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Go Back for Murder
Imprisoned for poisoning her husband fifteen years earlier, Caroline Crale finds herself at death's door, and writes a letter expressing her undeniable innocence to her daughter Carla. Carla, aided by Justin Fogg - a former admirer of Caroline - persuades those present on the day of her father's death to return to the scene of the crime. When the witnesses reassemble, Fogg discovers the identity of the true murderer, and Carla discovers her true feelings for Fogg.
122 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
About the author
Agatha Christie
6,067 books77.9k 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 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 15, 2026
A Staging without Poirot
A review of the Samuel French playscript (1960) based on the novel Five Little Pigs (Hercule Poirot #25 - 1942).
Agatha Christie was not above recycling her own works for books or theatre and vice versa as necessary. Several short stories were later expanded into novels. Stories and novels were adapted for playscripts. Such is the case with Go Back for Murder with the adaptation of Five Little Pigs dropping Hercule Poirot as the investigator and having daughter Carla (who hired Poirot in the novel) become the sleuth along with her lawyer Justin Fogg. Carla seeks to exonerate her mother who had been tried and convicted for the murder of her father 16 years ago when Carla herself was only 5-years-old.
Playbill for the London performances of "Go Back for Murder" in March 1960. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The 1st Act has Carla and Justin interviewing the five witnesses/suspects from back in the day and asking them for their recollections. In the 2nd Act the original event is reconstructed with the older characters recreating their parts with Carla herself acting as her mother. Justin narrates and observes the action looking for discrepancies. At last the true culprit is revealed.
I thought it was a satisfactory transfer from novel to stage.
This playscript counts against my Agatha Christie binge goal, so I now have 22 novels (if I include the 6 published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott), 6 short story collections, 14 theatrical plays (+ several harder to find 1-act radio plays) and 1 autobiography left to go.
A review of the Samuel French playscript (1960) based on the novel Five Little Pigs (Hercule Poirot #25 - 1942).
PHILIP. (crossing to Justin; angrily) Do you mean you have got us here with the idea—the preposterous idea, that one of us could be guilty of murder?
ANGELA. Of course he has. Have you only just realized it?
Agatha Christie was not above recycling her own works for books or theatre and vice versa as necessary. Several short stories were later expanded into novels. Stories and novels were adapted for playscripts. Such is the case with Go Back for Murder with the adaptation of Five Little Pigs dropping Hercule Poirot as the investigator and having daughter Carla (who hired Poirot in the novel) become the sleuth along with her lawyer Justin Fogg. Carla seeks to exonerate her mother who had been tried and convicted for the murder of her father 16 years ago when Carla herself was only 5-years-old.
Playbill for the London performances of "Go Back for Murder" in March 1960. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The 1st Act has Carla and Justin interviewing the five witnesses/suspects from back in the day and asking them for their recollections. In the 2nd Act the original event is reconstructed with the older characters recreating their parts with Carla herself acting as her mother. Justin narrates and observes the action looking for discrepancies. At last the true culprit is revealed.
I thought it was a satisfactory transfer from novel to stage.
This playscript counts against my Agatha Christie binge goal, so I now have 22 novels (if I include the 6 published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott), 6 short story collections, 14 theatrical plays (+ several harder to find 1-act radio plays) and 1 autobiography left to go.
October 9, 2024
I wasn't aware that this was simply the "play" version of "Five Little Pigs". I'll just copy paste my review on that book:
"I was hoping that Agatha Christie would pull me out of my reading slump and this Poirot novel DID NOT DISAPPOINT. A very good story, towards the end when I thought I could guess the culprit, Agatha twisted it completely. Loved the book.
My only small complaint was that in Part 2 of the novel, the same story is depicted from 5 differ vantage points (relax this isn't a spoiler). So although it is an interesting form of story telling, it got extremely repetitive and tedious.
Otherwise, a must read!"
"I was hoping that Agatha Christie would pull me out of my reading slump and this Poirot novel DID NOT DISAPPOINT. A very good story, towards the end when I thought I could guess the culprit, Agatha twisted it completely. Loved the book.
My only small complaint was that in Part 2 of the novel, the same story is depicted from 5 differ vantage points (relax this isn't a spoiler). So although it is an interesting form of story telling, it got extremely repetitive and tedious.
Otherwise, a must read!"
September 30, 2021
Carla has just come of age, and is told of the true dark past of her family. Her mother was convicted of poisoning her father and died in prison when Carla was only five years old. But before she died, Carla's mother wrote a letter to her daughter, to be opened on her 21st birthday, explaining that she was innocent and had not poisoned her husband. Now Carla is interviewing all the people who were present when her father was poisoned, trying to find out the truth. Who really poisoned her father, and why did her mother seem content to take the blame?
I loved this murder mystery, especially the cold case aspect of it! There are various clues which may or may not be accurate, because it all hinges on testimony from witnesses' memories of 16 years ago. The plot really kept my attention and had me guessing right up until the end. I had a pretty good guess about one part of the mystery which turned out to be partly true, but the rest of the reveal was a surprise to me.
One thing I enjoyed about this play was that Carla really had to follow the clues to find out what happened. The puzzle aspect of the plot was what I enjoyed the most. Instead of the true murderer just randomly confessing like happens in some of Christie's plays, the murderer was exposed by someone else.
The characters have really interesting personalities. They are all so different, and it was fascinating to see how they interacted. Carla herself is a powerful main character. It was amazing seeing how everyone around her reacted to her presence. She is a complex person with a fierce determination to know the truth.
The dialogue is excellent and really pulls you into every conversation. There is an emotional appeal in every sentence that makes you care what happens to the characters.
I liked the setting and the atmosphere in every scene. It creates a lot of tension in the story. It would be fascinating to watch in a theater!
I loved this murder mystery, especially the cold case aspect of it! There are various clues which may or may not be accurate, because it all hinges on testimony from witnesses' memories of 16 years ago. The plot really kept my attention and had me guessing right up until the end. I had a pretty good guess about one part of the mystery which turned out to be partly true, but the rest of the reveal was a surprise to me.
One thing I enjoyed about this play was that Carla really had to follow the clues to find out what happened. The puzzle aspect of the plot was what I enjoyed the most. Instead of the true murderer just randomly confessing like happens in some of Christie's plays, the murderer was exposed by someone else.
The characters have really interesting personalities. They are all so different, and it was fascinating to see how they interacted. Carla herself is a powerful main character. It was amazing seeing how everyone around her reacted to her presence. She is a complex person with a fierce determination to know the truth.
The dialogue is excellent and really pulls you into every conversation. There is an emotional appeal in every sentence that makes you care what happens to the characters.
I liked the setting and the atmosphere in every scene. It creates a lot of tension in the story. It would be fascinating to watch in a theater!
December 12, 2017
Again, sort of alright at best.
August 27, 2021
This play, adapted from a Christie novel, is also known as Five Little Pigs and/or Murder in Retrospect. As is to be expected, changes were made to accommodate the action taking place in one or two sets rather than several different scenes, Poirot was eliminated & replaced with a young, handsome lawyer who becomes a love interest for the heroine, & he conducts the re-enactment of the day of the murder to discover who the real murderer was/is. The result is the same as in the book. It was very good & I enjoyed it.
November 20, 2016
LOVED this!! Great adaptation of Five Little Pigs!! Sadly no Poirot but I really liked the new character introduced Justin Fogg! "Cattle Breeding!"--He was a straight up G.
April 24, 2018
OMG! I loved it!!! I had three theories: that Caroline thought Angela did it, that Elsa did it, and that Carla and Justin would fall in love. All three turned out to be true. This book was a thrilling mystery and I love how they do the flashbacks how people remembered the event and gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I loved it!!! 1000% recommend!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2024
I really like how Christie's stage adaptation of her earlier novel (entitled Murder in Retrospect [US] and Five Little Pigs [UK]) has the characters in the first act reflect on the murder that took place 16 years earlier, and then the second act goes back in time to show what happened (and the actors play younger versions of themselves). Well done!
May 13, 2018
Years ago Mrs. Crale's father was murdered. She now is bringing all the people, who were present when the crime happened, back together to find out who it really was, because her mother died in prison, but she was innocent.
August 7, 2018
A much better read than Witness for the Prosecution, but also a tad forgettable...as in, I can never remember what it was about. It was a classic Christie plot with ins and outs and nuances, but not one of my favorites
June 27, 2018
This is not one of Christie's "popular" plays but it's one of her best.
October 6, 2018
Another good play.
August 30, 2021
Play version of the Poirot novel 'Five Little Pigs', without Poirot.
August 27, 2022
I mean some of it just doesn't work, to be honest
August 23, 2024
4.5 stars
October 12, 2025
Une pièce sympathique avec une mise en abîme de théâtre dans le théâtre à l'acte deux
December 12, 2025
This has been done for television with Poirot but has a really different feel as a play. Even knowing the outcome ahead of time it was still interesting to read.
May 20, 2014
I’ve read and enjoyed all Agatha Christie’s books, and seen many of the television plays that have been made from her stories. I’ve usually liked the BBC series with Poirot or the various Miss Marples, but I have mixed feelings about the stage plays, since so many of the productions I’ve seen have seemed stilted and lacking in action. The Mousetrap, which is by far her most famous play, is bogged down in interviews all through the second act, making for a static production until the final confrontation. Therefore, when looking for an Agatha Christie play for our theatre group, I searched for one that had some variety within the characters and settings, and most of all, did not have a detective in the cast list.
Go Back for Murder seems to fit that bill nicely. The first act is certainly a series of interviews, but the settings vary, and the character of the interviewer is far more engaging than that of a professional sleuth. Carla Crale is a young woman who has just come of age and learned that her mother, Caroline, was a convicted murderer. She is engaged to be married and worried about the impact of this discovery on her fiancé, but even more importantly, she has been given a letter that her mother wrote from prison telling her that she was innocent. Therefore, she has a strong personal motive and a deep commitment to finding the truth. There is also the young lawyer who helps her, and who clearly dislikes her fiancé, so in addition to the ‘Murder in Retrospect’, there is a present-day triangle to provide dramatic interest.
The second act goes back in time to the original murder, so that the audience, having heard the details from the point of view of the participants many years later, can now see what happened and judge for themselves whether or not Caroline Crale was guilty. And when the final solution is reached, there is still the conclusion of Carla’s own story to provide an upbeat ending to the piece—something that is very important given that no one expects to go out of a cozy Agatha Christie mystery feeling depressed.
The structure of the play provides some interesting challenges for a theatre group. Set design has to be innovative to incorporate the variety of locales in Act One, and yet still provide an attractive box set for Act II. The fourteen-year shift in the time period gives the cast and wardrobe designers some interesting challenges too. I thought it an interesting possibility for my own theatre club, the Vagabond Players in New Westminster, and was delighted when the play selection committee agreed with me. Now I’m very much looking forward to seeing the play on stage, and I might even offer to design the set too!
Go Back for Murder seems to fit that bill nicely. The first act is certainly a series of interviews, but the settings vary, and the character of the interviewer is far more engaging than that of a professional sleuth. Carla Crale is a young woman who has just come of age and learned that her mother, Caroline, was a convicted murderer. She is engaged to be married and worried about the impact of this discovery on her fiancé, but even more importantly, she has been given a letter that her mother wrote from prison telling her that she was innocent. Therefore, she has a strong personal motive and a deep commitment to finding the truth. There is also the young lawyer who helps her, and who clearly dislikes her fiancé, so in addition to the ‘Murder in Retrospect’, there is a present-day triangle to provide dramatic interest.
The second act goes back in time to the original murder, so that the audience, having heard the details from the point of view of the participants many years later, can now see what happened and judge for themselves whether or not Caroline Crale was guilty. And when the final solution is reached, there is still the conclusion of Carla’s own story to provide an upbeat ending to the piece—something that is very important given that no one expects to go out of a cozy Agatha Christie mystery feeling depressed.
The structure of the play provides some interesting challenges for a theatre group. Set design has to be innovative to incorporate the variety of locales in Act One, and yet still provide an attractive box set for Act II. The fourteen-year shift in the time period gives the cast and wardrobe designers some interesting challenges too. I thought it an interesting possibility for my own theatre club, the Vagabond Players in New Westminster, and was delighted when the play selection committee agreed with me. Now I’m very much looking forward to seeing the play on stage, and I might even offer to design the set too!
December 17, 2021
I wonder why it is that Christie always feels the need to remove Poirot from all her theatrical adaptations. Probably because no other actor on the stage would ever be seen.
Go Back for Murder is, in my opinion, a much more enjoyable adaptation of Christie's Poirot novel Five Little Pigs. Whether you may agree with me or not probably stands on why you read Christie in the first place. If you read her for the company of her popular detectives, you may not be happy with this change. If you seem more drawn to her secondary characters as opposed to her primary ones, you may appreciate the deviations from the original source material here.
