Peril at End House

Peril at End House, the eighth book in the Hercule Poirot cozy mystery series, was selected as the next book to read in the April 2018 Agatha Christie Readathon that I\’m hosting on my blog at This Is My Truth Now. Four weeks of books from all her different series and lots of fun with her canon. I\’m really glad this book won the poll as I hadn\’t read it before. And who wouldn\’t love a book with a title containing the words \’peril\’ and \’end\’ ? Poirot has never been more sarcastic and witty than in this book. It\’s charming but at the same time, if he said the things to me that he says to his sidekick, I\’m not sure I\’d turn the other cheek so quickly. But it makes his complex personality all the more interesting and readable! It\’s always amusing to see how he falls into the capers he investigates… in this one, he stumbles upon a woman who thinks she\’s just been hit with a tiny piece of falling debris, but it\’s a bullet. Then he learns someone is trying to kill her — unsuccessfully three times prior to this experience. Who has that kind of luck? Both the victim for surviving all the attempts and the villain for not succeeding. The cast is a great size in this mystery. There are a number of servants, guests and friends in the house where main character, Nick, a woman with little remaining family, is trying to find her way. In typical Christie fashion, the suspicion is cast on everyone from Nick\’s suitors to her cousin, her best friend to her lawyer. Or is there a team of killers? It gets more complex as we learn she was set to inherit more money than even she\’d known about; now there\’s a motivation to kill, Poirot thinks. What if it\’s not about the money you currently have, but the money you\’re set to get… so let\’s kill off a few people in a row and make that chain happen more quickly. I\’m not giving away any spoilers here, this is discussed fairly early on in the novel. But knowing that makes the details even more delicious. So does the different types of romance happening in the book, as well as the visit from the Australian couple who seem to know something more than they are letting on! So many wonderful little nuggets in this 100-year-old detective wonder. It\’s a bit sad, too, when you see what happens at the end. People are complicated and really need guidance in life, and it was interesting to see how Poirot can fill that role sometimes. My only slight concern with this one and why I give it a ~4 is that the ending was a little confusing at the same time as open to a bit of interpretation. I can\’t say more than that without giving thigns away–and it\’s still a strong mystery–but I like my Poirot answers to be more concrete. He always leaves a few dangling threads but I was afraid if I pulled too hard on this one, I\’d be left with a rather stringy garment, and who wants that? All in all, I\’m really happy with this one. Descriptions are spot on and witty. I felt like I was at the house. The fireworks made it more spooky. The mysterious cousin who was really never intended to be there makes things even more interesting, especially when you learn some interesting facts about this family and their history. My favorite part was the list of suspects draw out in the book like a chart… really pulls it together, but also helps readers decide for themselves whodunit?!?! I may have to re-read them all this summer when I have a bit more time! Thanks to everyone participating on the blog with this Readathon!

M. Hercule Poirot and his sidekick, Hastings were on a week’s holiday in a little village in Cornwall when the lovely Magdala Buckley (called Nick by all) came to Poirot’s attention. The little accidents that had befallen Nick concerned Poirot but it was the bullet that caused him to look into the attempts on her life. Nick lived in the old family mansion on top of the nearby hill called End House. It was in disrepair but was a family home and Nick had no intentions of getting rid of it. As Poirot and Hastings waded through the mess that was Nick’s life, Poirot created one of his lists. But he couldn’t make head nor tail of it. Who was the person determined to end the young woman’s life? But most importantly, why? Poirot was determined to find the solution… Peril at End House is the 8th in the Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie and another enjoyable mystery. I have one point which didn’t seem to have a solution – but can’t ask about it as it would be a spoiler! Although published long ago – originally 1932 – it’s still a mystery which hits the spot. Agatha Christie was a woman ahead of her time with her works still being read and loved many years after they were written. Recommended.

I just discovered Agatha Christie and Poirot this year, and have been obsessed. I enjoyed this book but I found the ending to be a little bit crammed. There were too many twists, which I think took away from the main storyline at the end. I did really like the fact that Hastings is in this book, I find his love/hate bromance with Poirot hilarious and endearing. These two characters have such great chemistry that it alone can liven up a whole book. As far as the other characters, I thought they could be a little bit more developed. I\’m not good with names, I love when Agatha Christie describes her characters in such detail that I don\’t even have to learn their names I just remember their characteristics. I found that I did have to learn the names of most of the characters in this book, which was fine. If we break this book into 3 acts, I\’d say the first 2 acts were slow but full of hidden details that are easy to miss. The final act was crammed full of stuff and very fast moving. It\’s the equivalent of climbing up a slow hill for a very long time only to fall off a cliff! Overall, it\’s a great read. The mystery is solved and all your dying questions are answered. The twists are not forced like a lot of modern mysteries, there is a method to Christie\’s madness. If the final act was a teeny bit less busy and the characters were a little more complex, I would have given this 5 stars.

I can\’t help but reread the books, especially after I\’ve watched the movies (David Suchet versions!). I\’m never disappointed by the twists and turns, the little gray cells, or the narration of Captain Hastings. This is another great read, and I\’m happy to announce, it gives you pause. Find out more about my love of Agatha Christie in my book blog reviews.

The last Christie book I read was \”Black Coffee\”, and I was disappointed with that one, so \”Peril\” was a pleasant change. This isn\’t my favorite Christie novel (And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, and Cards on the Table remain my top 3), but it\’s still very good. This kept me guessing until the last minute, when Poirot did his standard \”big reveal\”. I do love the plot twists and unpredictable ending. I also love that, unlike a few other Christie novels that I\’ve read, there were no clues that only came out during the reveal. If you\’ve read a few Christie novels, you probably know what I\’m talking about 😉 All the clues that lead us to the murderer are in plain view (written in the book), waiting for us to put them together. I am on a quest to read each Poirot novel, so I\’m glad I got this one under my belt. I would recommend it to a friend, since it is a very good book, and a great way to \”meet\” Christie and Poirot.

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