“The ABC Murders” by Agatha Christie

Another one of Hercule Poirot cases – this time, his friend Captain Hastings is here too. The setup is a little unusual – before each murder is committed, Hercule Poirot receives a letter from the murderer, challenging him – and then, when it’s actually committed, Poirot can do nothing about it. Not every day we see this great man fail!

What’s more, the names of towns where the murders happen, as well as the first ans the second names of victims begin first with an A, then with a B and then with a C. The murderer signs his letters A B C. The ABC railway guide – with no fingerprints on it – is left upon the scene of the crime each time.

With the fourth crime everything seems to go wrong – and they catch the obvious murderer. The case is as clear as could be – so why isn’t Poirot satisfied?

He’ll eventually explain it all – of course he will. Once again we’ll be left dumbfounded by the genius of the author: who’d have thought it was like this! Oooooh, the way she turns it all around…

I read this book many years ago, when I just started reading in English. I picked it up from a library. Many years have passed, and now I visit the same library again, and there’s the same book standing on the shelf. Why not re-read it, I thought today…

Funny how the passage of time changes the way we perceive things… especially books. Last time I was so indignant with Poirot for the way he treated Thora Grey. There was, I thought, no ground at all for his innuendo! Now I’m reading it again – not a girl of 25 anymore, but an experienced, married woman of 38 – and I see it all so clearly. Of course he did have grounds! They are all here, staring me in the face…

But that’s not the most important thing to say about this book, of course – just the episode. What I have to say, if you are a fan of Agatha Christie’s books but haven’t read this partucilar one yet, you definitely should. It’s a masterpiece – a gem. You’ll be thrilled – and what’s more, you’ll discover a different Agatha Christie (yes, again – isn’t she different in any book she ever wrote?)

if, on the other hand, you’ve never read any of her books yet, “The ABC Murders” could be a good one to start with, if not a very typical one. I recommend it to you in any case – unless, of course, you hate detective stories. The way Poirot arrives at the identity of the murderer – the way he sets up his trap to get a confession out of him – it’s all pure genius and pure pleasure for any fan of the genre.