Death in the Clouds

Hercule Poirot #12

by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot must solve a perplexing case of midair murder in Death in the Clouds when he discovers that the woman in seat two of the airborne aeroplane he’s traveling on is quite unexpectedly—and unnaturally—deceased.

From seat No. 9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers on the short flight from Paris to London. Over to his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No. 13, sat a countess with a poorly concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No. 8, a writer of detective fiction was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.

Yes, Poirot is almost ideally placed to take it all in, except what he did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No. 2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman. Murdered, and likely by someone in Poirot’s immediate proximity. 

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

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 1935

About the author

Agatha 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)

Reviews

[Sean Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of Christie's mysteries, and some truly appalling casual racism that threw me out of the story as a modern reader. Blah blah context, I know, but the characters themselves were detestable. I quote this as an example as the two romantic protagonists get to know each other over dinner:

They liked dogs and disliked cats. They both hated oysters and loved smoked salmon. They liked Greta Garbo and disliked Katherine Hepburn. They didn't like fat women and admired really jet-black hair. They disliked very red nails. They disliked loud voices, noisy restaurants and negroes. They preferred buses to tubes.

These people are meant to be the heroes of the text. It's bad enough to dislike cats and Katharine Hepburn. That would strike these people off my list of friends anyway. But to be so openly prejudiced against 'fat women' and 'negroes'? Yeah, not really the protagonists I like.

The whole bloody plane should have gone down in the ocean.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEATH BY BLOW DART!



A crusty old moneylender known for keeping blackmail on all of her high-profile and aristocratic clients gets taken out by snake poison while traveling through the air.
I choose to believe this means Death in the Clouds was the original inspiration for Snakes on a Plane.



I like locked-room mysteries, so I absolutely appreciated the use of murder on a plane to spice up that trope. And I also love the (snake) poison dart as the weapon of choice.
Keepin it wacky, Agatha!



Now, because Poirot is on the plane, he becomes a suspect in the court of public opinion and takes on the case to defend his good name.
And of course, he solves it.



This may not be the most well-known Poirot mystery, but it has an interesting setting, a good cast of characters, and a lot of twisty shenanigans to keep you interested.
Recommended.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUDIOBOOK LISTENED TO IN 2020
Firstly let's say it's a shame that this does not have a separate entry as it is the audiobook of the novel read by Hugh Fraser and its good !!
My wife and I listened to this audiobook whilst decorating over the last few days and at 6 hours its a jolly good listen. Hugh Fraser does have a penchant for narrating, and for the various voices he uses without it sounding too contrived.
I would say the audiobook is a solid 5 stars as is the book itself.

POIROT BUDDY READ FROM 2019
Almost 5 🌟but just fell short, not for any failing on Poirot’s part, but just because for some reason, that maybe I need to think about, it just wasn’t 5 ⭐️ (see below as I have changed my views slightly)

Review to follow tomorrow, Monday.

So here we are on Monday, and I'm still thinking its about a 4.4 rounded down to 4 stars ⭐️ The story is an excellent one, with a uniquely limited cast of characters (suspects). I know in the past I have seen the David Suchet version of this, but I don't remember reading it at all, and I certainly didn't work out (guess) who was the perpetrator.
Poirot weaves his marvellous magic, travelling to and from between France and England to dig out clues, discard red-herrings and ultimately unmask the murderer. As I said an excellent story that kept me enthralled, not just entertained, for 2 nights, hmm so why am I not giving it 5 stars. I will have to ponder that one

And here we are almost a week later and I've rounded up my marking as the more I think about it, the more I am convinced this is over 4 .5 and therefore rounded up to 5.
This rounding up has nothing to do with the flak I have received at only giving it 4 stars, honest 😬
In reality it is an excellent book, Ms Christie is as ever so wonderfully descriptive and so I have no hesitation in upping it to a 5 ⭐️ book.

[J.S. Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every time Poirot travels anywhere, one of his fellow travelers/passengers is murdered. The man is a walking jinx, I tell you.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, Hercule Poirot has once again proven his little grey cells to be vastly superior to mine, as my guesses concerning the identity of the murderer were so very, very wrong. In my defense, Christie packed a lot of red herrings into this one.

Anyway, this is another enjoyable installment of the Hercule Poirot series. If you've read any previous Poirot novels, you already have a pretty good idea of how it'll play out, except for this murder takes place in an airplane somewhere over the English Channel (and perhaps involves a most unusual weapon?). No Hastings this time, but Inspector Japp is involved and makes his usual attempt at actually solving a case on his own. Poirot is as egotistical as ever, and his moustache magnificent as always. There is the occasional problematic comment – two characters bond over disliking “fat women and … negroes,” and there's some disparaging talk about “ugly” women, but that's an Agatha Christie novel for you, I suppose?

I originally slated this novel for the “a book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee” slot in my 2025 Popsugar Reading Challenge, but I was delighted to find out that someone changes careers near the end. Now it can go in the “a book where an adult character changes careers” slot, and I can put another Poirot novel in the “immigrant or refugee” category. At this rate (I have nine other Poirot novels lined up to be read for the Popsugar challenge, as well), I just might finish this series this year. Yay!

3.95 stars, rounded up.

[Flo Camus · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.0⭐] 𝙈𝙪𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚 𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙪𝙗𝙚𝙨 es una novela detectivesca escrita por Agatha Christie en 1935. La historia transcurre en un avión que realiza un vuelo de París a Croydon. Durante el trayecto, una pasajera llamada Madame Giselle, una prestamista rica y conocida, es encontrada muerta en su asiento. Hércules Poirot, el famoso detective belga, también es pasajero en el vuelo, así que se dedicará de inmediato a la resolución de este caso.


Me gustan especialmente las novelas de Christie en las que los asesinatos se cometen en un entorno cerrado ya que esto reduce la lista de sospechosos y crea un ambiente de tensión constante. En este caso, el contexto del avión se explota al máximo, porque cada pasajero y miembro de la tripulación se convierte instantáneamente en un posible culpable. Con un grupo diverso de personajes a bordo, que incluyen desde arqueólogos famosos hasta un escritor de novela policial, Christie construye con maestría un rompecabezas lleno de pistas, secretos ocultos y momentos de incertidumbre. Me atrevo a decir que esta es la clásica novela detectivesca de Agatha Christie.

Una vez más, la autora desafía la lógica convencional y mantiene la intriga hasta el final. Como es habitual en sus obras, el desenlace es sorprendente, aunque tal vez no tan impactante como en otras de sus historias más emblemáticas (como 𝘼𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙡 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙚 𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚 o 𝙀𝙡 𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝘼𝙘𝙠𝙧𝙤𝙮𝙙). Poirot, fiel a su estilo, emplea su famosa "materia gris" para desenredar el misterio a través de un meticuloso análisis de los hechos y una brillante deducción de las motivaciones de los personajes. Lo interesante de este caso es que Poirot se convierte en uno de los principales sospechosos del crimen, lo que añade una capa extra de complejidad a la historia ya que deberá usar todo su ingenio no solo para resolver el asesinato, sino para evitar que las sospechas recaigan sobre él.

En esta ocasión, no logré dar con el asesino ni anticipar los giros de la trama. Me encanta que Christie continúe sorprendiéndome y no se haya vuelto predecible, algo que valoro enormemente. Como he mencionado en otras reseñas, mi objetivo es llegar a leerme todas sus obras.


Finalmente, 𝙈𝙪𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚 𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙪𝙗𝙚𝙨 es una lectura entretenida y gratificante, aunque no alcanza la brillantez de otras novelas de Poirot. A pesar de esto, es una excelente opción para quienes quieran iniciarse en la obra de Christie ya que presenta muchos de los elementos que la hicieron famosa: una estructura cerrada de misterio (en este caso, el avión), un grupo de sospechosos bien delineado y el ingenioso uso de la lógica deductiva de Poirot. Además, cumple el objetivo de intrigar, sorprender y entretener.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estoy seguro que cuando necesite como refugio una historia sin tantas ambiciones pero entretenida y adictiva hasta el final regresaré a las letras de la reina del crimen.

El caso de una mujer asesinada con un dardo envenenado en medio de un vuelo no me ha sorprendido nada en cuanto al autor/a del crimen pues sospechaba de esa persona y efectivamente así ha sido. Compruebo que hay ciertas cosas que ya se hacen un poco repetitivas con esta autora y por eso ya se me está haciendo fácil saber quién cometió el asesinato aunque no sepa exactamente porqué. Así que lo único que espero es que en los casos que me restan por leer haya algún giro de tuerca más sorprendente, un ambiente más diverso y menos monótono y como no puede ser de otra forma; razones diferentes. No sé, algún cambio pequeño que le de algo de diversidad y notoriedad a historias que están siendo moldeadas por el mismo patrón.

Ahora, solo ha sido ese único elemento lo que me ha decepcionado porque de resto me sigue gustando muchísimo que Agatha Christie construya libros ligeros y adictivos; donde a veces lo importante no es descubrir la identidad del perpetrador del crimen sino el porqué y cómo lo hizo. En eso, está más que asegurado sí o sí que siempre te trae una que otra sorpresa la reina del crimen; por lo que es un deleite leer lo capítulos finales, donde al fin nuestro detective belga suelta toda la sopa punto por punto.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death in the Clouds is the twelfth book by Agatha Christie to feature perhaps our favourite retired detective, Monsieur Hercule Poirot. His great friend Inspector Japp is also in this novel, and along with a French policeman, Monsieur Fournier, they make an effective trio. The novel was actually first published in the United States in March 1935, under the different title of “Death in the Air”. Perhaps it was thought that this was more evocative of the exciting new mode of travel, via the air. However, it was a hasty decision, since there was already an American short story with the same name. So a few months later in July, when it was published in the UK, the publishers Collins decided to stick with Agatha Christie’s original title, and this is the one by which it is largely known nowadays.

By now, readers of the time knew what to expect of the little Belgian detective, and neither they nor we would be disappointed with this story. It is a variant on a country house “closed room” murder, the twist being that the murder takes place mid-flight – or “in the clouds” – where all the suspects are present, in a confined space, with no chance to escape. What’s more, it is a delight to find that yet again Poirot finds that he himself is the main suspect for the murder! After the inquest, even a jury decide this way, much to the consternation of the judge.

I was amused to note again Agatha Christie’s slight preoccupation with superstition. Just as in other novels, she makes a point of selecting the number thirteen. Is this perhaps to put her readers on edge? An earlier novel, “Lord Edgware Dies” had also been alternatively titled “Thirteen at Dinner”. Her previous novel “Three-Act Tragedy” also featured 13 guests at dinner, and this theme would be visited again in “And Then There Were None”. In the present novel, Death in the Clouds, thirteen is the number of passengers on the plane. How many passengers would you expect? To be sure, there are fifteen people aboard the Prometheus aeroplane, but this comprises thirteen passengers and two stewards. Thirteen again: bad luck. Or is it perhaps that Agatha Christie, astutely adjudges that the details and possible motives of thirteen characters, is slightly more than we can keep in our minds at once – but not too many for us to try?

And she is right, or at least in my case. There are so many red herrings. What with blackmail, fraud, duplicity, impersonation, revenge, drug addiction, insolvency and corruption, I was completely at sea. So many people here are not what they seem. Greed, hypocrisy, and lies abound. Is anyone actually telling the whole truth?

“In every case of a criminal nature one comes across the same phenomena when questioning witnesses. Everyone keeps something back. Sometimes – often indeed – it is something quite harmless, something, perhaps, quite unconnected with the crime; but – I say it again – there is always something.”

At any rate, we have the speaker of these words, Monsieur Hercule Poirot himself, whom surely we can trust. He just happens to be one of eleven passengers in the rear compartment of the plane. In addition to himself and the unfortunate victim, “Madame Giselle” or Marie Morisot , there are quite an assortment of characters. There is the pleasant and very ordinary Jane Grey, who is a junior hairdresser, Norman Gale, a dentist, and Daniel Clancy, an amusingly absent-minded mystery writer. There is a doctor, Doctor Bryant, a businessman, James Ryder, the Countess Cicely Horbury and her friend Venetia Kerr, and lastly two French archaeologists, Armand Dupont and his son Jean. All seem to be exactly as they appear: amusingly comic, selfish, a jumped-up snob, a shy academic, a reliable professional, and so on.

Also in this novel, we meet the person who found the body, Henry Mitchell, the senior steward on the Prometheus, and Albert Davies, the junior steward. There is Madame Giselle’s loyal servant, Elise Grandier, and the policemen addressing the crime are Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard, and Monsieur Fournier of the Sûreté, (which is France’s equivalent to Scotland Yard).

“No one notices a steward particularly.”

None are free from suspicion, and at some point every single character looks likely to be the murderer, although we know in our own minds that it will not be the police who solve the case, but Monsieur Hercule Poirot. And he is relentless. Who was sitting where? Who went past the victim? How many times? And so on. He even recreates the incident, repeating the same the flight to Paris n the same plane later on, with Inspector Fournier, to reenact the crime.

Not only is the idea of a murder on an aeroplane intriguing, but we need to remember that air flight itself was brand new, when this novel was first published. A regular London to Paris air service began in 1935, and the aeroplanes were converted bombers! There were eight models, all named after mythological figures, so Agatha Christie invented a name on the same theme: “Prometheus”. Sadly, by 1940, all the original Imperial Airways planes had either crashed or been irreparably damaged and destroyed. Thus the aeroplane that Agatha Christie describes here, feels very authentic; moreover it feels specific to the 1930s.

Agatha Christie had quickly become a huge fan of air travel. Having taken her first flight in 1911, she described the experience as “extraordinary”. Air travel was however, an expensive luxury still far beyond the financial reach of the ordinary person. A single flight from London to Paris cost £8, which was a huge amount of money in 1935 (£1 was worth roughly £70.53 in today’s money.) Yet not all the passengers are wealthy, and this is explained in the novel. Is this a typical flight? Is there anything which has brought them together? We wonder vaguely about another novel earlier in the Poirot series, the audacious “Murder on the Orient Express” . These passengers do not appear to be connected in any way. It must surely then be a random flight – which oddly happens to have Hercule Poirot as a passenger.

It is certainly more interesting for us to have such a wide selection of suspects, varying from an ordinary shop girl to an aristocrat, and a businessman to archaeologists. Agatha Christie displays her skill at humour, in making each character have their own little quirk, and for the main part these are necessary clues to the plot, as well as being most entertaining.

The motive for deliberate murder is usually simple: love or money. Here we learn of several characters who have financial difficulties, and more than one who are unhappy in their marriages or relationships. But the method employed here seems so extreme as to be absurd. Was the victim stabbed repeatedly in the chest? Were they strangled? Or bludgeoned to death? In fact we learn of the murder at the end of chapter one, and it frustrated all the detectives for a long time after. Inspector Japp expostulates:

“If anyone had told me a week ago that I should be investigating a crime where a woman was killed with a poison dart with snake venom on it – well, I’d have laughed in his face! It’s an insult – that’s what this murder is – an insult.”

But is the method used as simple as that? What of the wasp flying around? And why didn’t anyone see a passenger putting a flute to their mouth? And which flute would it have been: we learn of several. Take note too of the details; the tiny clues which Poirot spots. The two coffee spoons. The nail clippers. The hypodermic syringe. A long cigarette holder. An empty matchbox. A blowpipe found pushed down the side of Poirot’s seat. The fact that Poirot offered his seat to someone so that she could sit and chat with her friend. Are any of these noteworthy?

For most of the novel we know neither the motive, nor the method. We know that Poirot cannot be guilty of this dastardly crime, as that would be Agatha Christie letting us down big time. But the circumstantial evidence seems damning enough. Is this a deliberate attempt to frame our favourite detective? We need to take his advice:

“Close your eyes, my friend instead of opening them wide. Use the eyes of the brain, not of the body. Let the little grey cells of the mind function … Let it be their task to show you what actually happened.

… Because you are deducing from things that you have seen. Nothing can be so misleading as observation.”

So what actually happened on the flight from Le Bourget to Croydon, and why? When the steward tried to wake a sleeping passenger sitting at the back, five minutes before the “Prometheus” was due to touch down, he was dismayed to find that it was impossible. No amount of shaking could waken the slumped body in the seat.

And so the trail of red herrings begins.

Interestingly, Agatha Christie seems heavily critical of media intrusion in one chapter, suggesting that she herself was slightly irritated by it. Did she have a love/hate relationship with the press? Agatha Christie was already a household name in the thirties, and just a few years ago in 1926, the press reports on her eleven days’ disappearance as a “nine-days wonder”. To this very day, her whereabouts and movements at that time are shrouded in mystery. Surely she must at some stage have been offered a handsome sum of money to reveal all? Perhaps she genuinely could not remember – or perhaps this amusing episode, describing their “nosing” about a murder case with a Countess as a suspect, was a light hearted but pointed dig. A reporter in a brown suit had approached two other suspects, Jane Grey and Norman Gale and offered them a sum of money for their own opinions on the case. Maybe this mirrored an actual event in her own life.

She also included a joke at the expense of her archaeologist husband. Inspector Japp is certain that a couple of men are “cut-throats”, but they turn out to be distinguished archaeologists. However a little later, the joke turns sour. The two French archaeologists tell a story about an Englishman who left his sick wife alone in a small hotel in Syria, because of his work. They agreed that this was something which a Frenchman could never have done. But this was a true story … and the “wife” was Agatha Christie herself. Clearly the incident rankled so much that she used it in her fiction.

The most enjoyable joke is the least barbed, and at her own expense; the creation of a detective thriller writer Daniel Clancy, whom she sends up enormously. A most entertaining part is the dénouement, in which Poirot gleefully allows the novelist Daniel Clancy to see how a real-life detective solves a case, to both men’s great enjoyment. Agatha Christie seems to love including these parodies of her craft; another is the character of the writer Ariadne Oliver, in other novels. Finally, we see the soft-hearted romantic side of Agatha Christie. Poirot has kept an eye on the young Jane Grey, who is really the heroine of this story, not allowing her to become too involved with the dentist, Norman Gale. Instead, he has contrived for her to make a romantic match with the younger archaeologist, when he sees that they have fallen in love. 

Sometimes Agatha Christie seems to be telling us more than the actual story. Is this her own view of life too, when Poirot grandly says:

“There are more important things than finding the murderer. And justice is a fine word, but it is sometimes difficult to say exactly what one means by it. In my opinion the important thing is to clear the innocent.”

But when all is said, this is a most enjoyable novel, with not only Poirot gleefully explaining how the crime was committed to a writer of the genre, but another, seemingly inexplicable secondary murder, towards the end of the book. A reviewer of the time in “The Guardian” newspaper said:

“Very few authors achieve the ideal blend of puzzle and entertainment as often does Agatha Christie ... Death in the Clouds may not rank with her greatest achievements, but it is far above the average detective story ... Mrs Christie provides a little gallery of thumb-nail sketches of plausible characters; she gives us all the clues and even tells us where to look for them; we ought to find the murderer by reason, but are not likely to succeed except by guesswork.”

Precisely.

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year has mercifully reached its final quarter. My holidays are finally behind me and I can go back to the grind of everyday living for the next six months. Yet, the news is as bitter as ever, and, other than an occasional sports book, I have not opened anything nonfiction in months. In a year that is topsy turvy, I have craved escapism. Whether it’s revisiting childhood favorites or discovering new timeless stories, this year has been about rekindling my love of fiction reading. One thing has remained constant; however, and that has been my propensity to read mysteries in between other books to keep my brain sharp. The year has been stressful enough, and I can only fathom that it would have been worse for me if I did not make a decision early on to read a case by the Queen of Crime every two weeks or so. With so many uncertainties in life, at least I know that Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple have been there to guide me through the worst of times. As I navigate each new day, I know that only a fortnight remains until I spend time with the Belgian mustachioed sleuth.

It is 1935. Air travel has arrived in England, even for commuters. Hercule Poirot is returning to Croydon from Paris on the air train Prometheus. Always prone to motion sickness, the greatest of detectives sleeps through the entire journey to hide his jumpy stomach. With the sleuth oblivious to his surroundings, one Lady Giselle, a money lender from Paris, is found murdered in her seat. Like another case of Poirot’s that I recently read, the murderer had the audacity to commit the crime right under Poirot’s nose. Whoever wanted Giselle dead used a blowpipe to emit a thorn laced with snake venom. The thorn hit the victim in the jugular, and she was dead instantaneously. An upscale lady on a flight with primarily upper class passengers, it appeared that the criminal wanted Giselle out of the way for her money. It would be up to Poirot to figure out whodunit and what motive.

This death in the clouds reintroduces readers to Scotland Yard Inspector Japp and Parisian chief inspector Giraud. Japp employs diametrically opposed methods than Poirot, focusing on concrete evidence to eliminate possible suspects. Poirot delves into the psychological reasons for committing a crime, interviewing each possible suspect in turn. He researches back stories in order to create a clearer picture of a criminal, focusing on recurring themes or events in one’s life. From this he pieces together the psychological motive for one to commit murder, and usually Poirot’s hunches are right. Both Japp and other inspectors who Poirot have worked with over the years have questioned his methods, but Poirot has never known to be wrong. Utilizing his little gray cells, Poirot has his hunch about who the murderer is before the other inspectors have even pieced two clues together.

While all of Christie’s cases can be read as stand alone books, she does evoke past and future events in each story. When these were written in real time, fans waited for each successive book and knew the back story behind it. Here, Poirot encourages peripheral character Jane Grey to work on an archeological dig in the Middle East. This is an area that was personal to Christie as this was the area of expertise of her husband Max Mallowan. The dig in question here occurs two books hence when Poirot crosses path with a dig in Mesopotamia, which he had contributed to financially in this case. Christie does rip some cases from the headlines, noting that Americans were hard up for cash during a downturn and being ever prolific in uses of poisons, which had always been a personal area of interest. Although there are many methods of committing murder, poisoning seems to be a favorite of Christie’s, with snake venom doing the job just time around. Yet, Poirot had his hunches, and it would only be a matter of time until his little gray cells would do their job.

