Monday, March 17, 2014

Short Murders

Murder in the Mews (Hercule Poirot #18)Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

That odd, little foreigner with the strange mustache description Hercule Poirot is at it again!

In Murder in the Mews, a collection of shorts, Poirot's razor-sharp mind is pitted against such stumpers as a suicide/murder conundrum, a deadly love triangle, and a case of important papers gone missing.

Originally four short stories were published under this title, which was called Dead Man's Mirror here in the States. My version only included three stories: Murder in the Mews, Triangle at Rhodes, and The Incredible Theft.

The title story is the most intriguing and most well developed. The remaining two were quite enjoyable, if a bit quick and just a tad perfunctory…just a tad, mind you.

Poirot, that charming if arrogant sleuth, is clever as ever in unearthing the truth, an absolute pleasure to observe in action. Christie's plotting was relatively tight with an occasionally smart twist or two. Her characters are serviceable as always, though few really stood out as some have in her other stories. All in all, if you're already an Agatha Christie fan, you won't go wrong with Murder in the Mews.



No comments:

Post a Comment