Rather than the smooth and pompous Poirot, Carla Crale is this time assisted by the budding solicitor Justin Fogg of Fogg, Fogg, Bamfylde, and Fogg (Jesus help me). If you enjoy the cute, lovelorn romances that Christie likes to sprinkle in her texts, you'll enjoy this one: the kind of male character that starts off a little docile, but after getting sweet on a head-strong woman with a voice, learns to become more confident in order to earn her respect. I don't know. I'm such a sap for this trope. And Christie's so damn good at it.
Like Five Little Pigs, Go Back for Murder has a colourful cast of characters that seem to transition organically onto the stage.
Reread 2021: I still like this rendition better than Five Little Pigs. Also someone hug Philip.
Reread 2021 (again): I've read this play three times now and still don't fully understand the inference Carla makes about Meredith at the end in relation to Elsa. Maybe I need to read the source material again.
Go Back for Murder is, in my opinion, a much more enjoyable adaptation of Christie's Poirot novel Five Little Pigs. Whether you may agree with me or not probably stands on why you read Christie in the first place. If you read her for the company of her popular detectives, you may not be happy with this change. If you seem more drawn to her secondary characters as opposed to her primary ones, you may appreciate the deviations from the original source material here.
Rather than the smooth and pompous Poirot, Carla Crale is this time assisted by the budding solicitor Justin Fogg of Fogg, Fogg, Bamfylde, and Fogg (Jesus help me). If you enjoy the cute, lovelorn romances that Christie likes to sprinkle in her texts, you'll enjoy this one: the kind of male character that starts off a little docile, but after getting sweet on a head-strong woman with a voice, learns to become more confident in order to earn her respect. I don't know. I'm such a sap for this trope. And Christie's so damn good at it.
Like Five Little Pigs, Go Back for Murder has a colourful cast of characters that seem to transition organically onto the stage.
Reread 2021: I still like this rendition better than Five Little Pigs. Also someone hug Philip.
Reread 2021 (again): I've read this play three times now and still don't fully understand the inference Carla makes about Meredith at the end in relation to Elsa. Maybe I need to read the source material again.
October 4, 2020
A surprisingly underrated play that deserves more hype, only with the jarringly fast-paced ending preventing it from being a 5-star read.
This is adapted by Agatha Christie from her original novel Five Little Pigs. Having read the novel last year, I must say that I actually thought this play was better! It was far more entertaining, written more fluidly, better paced, and it had some added-in romance at the end. Whilst I love Hercule Poirot, the replacement (a lawyer named Justin Fogg) was a joy to read about and it was very pleasing to see him get a happy ending!
Would definitely recommend this play to Christie fans. I am not sure how often it is still performed (if at all!) but if ever it is, seeing it would be even better!
This is adapted by Agatha Christie from her original novel Five Little Pigs. Having read the novel last year, I must say that I actually thought this play was better! It was far more entertaining, written more fluidly, better paced, and it had some added-in romance at the end. Whilst I love Hercule Poirot, the replacement (a lawyer named Justin Fogg) was a joy to read about and it was very pleasing to see him get a happy ending!
Would definitely recommend this play to Christie fans. I am not sure how often it is still performed (if at all!) but if ever it is, seeing it would be even better!
September 16, 2015
I came across by accident, but decided to read it anyway. I thought it was one of the better thriller/mystery scripts I've read. The story deals with Carla Crale trying to prove her mother innocent of poisoning her father. The format is very unique. Carla goes around to each of the witnesses and gets their version of events. The bulk of Act II is presented as a flashback to the day of the murder where we see the different stories come together to form a narrative that lets the audience in on what really happened. Very good. I would love to stage this someday.
September 28, 2016
The ending was a little disappointing, and I don't know why Christie always feels the need to end her plays with a romantic, happy(ish) ending. Overall, though, I enjoyed this! Act one dragged a bit for me but act two was quick. I would love to see act two in performance.
June 29, 2020
I miss Poirot but I did like the way this was re-written from book to play format for the new detective Justin. This is fun and lighthearted, although a little easy to figure out who did it. Finding out how was the fun part though.
April 23, 2013
Agatha Christie's done it again. Just when I thought I knew the murderer, she added a twist I never would have seen. I was guessing the entire time. Love her writing.
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