|
| Peril at End House: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection) | 
| Author: Agatha Christie
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
Buy New: $7.31
You Save: $4.69 (39%)
New (23) from $7.31
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 42795
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 1579127371
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9781579127374
ASIN: 1579127371
Publication Date: September 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Ships by USPS. 1+ million customers served-In business since 1986. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. Toll Free Support
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 18 | | NEXT » |
 Not Christie's best, by a long shot. June 22, 2008
As a hardcore Christie fan, I was disappointed by this book. For one thing, it was the first time I ever successfully predicted the ending of one of her mysteries. Perhaps it's just a function of the fact that I've been reading a lot of her books lately, but it just seemed quite obvious, almost from the beginning. The other problem was Poirot. He was excessively demeaning and cruel to Hastings throughout the novel, to such an unreasonable extent that I was mentally urging Hastings to tell Poirot where he could shove his mustaches, and get the heck out of there. Also, perhaps I was reading too quickly or simply got a badly edited edition of the book (I have the 1942 Pocket Mysteries edition), but parts of it were almost incomprehensible. She wrote it when she was fairly young, so I'm inclined to blame shoddy editors at the publishing house.
Overall, this is a quick and distracting read, nothing more. Christie fans may not enjoy it as much as her other real masterpieces, but it may impress a novice. However, I would not recommend it to a novice, because the portrait it paints of Poirot is extremely off-putting.
 "Wow! I didn't see that one coming..." March 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fastidious Hecule Poirot, the great and somewhat immodest detective from Belgium, finally chooses the sea resort of St. Loo to relax and let his impeccable mustaches down. However, in true Christie fashion, the young damsel in distress arrives, but seeminging not in any distress at all. Nick Buckley is a free-spirit who owns the small estate near the hotel where M. Poirot and his ever astonished sidekick, Hastings, are staying. A series of near-miss "accidents" are immediately suspect in Poirot's mind after a bullet misses Nick by a fraction of an inch. Who could be so avaricious and dastardly to harass such a sweet heiress? Could it be the overly sweet neighbors from Australia? Could it be the ever ethereal Frederika? What about the sturdy and trusted servant Ellen or her slow and lethargic husband, the gardener? Who has killed good and sensible Cousin Maggie who was wearing Nick's shawl at the time of the murder? Is there a secret panel somewhere in the house and who would know of its existence? Our proud detective is puzzled and frustrated but cleverly stages a small bit of drama to entice the murderer into the light. I was very surprised by the solution to this mystery and I'm sure other readers will be surprised, as well! I highly recommend this wonderful whodunit! With PERIL AT END HOUSE, Agatha Christie offers the reader one of her best examples of mystery writing.
Golden Age But Not 24 Carat September 5, 2007
When I first read Agatha Christie's "Peril at End House" many years ago, I was disappointed. I thought there were serious flaws in the plot and that Poirot was practically a caricature of himself. Later I watched a PBS Mystery version, and the flaws seemed even worse. I believe this is one of the books that Agatha Christie in her autobiography admits she couldn't even remember writing.
So it was with some misgivings that I approached rereading "Peril at End House". Yes, the flaws are still there, and it is certainly not one of Miss Christie's best. Nevertheless, it is very good. The plot despite some weak spots is quite clever. The characters are good even with Poirot being "over the top". The Christie humor is there but not as apt as in most of her other works.
I never cease to be impressed with the way in which Miss Christie lays out the clues for the reader. It is always "fair play". One critic compared her to a magician in that she is a master at misdirection. "Peril at End House" is a beautiful example of her use of misdirection -- if 15 or so paragraphs had been printed in bold-face type, almost every reader would have figured out the solution.
Not Agatha Christie at her best, but "Peril at End House" is still a winner.
A good night's read March 25, 2007
Wonderfully written and constantly on the move so that you never want to set it down! I haven't read a Hercule Poirot book before, and this seems to be a later one, still I felt no problem picking up on his eccentricities and persona. The book is fairly short and so intriguing that I found I had finished it much sooner that I hoped!
The plot is full of twists so that I never saw the ending in its entirety until the final chapter, but I never felt like the book relied on absurd jumps to hide the solution.
Also, the book was written a while ago, and the language and style reflect that. Some stock scenes are used and cliches are bandied about (like the climatic scene!) but I found this more charming then worn out!
A great twist makes it memorable February 22, 2007
It's fun to try to figure out who the killer is in Christie's mysteries. She generally plays fair and there is a satisfaction in following the clues to an end. This one tricked me and that made it fun. Poirot also heads in the wrong direction so at least I was not alone. A number of attempts are made on a young woman's life, leading Poirot to investigate and do his best to save her. A number of twists and turns and a few suspicious characters made this a very satisfying addition to the series.
|
|
|
Wildlife, nature and the Environment
Sponsored Links
Learn how to get your own Amazon Book shop | |
