Peril at End House

BBC Radio 4 Poirot

by Michael Bakewell (Adapter), Agatha Christie, John Moffatt (Narrator)

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring John Moffatt as the great Belgian detective.

Hercule Poirot and his good friend Captain Hastings are enjoying a well-deserved break on the Cornish Riviera, in the idyllic village of St Loo. Wandering along the terrace of the Hotel Majestic on the first morning of their stay, Poirot literally falls at the feet of a pretty, dark-haired girl and, much to Hastings' delight, insists that she join them for a cocktail.

The girl is Nick Buckley, last in a long line of Buckleys to live at End House, an isolated old place perched on the end of a rocky outcrop. As she reassures the two friends that living there is more fun than it might seem, Poirot's ears prick up - she is having fun, Nick says, despite the fact that she has had three near-fatal accidents in the past few days. To Poirot, that adds up to more than coincidence. And when Nick jerks away from a bee flying past that turns out to be a bullet, the Belgian knows there is work ahead for the little grey cells.

The perpetrator of these "accidents" may well be endlessly inventive and diabolically clever, but is he a match for the meticulous M. Poirot?

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Agatha Christie, Crime, Fiction

2 pages, MP3 Book

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.

His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.

He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.

Reviews

[Alyson Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hearty 4.5* from me! Poirots retirement ends abruptly with a case that kept me hooked to the end. The loveable Captain Hastings with Inspector Japp along for the ride make this a great listen with plot twists galore.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm listening to the audiobook BBC Radio dramatization. I have also read the book at least twice and do have the paperback book.

I've watched the TV production and read the book so many times that I was like my husband watching the original Star Trek TV show, I could practically mouth the dialogue before actually hearing it. I enjoyed this book. I loved how Hercule makes Hasting introduce as the preeminent detective. I found though that there were just too many bad guys though - a drug dealer, addict, forger, besides the murderer themselves. Maybe if I were reading this for the first time I would feel differently.

[Ahtims · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a re-read, this time in audio. Had read this book atleast a couple of decades ago, and didn't even remotely recollect the story, though I deduced the killer rightly even before Hercule Poirot did (Poirot is not the only one who boasts :D).
Gist: Poirot and Hastings are vacationing in a seaside village, where a local house owner, a young girl is subjected to many near-to-death accidents. Poirot starts investigating, a lady ends up murdered and the heat is on for the killer.
Was a good book, crisp plot, a few red herrings, and the end neatly wrapped up. The BBC serialization was well done, with apt background music and sounds. Am looking forward to more of CHristie reread in audio.

[sabisteb aka callisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

1/5 Poirot and his friend Captain Hastings are taking a well-earned break in cornwall. but a young woman needs their help.
2/5 It transpires that the bullet discovered by Poirot was not the first attempt upon Nick's life.
Poirot and Captain Hastings attend a dinner party at Miss Buckley's house and make a startling discovery.
3/5 All Poirot's efforts to protect Nick seem to have been in vain when, during the fireworks party, murder is committed.
The identity of the body is revealed and Poirot searches through some letters.
4/5 It is clear to Poirot that the intended murder victim was Nick, so, for her safety, he has her installed in a nursing home, with no visitors allowed.
Poirot and Captain Hastings take a trip to London and meet up with Chief Inspector Japp.
5/5 To lure the killer out into the open, Poirot has taken an astonishing step. Now, at the denouement of the mystery, he has summoned everyone to the house.

St. Loo an der Küste Cornwalls irgendwann in den späten 20er Jahren. Poirot, der sich zur Ruhe gesetzt hat, und sein Freund Hastings, wollen eine ruhige Urlaubswoche an der Küste Cornwalls verbringen. Als sie entspannt unter der Klippe der Hotelterrasse sitzen machen sie die Bekanntschaft der Einheimische 'Nick' Buckley. Nick lebt als letzte ihrer Familie, alleine in einem recht heruntergekommenen alten Haus, namens End House. Sie erzählt den beiden Urlaubern, dass sie in den letzten drei Tagen dreimal nur knapp dem Tod entronnen ist. Obwohl eigentlich im Urlaub und eigentlich im Ruhestand, beschließt Poirot Nicks Leben zu schützen.

Peril at End House (Dt. Das Haus an der Düne) ist das sechste Hörspiel aus der BBC Radio 4 Hercule Poirot Reihe mit John Moffat als Hercule Poirot, unter der Regie von Enyd Williams und geschrieben von Michael Bakewell und stammt aus dem Jahr 2000. Erschienen ist der Roman 1932, der BBC entschloss sich jedoch, die Geschichte in den 20er Jahren spielen zu lassen, jedenfalls lässt die verwendete Charleston Musik, die wirklich genial ist und einen beim Hören des Hörspiels fast das Bein schwingen lässt, das vermuten. Der Fall an sich ist genial aufgebaut. Streng genommen wird (fast) nichts verschwiegen, und man hätte die Chance selber darauf zu kommen, die Angelegenheit ist aber so verzwickt, dass man zum Schluss doch überrascht wird. Ein echtes kriminalistisches Meisterstück.
John Moffat gibt wieder einen hervorragenden Meisterdetektiv, nur sind in diesem Teil Hercule Poirots Macken doch sehr stark ausgeprägt. Er ist von sich doch arg überzeugt, sehr affektiert und geht einem ein wenig damit auf den Geist, so wie man das halt kennt. Das ist in späteren Folgen des Hörspiels nicht ganz so stark ausgeprägt.
Man merkt, dass das Hörspiel für das britische Radio geschrieben wurde und an aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen, bzw. Wochen lief, denn zu jeder neuen Folge gibt es eine kurze Zusammenfassung der vorherigen Ereignisse durch Hastings, falls man einen Teil verpasst haben sollte.