I do not know where I would be this year if I did not have Agatha Christie to help me through this mess that has been 2020. Her books, some of nearly one hundred years old, have allowed my own grey cells to work but not too hard, still permitting me to travel to another time and place. Between Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, I have kept thinking whodunit, allowing for my brain to get exercise. This year I have opted for escape reads, forgoing the news around me. Thankfully, Poirot has been there time and time again to help me through these times, solving case after case, keeping my brain sharp. If only the Queen of Crime knew how relevant her creations would be one hundred years later.

🧐 4 stars 🕵️‍♂️

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death in the Clouds (formerly Death in the Air) (vast title improvement, Agatha!?)

A flight from Paris to Croydon. Poirot on the flight, asleep for most of it. A woman, Giselle, is murdered on the way. What ensues is a closed set mystery, including a scorecard with a short list of suspects and a map for us to peruse, illustrating where all were seated. Death, we learn at the Croydon inquest, was by Boomslang (South African tree snake) venom from the tip of a thorn found near the murder victim (Cool murder weapon, eh? And Boomslang is a better title than Death in the Clouds, maybe, Agatha?!).

When the egg-head-shaped Belgian awakes, an African blowgun is found wedged into his seat. Poirot: Suspect! Whoa! Shocking!

A wasp appears on the Harper Collins reprint cover. So the wasp must be very important, too, right?

Interesting suspects include a gambling coke addict (in 1935, yes; you thought you invented this life?), a detective novel writer and a dentist.

In the last book, Christie has Poirot pontificate about the importance of observation: We don’t do enough of it, and surely, we have not observed what he has observed, to prove his point. Observe harder, look more closely, come on. Mysteries teach us to pay attention. So we set that goal.

In this book, however, Poirot pulls that particular rug from under us and insists that observation is not what it is cracked up to be, as perception is often deeply flawed. And besides, he says, it is often what we do NOT see that is key to a crime, and what didn’t happen. Stop messing with us, Agatha/Hercule! You keep making us look at one thing and then another! Then nothing at all?! Is it possible we can’t trust you? Are you some misdirecting magician? (Yes).

Detective writer (and suspect, but in Poirot's universe, we all are) Clancy hopes to write a novel based on the murder, with an ingenious solution! But, alas, if you thought he would be useful in figuring out a murder mystery, he says--when approached by Poirot for help--he can only make up stories, he has no sense how to actually solve them. This detective writer uses a character that loves bananas and bites his nails, which the writer laments has to happen in every book now that he put it in the first one! He also, on the other hand, laments that with a detective writer's stories “unfortunately, it has to be a different thing every time.” Sound familiar, Agatha? The challenge of originality in genre writing. Let's nt have it be arsenic this time, but. . . boomslang venom!

This is a very solid book, not one of her best, or most original, but it's well done, overall. Maybe 3.5, as I build a basis of comparison on the range of her stuff, book after book.

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hercule Poirot at his best. A gripping who dun it high in the air drama. The only case where Jury actually convicts Poirot of murder before their opinion is not upheld.For a change we see Poirot moving around looking for clues rather than solving the case from the comforts of his chair. Interesting read

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agatha Christie Book Reading Challenge

BOOK 9 :- AUGUST 2019

3.25 STARS

[Elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is how I picture the conversation at the restaurant going:


Jane: I hate oysters!
Norman: Wow, what a coincidence, I hate oysters too!
Jane: But I LOVE smoked salmon!
Norman: Smoked salmon happens to be my favorite too!
Jane: I love Greta Garbo!
Norman: Ohmigosh I love Greta Garbo!
Jane: But I HATE Katherine Hepburn!
Norman: Yeah she's like a total bitch, with the pants and whatnot.
Jane: I like buses!
Norman: Uh yeah, I coincidentally like the same things as yo-
Jane: But I HATE fat women and negroes!
Norman: Ok so listen, I'm a whole-ass murderer and even I am feeling really uncomfortable with you right now.

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars out of 5

Death in the Clouds is the 12th book in the Hercule Poirot series but it can easily be read as a standalone novel. Agatha wastes no time as the death occurs at the beginning of the story and what's neat about this one is it happened on an airplane. Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is a passenger on the flight and so of course he is interested in solving the case.

I enjoyed Death in the Clouds but I wouldn't rank it very high among the books I have read by the author. It took me awhile before I felt comfortable with the cast of characters and keeping track of who was who. I was unable to predict the ending which is always a good thing when it comes to mysteries. My issue was I was left feeling indifferent about the ending and I'll leave it at that as to not give away spoilers.

Overall, it was still a fun read though.

[james · Rating 2 out of 5]

just once i want Poirot himself to be the murderer

[Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhilarating

is a major leap forward in Christie’s storytelling. The characters here are richly layered, with backstories, complex emotions, and a sense of life that makes them feel like real people rather than just plot devices.

Poirot’s character development is outstanding — calmer, more confident, and refreshingly free from the occasional condescending tone found in earlier works. His sense of humor here is playful and sarcastic without crossing into offense, which lightened the narrative and brought genuine giggles. I also appreciated how Poirot actively involved others in his investigation, sharing insights along the way, which made me as the reader feel included rather than sidelined.

