carla and her fiancee together to reveal the murderer and the motive. First rate Christie

What a fantastic read- no Hastings, no sidekicks, no matter! I love how Agatha Christie always manages to keep things fresh. Some might not like this book because it falls away from its usual format and focuses on a mystery that is decades old. The accused has already been convicted and died at this point, and the daughter of the accused has sought Poirot\’s help to clear her mother\’s name. Although Poirot is in the whole book, we hardly see him because most of the book happens in the past. I find this book refreshing because beyond the mystery is a very deep love story, something Christie has touched on in the past but not in depth. It is a very satisfying read that follows sound logic, but also explores the emotional side a lot more.

I\’m not going to bother with an overview of the story, I\’m sure enough have done that already. Years ago, thanks to my English/Lit teacher, I developed a love for her books, starting with \”And then there were none\” (known as \”10 little indians\” at that time). Anyone who loves a good mystery should definitely read this, as well as her other novels. It doesn\’t matter whether you\’re 14 or 80, her books are a perfect read. She will keep you guessing til the end, and when you think you\’ve got it figured out, you\’ll find out you were completely wrong. In most mystery novels (by other authors), I can figure it out fairly quickly. And most of them now have romance involved as well. While I don\’t mind romance & mystery together, I also like reading solely about a mystery. I don\’t need romantic adventures in every book, if you catch my drift. And I\’m thankful Ms. Christie writes solely about the mystery without the need to throw any romantic entanglements in there. Conclusion- Mrs. Christie never disappoints and you\’ll never feel bored while reading her work. Fair warning, you will not want to put the book down. Have I mentioned she\’s an amazing author? She\’s the queen of mystery for a reason. Read the book, I promise you won\’t regret it.

Agatha Christie, greatest mystery in the world, in history, is back again with yet another case for her top detective, Hercule Poirot. Reading this, I thought I may have found a dud Christie story, and I was wrong. This story is set in the 1960\’s, when Poirot is really starting to get up there in years. Carla Crale has recently found out a horrible secret about her past. Sixteen years ago, her mother was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her husband, and died only a year into the sentence. But before her death, she wrote her daughter a letter claiming she was innocent. Carla engages Poirot to prove her mothers innocence and determine what really happened. The book has a smaller cast than most Poirot novels, with only six major characters. It doesn\’t really give the reader much room for red herrings and puzzlement. Yet, the solution to this mystery was a satisfying as any other poirot novel I\’ve read.

I\’m a great fan of the Poirot mysteries and have read, I believe, all of them. Alas, this is far from Christie\’s best effort. She portrays Poirot at his most annoying and incredible. He patronizes. He condescends. He blithely makes unreasonable demands of complete strangers and they bow meekly to the tasks he sets them. He states that only toward the end of the tale did he become convinced of Caroline\’s innocence yet from the first chapter, and in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence, he behaves with the conviction that she is not the murderer. The letter from prison that ostensibly raises his suspicions scarcely explains or justifies the extensive investigation he undertakes. Finally, the psychological conclusions he draws in the final pages are terribly tortuous and contrived. Apologists may counter that these manipulations were necessary to make the plot come together in the end. I counter that, while a certain amount of implausible insight and imagination is attributable to the protagonists of virtually all mysteries, seldom does Ms. Christie do so in such a labored manner.

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