Fazit: Genialer Kriminalfall, hervorragende Sprecher und tolle Charleston Musik. Was will man mehr.

[audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have such conflicting feelings about this book. It was a favorite of mine, growing up, but a recent re-read woke me to its racism and ableism. But I'd never heard the BBC radio play version, and not just am I a sucker for BBC radio versions, but this month I've done all the driving in creation.

For me, the mark of quality for a Peril version (tv, movie, audiobook) is how it translates this passage from the book:

"Still no news of that flying fellow, Seton, in his round-the-world flight. Pretty plucky, these fellows. That amphibian machine of his, the Albatross, must be a great invention. Too bad if he's gone west. Not that they've given up hope yet. He may have made one of the Pacific islands."

"The Solomon islanders are still cannibals, are they not?" inquired Poirot pleasantly.

In this version, that exchange becomes:

Hastings: Still no news of Captain Seton.

Poirot: Oh, the man who was flying around the world in that, um, how is he called?

Hastings: A seaplane.

Poirot: No no no, there is another word...

Hastings: Amphibian.

Poirot: That is it.

Hastings: The Albatross, that's what his plane is called. Too bad if the fellow's gone west. But he could always have come down by one of the more... remote Pacific islands.

Poirot: Let us trust not one inhabited by cannibals...

The differences are always incredibly telling.

Frederica Rice is voiced beautifully, as are the Australians, but John Moffett is not my Poirot, and neither is Hastings awesome. Most of all, though, there's somehow not enough End House by half in here...

But good pacing, good abridgement, functional sound effects, wonderful music.

[Alice Taprell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this Agatha Christie Poirot story. I found that I was left hanging until the very end and I wasn’t able to figure out the murderer too early. It makes for much more of an enjoyable listen.

[Isabella ⸙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars for this one, but, ultimately, I did end up enjoying the story, most likely largely due to the voice acting - John Moffatt and Gemma Saunders were especially excellent!

It's a rather typical Agatha Christie detective story, with her usual suspects and twists and turns. Maybe it isn't so in the original full-length novel, but I felt that the extended cast of characters and their possible motives weren't developed that well, so the solution ended up being obvious. The clues sprinkled throughout were quite clever, though, and I liked the ✨vibes✨.

[Gundrada · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways a simple mystery, but one that is expertly plotted and that I remember struggling to solve when first I read it. This dramatisation is well done, with a cosy warmth from Poirot and Hastings, and a touch of Classical Hollywood, especially in the portrayal of Nick. My only criticism is that the book evokes End House - almost as a character itself - in a way this adaptation doesn't quite achieve.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had an ingenious plot which I enjoyed trying to unravel. I don't know if it's any clearer in the book but I found the scene at the end of the book quite confusing partly because of the number of characters involved and there was also an incident which took a while to work out what had happened. I'd like to read the book at some point to see if it's any clearer.

[Elisabetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is growing on me....💕

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

52 Book Club 2024 Summer Reading Challenge- Prompt: Going for Gold

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's lots of fun with some fairly silly shenanigans but the plot is solid. The cast is, as usual, impeccable.

[Cami · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Nancy Mae · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

‘“Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking."
"An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it.”’

I’m fully loving these audiobooks, what a journey I have been on!

These dramatisations feel like a movie in the mind. I can hear the storylines and the characters come to life, and it truly feels like I’m part of the story!

Hercule Poirot, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, what an icon! And Captain Hastings! I loved having him back again!

These stories always make me second guess everything that I’ve thought about crime and thriller books. I’m second guessing everything character that I think have committed the crime, and I LOVE that I’m always wrong!

Another masterpiece! 3.75⭐️

[Morgan Giesbrecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another re-listen! So utterly clever and yet remarkably sad. Poirot is brilliant as usual, but I adore Hastings; he thinks he’s clever and tries to be but really he falls short every time. ;) As a cautionary note, I did notice some mild language was used.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While on holiday in Cornwall, Hercule Poirot states that he would need to be shot at to come out of investigative retirement. Wish granted.
But of course, it is not him the shooter was aiming for, but the pretty Nick Buckley, an accident-prone heiress of a local estate who was climbing up the path to the hotel. She tells them she has suffered several near-fatal mishaps lately.
Her close group of friends all have different stories, and everyone is distracted by the big news of the round the world flying attempt by Captain Seton. Lost wills, a series of accidents, cocaine, and missing pilots.
***
This one is terribly clever.
I laughed out loud at CI Japp’s - I’m on holidays - line.
Poirot mistrusts the tenants of the house as they ‘are too Australian’. As an Aussie, I’m amused.
And as a relic of it’s time, the aristocrats are allowed a way out. Murder was a hanging offence in those days.

John Moffatt stars as the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
4 stars

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging audiobook interpretation,with the wonderful Simon WIlliams (who will always be James Bellamy to me) as the curious and incredulous Captain Hastings. John Moffat's Poirot grumbles his way through the case, full of self-doubt and damp feet. Cocaine, a dead aviator, and some ersatz Australians spice up this mystery of murder and smeared identities. And Japp leaps in a the end! 3.5 stars.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

With many of these BBC adaptations, I end up starting over as soon as it ends. I didn't feel the need to do that this time. I just didn't care about the characters all that much by the end of the story. 2.5 stars.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this BBC Radio dramatization. I want to get the full story on CD and listen to it.

The isbn seems to be mixed up. This isbn is actually for the 5 CD version, not the BBC Radio dramatization.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha HA! This is the first time ever that I actually guessed the solution to an Agatha Christie mystery before it was revealed! (Not LONG before, but still.) Go me!

[OishM · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️