Fournier was another standout — sharp, logical, and a perfect investigative partner for Poirot. If Hastings had been written with a similar maturity, it would have elevated many of the earlier stories as well.

And the plot? Absolutely brilliant. A murder committed mid-air, in full public view, with a weapon everyone could see — yet no one noticed a thing. It’s a masterclass in mystery construction, and the execution is nothing short of phenomenal. This is Christie at her finest, and it’s the first time her legendary reputation truly clicked for me.

This novel isn’t just a step forward — it’s a milestone in her career.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to keep reminding myself that Agatha Christie wrote this novel in 1935. She didn’t grow up watching Murder She Wrote, or reruns of Matlock or any of the CSI programs. She couldn’t just Google how to get away with murder, or research rare artifacts, weapons, toxins and how to obtain them. She didn’t have PBS to watch all the National Geographic programs or any of those travelogues that take you around the world while sitting in your living room, and yet she managed to scribe interesting novels that take you on multicultural adventures with reams of international characters holding flaws and schemes and histories and secrets and she does it all in a concise and intriguing mystery, sprinkled with humour and drama.

While this is only the second novel of hers that I have read they both have possessed the attributes described above. This seemed to be an otherwise a regular whodunnit ... a dozen or so passengers on a plane and one dies an unnatural death....but the the prose and dialogue with which she tells it keeps you interested and guessing until the very end. There is always that list of characters with those you eliminate quickly as suspects, only to find something turning up to implicate them later on. There are of course the obvious suspects who seem to flit in and out of suspicion until the end. Then there are all those wafflers, the ones who on one page are written off and brought back on the next as the prime suspect, only to be written off and brought back three more times.

And of course M. Poirot is most charming and engaging, why he could sell you on any idea, and he does. He has a rousing way of uncovering the facts.

The story moves quickly and the characters develop along the way, the plot twists and turns, until the big reveal at the end ... and you reach the moment when the murderer is none other than..... you’ve got to kidding!😲

An enjoyable read. Would readily recommend it and will read more AC over time....

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Смърт в облаците“ ми въздейства изключително силно! Мисля, че тя една от най-хубавите и изпълнени с мъдрост книги на Агата Кристи... Допаднаха ми заплетеният криминален сюжет и загадъчната атмосфера, обаче отношенията между героите и смислените послания на писателката ме впечатлиха много повече.

Еркюл Поаро пътува със самолет между Франция и Англия, на борда на който е убита жена при мистериозни обстоятелства. Самият детектив също може да бъде подозиран, така че трябва да се захване доста сериозно с разследването, за да не бъдат обвинявани той и другите невинни...






„Когато се обърна, за да му махне за довиждане, очите им се срещнаха и в този разменен поглед бяха всичките чувства, които внимателно подбраните им думи не бяха изразили.“


„Поаро поклати глава.
— Има по важни неща от откриването на убиеца. „Справедливост“ е хубава дума, но понякога е трудно да кажем какво точно означава тя. Според мен най-важното е да се свалят всякакви подозрения от невинните.
— О, естествено — каза Джейн. — Не ще и дума. Ако някой е несправедливо обвинен…
— Дори не и това. Може да няма никакви обвинения. Но докато не се докаже без никакво съмнение, че някой е виновен, всич��и свързани по един или друг начин с убийството ще страдат в една или друга степен.“


„Джейн се вгледа в него озадачена.
Какъв странен дребен човек! Скача от тема на тема като птичка от клон на клон!
Сякаш Поаро прочете мислите й и се усмихна:
— Не одобрявате ли методите ми, мадмоазел?
— Струват ми се доста хаотични.
— Ни най-малко. Преследвам целта си съвсем логично, въоръжен със система и метод. Не бива да се правят прибързани заключения. Трябва да се елиминират възможностите...“

[iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another classic from Agatha Christie..

Poirot is on a plane with other passengers .. a crime has happened on the plane .. no one has seen anything.. most of the passengers have secrets .. was it a cause of a wasp sting or a case of murder??
Up to poirot to solve

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of Agatha Christie's most enjoyable mysteries, with Poirot not only solving the murder but also enjoying success with his match making powers. It is during a flight from Paris to Croydon that a murder takes place - when moneylender and blackmailer Madame Giselle is found slumped in her seat, apparently killed by a poisoned blow dart. The whole thing seems incredible and Poirot sets out to discover who the culprit is, while protecting the innocent. There are some wonderful suspects here - a crime writer, a cocaine addict and her favourite archeologists among them. A side story has dentist Norman Gale teaming up with pretty hair assistant Jane Grey, who has used her winnings from a sweetstake to indulge a long wanted trip abroad and, in doing so, changes her life forever.

Christie never seems dated and Poirot is my favourite fictional detective of all time. Wonderful storyline, characters and a deft hand make this an assured and well plotted mystery that is a joy to read.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Λατρεμένος Ηρακλής Πουαρό!!!

Από τα πάρα πολύ καλά της. Έξυπνη πλοκή! Δεν πλατειάζει και έτσι δεν βαριέσαι ούτε στιγμή, ενω παράλληλα μέσα στις 200 πυκνογραμμένες σελίδες του προλαβαίνεις να γνωρίσεις τους χαρακτήρες μέσα από την πλήρη σκιαγράφησή τους, να εικάσεις το δολοφόνο (περισσότερες από μια φορά και ανεπιτυχώς ομολογώ) και όλο έρχεται να κουμπώσει υπέροχα με ένα απρόβλεπτο τέλος... Γιατί εδώ το θέμα δεν είναι μόνο το ποιος αλλά και το πώς.

