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Hercule Poirot #23, 25, 29
Poirot: The War Years
A brand new three-in-one Poirot omnibus, featuring the world-renowned detective's wartime adventures. Includes One, Two Buckle My Shoe, Five Little Pigs, Taken at The Flood. It seems Hitler's Luftwaffe aren't the only ones responsible for the deaths of innocent people as World War II rages -- it seems plenty of murderers are willing to help them reduce Britain' war-torn population even further. And it's up to Hercule Poirot to stop them!
ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE The dentist was found with a blackened hole below his right temple. A pistol lay on the floor near his outflung right hand. Later, one of his patients was found dead from a lethal dose of anaesthetic. A clear case of murder and suicide -- but why would a dentist commit a crime in the middle of a busy day of appointments? A show buckle holds the key to the mystery. Now -- in the words of the rhyme -- can Poirot pick up the sticks and lay them straight?
FIVE LITTLE PIGS Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, yet there were five other subjects: Philip Blake (the stockbroker) who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist) who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcee) who had roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess) who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister) who cried 'wee wee wee' all the way home. It is sixteen years later, but Hercule Poirot just can't get that nursery rhyme out of his head!
TAKEN AT THE FLOOD A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London Blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterward, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law, who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs Underhay's first husband is still alive. Yet, what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him.
ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE The dentist was found with a blackened hole below his right temple. A pistol lay on the floor near his outflung right hand. Later, one of his patients was found dead from a lethal dose of anaesthetic. A clear case of murder and suicide -- but why would a dentist commit a crime in the middle of a busy day of appointments? A show buckle holds the key to the mystery. Now -- in the words of the rhyme -- can Poirot pick up the sticks and lay them straight?
FIVE LITTLE PIGS Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, yet there were five other subjects: Philip Blake (the stockbroker) who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist) who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcee) who had roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess) who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister) who cried 'wee wee wee' all the way home. It is sixteen years later, but Hercule Poirot just can't get that nursery rhyme out of his head!
TAKEN AT THE FLOOD A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London Blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterward, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law, who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs Underhay's first husband is still alive. Yet, what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him.
535 pages, Paperback
First published November 3, 2003
2 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,775 books75.5k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 5, 2020
Read all these 2019
July 20, 2023
Brilliantly written! Suspense till the very end. Agatha novels seems to have remained so alive and intriguing. She almost takes you back to the fashion of the 30’s…
April 8, 2018
LA GUERRA CONTRO IL CRIMINE
Poirot non molla mai, nemmeno quando il mondo è dilaniato dalla II Guerra Mondiale la quale, al contrario, rafforza la sua intenzione di combattere il crimine con maggior accanimento.
***
Leggendo "Il ritratto di Elsa Greer" e "Alla deriva" sono arrivata a fine libro in lacrime, stupita dalla contemporanea semplicità e complessità del mistero: infatti, se tutto sommato risultava facile indovinare il responsabile del delitto, le circostanze e i meccanismi psicologici che l'avevano determinato erano davvero oscuri e difficili da prevedere... Ma non per Poirot!
"Ah, but my dear sir, the why must never be obvious. That is the whole point."
"«Sapete, non è necessario usare solo i muscoli. Io non ho bisogno di chinarmi per prendere impronte, per raccogliere mozziconi di sigaretta e per esaminare l'erba calpestata. A me basta sdraiarmi in una poltrona e pensare. È questa, signorina» e si diede un colpetto sulla testa a forma di uovo «è questa che funziona!»"
In entrambi sono centrali le dinamiche famigliari, affrontate con un'insolita delicatezza per un giallo, un atteggiamento che mitiga la spietatezza e la crudezza dei delitti, nonché l'inquietudine che inevitabilmente si prova di fronte ad un groviglio inestricabile di pensieri e sentimenti. Figuratevi che non è soltanto la differenza da un carattere all'altro a combattere la ripetitività delle epistole a cui è affidata la narrazione ne "Il ritratto di Elsa Greer", ma anche la molteplicità di sfaccettature che i personaggi rivelano nel trascrivere la loro versione dei fatti.
***
Invece, per "Poirot non sbaglia" la valutazione è inferiore perché, nonostante anche qui il mistero fosse ben congegnato, mi ha un po' annoiato il percorso compiuto per giungere alla sua risoluzione.
Poirot non molla mai, nemmeno quando il mondo è dilaniato dalla II Guerra Mondiale la quale, al contrario, rafforza la sua intenzione di combattere il crimine con maggior accanimento.
***
Leggendo "Il ritratto di Elsa Greer" e "Alla deriva" sono arrivata a fine libro in lacrime, stupita dalla contemporanea semplicità e complessità del mistero: infatti, se tutto sommato risultava facile indovinare il responsabile del delitto, le circostanze e i meccanismi psicologici che l'avevano determinato erano davvero oscuri e difficili da prevedere... Ma non per Poirot!
"Ah, but my dear sir, the why must never be obvious. That is the whole point."
"«Sapete, non è necessario usare solo i muscoli. Io non ho bisogno di chinarmi per prendere impronte, per raccogliere mozziconi di sigaretta e per esaminare l'erba calpestata. A me basta sdraiarmi in una poltrona e pensare. È questa, signorina» e si diede un colpetto sulla testa a forma di uovo «è questa che funziona!»"
In entrambi sono centrali le dinamiche famigliari, affrontate con un'insolita delicatezza per un giallo, un atteggiamento che mitiga la spietatezza e la crudezza dei delitti, nonché l'inquietudine che inevitabilmente si prova di fronte ad un groviglio inestricabile di pensieri e sentimenti. Figuratevi che non è soltanto la differenza da un carattere all'altro a combattere la ripetitività delle epistole a cui è affidata la narrazione ne "Il ritratto di Elsa Greer", ma anche la molteplicità di sfaccettature che i personaggi rivelano nel trascrivere la loro versione dei fatti.
***
Invece, per "Poirot non sbaglia" la valutazione è inferiore perché, nonostante anche qui il mistero fosse ben congegnato, mi ha un po' annoiato il percorso compiuto per giungere alla sua risoluzione.
June 10, 2010
I guess it took me going through as many of the "modern" mystery writers to get to the queen. This is the first collection of Agatha Cristie that I had the pleasure to read. Of the three stories I really plowed throug the first two. The third, perhaps it was due to my personal state of mind was not as engaging as the other two but great fun. A rare mystery is one that I can't gather the murdrer before the end, either through clever foreshadowing, or uncreative writing, none of the Christie books end as expected.
I am just sorry it took me so long to get around to these books!
I am just sorry it took me so long to get around to these books!
November 11, 2008
A little Agatha Christie here and there, she is an author I oft come back to. And Poirot serves as a favourite guide to my days... so exacting, so charming.
I seem to always pick up one of her books when I am in need of cheering… you cannot read them without a smile upon the face.
I seem to always pick up one of her books when I am in need of cheering… you cannot read them without a smile upon the face.
November 13, 2010
As always, Poirot at its best.
April 17, 2014
giving it 4 stars even though I only fully read the first two books. they were thoroughly enjoyable but for some reason , I couldn't get through the 3rd. not enough poirot at the beginning I guess!
September 25, 2014
just got through the first story .. couldn't read more ..
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews