MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

HarryT · 07-29-2013, 03:43 PM

Just finished "The Big Four" by Agatha Christie. Her 8th book, and the 5th featuring Hercule Poirot. Originally published in 1927.

Christie is best known for her crime fiction, but she also wrote many "thrillers", generally with wildly improbable plots featuring sinister international conspiracies and "master criminals". This book is (thankfully) her one and only attempt at inserting one of her regular detectives into such a thriller, and it just doesn't work.

The basic premise here is that a gang of four super-criminals (an inscrutable Chinese Mandarin, an American millionaire, a French scientist, and an assassin who is a master of disguise) - the "big four" of the title - are planning to take over the world (quite how is never made clear). Poirot, with his faithful sidekick Hasting (the narrator of the book) gets on their trail and sets out to foil their dastardly plans.

This is essentially a book of Poirot short stories with an extremely silly linking theme. An example, and a small spoiler:

Spoiler:

I honestly cannot recommend this except to the Christie "completist". Thankfully she never did this again.

07-29-2013, 03:43 PM	#17266
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,557 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Just finished "The Big Four" by Agatha Christie. Her 8th book, and the 5th featuring Hercule Poirot. Originally published in 1927. Christie is best known for her crime fiction, but she also wrote many "thrillers", generally with wildly improbable plots featuring sinister international conspiracies and "master criminals". This book is (thankfully) her one and only attempt at inserting one of her regular detectives into such a thriller, and it just doesn't work. The basic premise here is that a gang of four super-criminals (an inscrutable Chinese Mandarin, an American millionaire, a French scientist, and an assassin who is a master of disguise) - the "big four" of the title - are planning to take over the world (quite how is never made clear). Poirot, with his faithful sidekick Hasting (the narrator of the book) gets on their trail and sets out to foil their dastardly plans. This is essentially a book of Poirot short stories with an extremely silly linking theme. An example, and a small spoiler: Spoiler: At one point Poirot and Hastings are captured by one of the Big Four. About to be killed, Poirot is given the standard "last request" and asks for a cigarette. Their captor takes a one at random from Poirot's own cigarette case and gives it to him, whereupon Poirot informs her that it is in fact not a cigarette but a blowpipe loaded with a deadly poisoned dart. Their captor instantly believes this, unties Poirot and Hastings, who make their escape. A little improbable? I honestly cannot recommend this except to the Christie "completist". Thankfully she never did this again.