Σε μια πτήση από Παρίσι προς Λονδίνο, έντεκα συνταξιδιώτες (ανάμεσά τους και ο Πουαρό) και δύο αεροσυνοδοί, βρίσκονται μπλεγμένοι σε ένα έγκλημα. Ποιος έχει το κίνητρο και ποιος τη δυνατότητα να σκοτώσει τη Μαντάμ Ζιζέλ; Είναι προσωπικό στοίχημα για τον Ηρακλή Πουαρό, αφού το όπλο του εγκλήματος βρέθηκε κάτω από το δικό του κάθισμα.

Η Αγκάθα δίνει τα στοιχεία με το σταγονόμετρο, αρκούν όμως στον πανέξυπνο ντετέκτιβ μας ώστε να ξεκινήσει τις εικασίες του. Παρ'όλα αυτά δεν προδίδει τους συλλογισμούς του. Σε αφήνει να κάνεις τους δικούς σου.

Όπως κάθε φορά έτσι και τώρα, ο φόνος αποτελεί αφορμή για μια ενδελεχή ψυχολογική ανάλυση των εμπλεκόμενων προσώπων. Όλοι είναι ενδεχόμενοι δολοφόνοι, κανείς δεν απαλλάσσεται από τις υποψίες όσο αθώα και αν φαίνονται τα κίνητρά του.

Σε μια εποχή που ο παραμερισμός κάθε κομψότητας και οι σκληρές, αιμοβόρες εικόνες κάνουν θραύση, είναι βάλσαμο να επιστρέφεις στα αναίμακτα δηλητήρια της θείας Αγκάθα και στους ντελικάτους συλλογισμούς του Πουαρώ!

Να συμπληρώσω πως λατρέυω να διαβάζω Αγκάθα Κρίστι από τις παμπάλαιες εκδόσεις Λυχνάρι... Έτσι σκονισμένες από τη δημοτική βιβλιοθήκη... ΑΧ..
Με ταξιδεύουν στην εποχή που γράφτηκαν τα βιβλία και μου ταιριάζουν με το περιεχόμενο των ιστοριών...

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Re-read. Finished in one sitting. Not the best Agatha Christie but fairly enjoyable and a quick read.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading vlog: https://youtu.be/jAHVnp2GrVU

a very good 'basic' poirot. i really enjoyed the wider cast of characters and found the reveal quite satisfying! also feel like aggie is really hitting her stride with poirot's mannerisms and eccentricities!

[Piyangie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death in the clouds is another too fantastic murder-mystery story by Agatha Christie. It is certainly imaginative, but a little far fetched in my view. But this was the conclusion that I reached in the end, so it didn't affect my overall enjoyment.

Poirot becomes both a witness and a suspect of a murder committed in an airplane flying from Paris to Croydon. It is interesting how many times the innocence presence of our little detective is entangled in with a crime scene. And what is worse? Our famous detective was almost convicted at the inquest because the jury thought he looked suspicious. God, I had a good laugh! :) The indignant Poirot assists the investigation with a zeal "to clear his name". :)

The story flows in Poirot's order and method as he interrogates those on board the plane with a view of eliminating and narrowing down the suspects. The investigation takes place both in London and Paris, and Poirot assists both Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard and Monsieur Fournier of the French Police. The criminal seems to be extremely clever and is baffling both Scotland Yard and the French Police, but he cannot beat Poirot.

It was interesting to see Poirot working in a team rather than alone. And Inspector Japp plays quite an active role here. And Poirot amid the investigation does a bit of matchmaking. :) Our dear Poirot cannot resist the temptation to secure the "happiness of young people". There was also subtle humour throughout which elicited a few laughs despite the serious nature of the story.

Overall, I liked the story. Couldn't buy it as plausible, yet I enjoyed it on the whole.

[Ali Salehi · Rating 1 out of 5]

قراره که راجع به «مرگ در میان ابرها» از ضعیف ترین آثار «آگاتا کریستی» حرف بزنیم.
در نقد اثر قبلی از مجموعه «هرکول پوآرو» گفتم که پرونده قتل نباید خیلی پیچیده و بشدت در بسته باشه. اینجا در بسته تره نسبت به کتاب قبلی.
متاسفانه آگاتا ، پرونده قتلی که اینجا میسازه بیش از حد سخته. و تا حدی ناممکن. در هواپیما با حدود جمعیت 25 نفر در یک سالن ، یکیشون کشته میشه با ابزاری که هرکسی نمیتونه استفاده کنه و هیچکس متوجه قتل نمیشه. شوخیه؟
اولین چیزی که آگاتا حساب نکرده فشار هوا در هواپیمای درحال پرواز هست. آگاتا حساب نمیکنه که در هواپیمای در حال پرواز ، امکان استفاده از سلاح بادی ، تقریبا صفره.
چیز دیگه‌ای که مسخره تره : حضور کاملا تصادفی هرکول پوآرو. من از شمای مخاطب میپرسم : چرا معزوف ترین و به قول خودش بهترین کارآگاه جهان هرجا که پاش رو میذاره باید جنایت رخ بده؟ اگر انقدر قدمت شومه بشین توو خونه‌ت😅
بعد ما هنوز نه با شخصیت ها آشنا شدیم نه انگیزه‌ای از اون ها برای قتل درک میکنیم هیچی
صرفا اون ها رو تا پنج شش دقیقه قبل از قتل میبینیم.
مسئله بعدی بیش از حد حرفه‌ای بودن قتله. کتاب کاملا تخیلی میشه و اون حس شرکت کردن مخاطب عام و پا به پای کارآگاه اومدن رو نمیده.
وقتی پایان مشخص میشه مخاطب حس میکنه سرش تا نوک پا کلاه گذاشتن. من با تعلیق بیشتر موافقم تا شوک. ولی مشکل اینجا اینه که شوک پایان حس احمق بودن به مخاطب میده و پایان بشدت سرهم بندی شده و تعیین نشده‌ست.
امیدوارم اثر بعدی که از آگاتا میخونم بهتر از این باشه.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account book 11

Hercules is on a plane when a woman 🚺 is murdered. Hercule is part of the investigation which leads to the arrest of the killer.

I would recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of British 🏰 mystery novels and fans of Agatha Christie. 2024

[samantha Bookworm-on-rainydays · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. How he never let the killer suspect the game was known till the end.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5. Hugely enjoyable as Christie always is, but not the most satisfying of her books.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Not too bad. Not her best, not as bad as many later efforts. But this is one of the most bizarrely satisfying comeuppance crimes I've read from Dame Agatha's pen. I will have more to say but after a nice long sleep. Dratted Overdrive! It went down and, when it came back up, had lost my place in the book. *grumble* So I just finished it!

Before I was so rudely interrupted...the French police had just found Anne Morisot's body on the Boulogne boat train...so what's next, M. Poirot? The heiress to a fortune, however ill-got (loan sharking is ill-got gains in my book), is dead! Now who benefits? In other words, find the husband she married so hastily a month ago.

It is this trend, this way of progressing...we need to find this, this will break the case! ONOZ more questions instead...that makes reading Dame Agatha's books fun. The smudge on the horizon with birds circling it is land for the shipwrecked to stand on! No, it's the North Pacific Gyre...no, it's a mirage. She's a wicked old auntie, our Dame is, and she reveled in this misdirection while she could still construct it. (Late-career dementia means the end of most of this kind of fun.)

Here, in this 1935 book, the players and the played are all in intricate interlocking orbits, with plenty of greed and rage and regret fueling the proceedings. One of the dramatis personae is a killer (a particularly cold and calculating one, it turns out), but is that crime any more heinous than the willful and malicious ruin of the life, the very identity central to a person's presentation of self? Murder without death...blackmail is vile, the secrets that it battens on are almost always so much less so than the blackmail is. Lady Horbury, a nasty superficial baggage, has stolen bluff, hearty Lord Horbury's future; the loan shark blackmailing her into paying the vig has compounded the crime, since her ruin will of necessity be his ruin as well.

But then the uglier and uglier cruelties the murdered loan shark has committed come suppurating up, involving children and caregivers and a whole world of ruin. Her murder, by the son-in-law she didn't know she had and who would murder the daughter she abandoned, but to whom she willed her entire fortune...why exactly? was diabolically clever and would never work in real life. One is still delighted by her death. The manner of it, on a flight between Paris and London, well! Extra piquant. Especially delicious is Poirot attempting to recreate a murder by (hilariously undersized) blowpipe on the plane...the so-self-important little grey cellarer acting the fool in this public place, so perfect (and proves this was an impossible means). And, in my never-remotely humble opinion, early warning signs of just how extremely sick Dame Ags was getting of her arrogant, high-handed Belgian detective.

I'm there, too. This is it for me, at least for a while. I can't deal with Poirot's smugly superior attitude again. Some time away from each other is required, and since he exists in books, he won't care and I will probably return, refreshed and emboldened, to an unchanged Poirot.

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Death in the Clouds

Rating: 3.5* of five

Absolutely hilarious! Many anachronisms...the plane that features in the show, a 1940s DC-3, is understandable because there are no extant planes of the type in the book; less so is the café in 1935 London using Wedgwood bone china of the Colonnade Black pattern introduced the same year I was...but what the hell, it looked really pretty.

Inspector Japp, that flâneur and bon vivant, is in Paris assisting Poirot and lording it over the Parisian gendarmerie? C'mon! Japp doesn't know how important l’heure du déjeuner is, what a bidet is (see the filmed version of Hickory Dickory Dock), still less how the Byzantine French justice system works, and the French inspector is calmly going to let him run roughshod over his dignity? No. But it does make for a better episode of the show. No need to build a character for a single use, Japp will be showing up again anyway.

And that blowpipe scene? Suchet should've won awards for it. Side-splitting. I watched this episode with my Young Gentleman Caller and he made me pause the scene twice so he could get the laughs out.

There are some of the usual rebrandings of characters...Jane Grey, now a stewardess, finally makes sense in the story...though has some pretty tremendous superpowers as she gets Poirot a seat (Lord Horbury's abandoned one, which is never explained) at Fred Perry's final match! Where he scrapes acquaintance with both Dr. Gale and Lady Horbury, present though previously built up to be uninterested in tennis while the snit-throwing Lord Horbury dotes on it. It's not as though any of this is new.

But again, my fatigue overtakes me and I retire from the watching of the Poirot films. I am sated. Perhaps my appetite she will return to me after a fast? We shall see.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book that Agatha Christie wrote after she'd had her run-in with the Doctor, and it shows. I contend that Jean is the Doctor... Okay, that was my nerd moment. It's a fun read, as always, with a good solution. One nice thing about Agatha Christie is that she gives you all the clues. It isn't like she says, last minute, "And I knew you were the murderer because your fingerprints were on the gun!" If fingerprints are on the gun (which they never are, of course), you know as soon as the detective does. She doesn't always give you all the evidence, but the clues are there.