agathachristie

The Mystery of the Blue Train: Hercule Poirot Investigates | Agatha Christie

The September #ChristiesCapers is the sixth book featuring Hercule Poirot. Let‘s hop on the blue train and solve the mystery using our little gray cells.

Discussion on September 28th. All are welcome! Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the tag list. #AgathaChristieClubR3

janeycanuck, suvata, Aims42, MallenNC, Soscha, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, MariaW, elkeOriginal, AnneCecilie, Gissy, OutsmartYourShelf, mrp27, Larkken, Suet624, Cailey_Mac, Deblovestoread, ferskner, Marmie7, MaleficentBookDragon, majkia, Bookwormjillk, StayCurious, Teresereading, Laughterhp, RainyDayReading, Skygoddess1, Morr_Books, PathfinderNicole, dabbe, tdrosebud, MaGoose, ElizaMarie, bcncookbookclub, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, PageShifter, willaful, kimrenee, AnishaInkspill

Cuilin I‘ve already started. 😊 8h

Sparklemn I may be able to join you. I‘ll see how my next week goes. 8h

Liz_M @LitsyEvents 7h

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Librarybelle @Cuilin 😁 7h

Librarybelle That‘s great, @Sparklemn ! Would you like to be tagged for just this book or included for the whole readalong? 7h

Librarybelle Thanks, @Liz_M ! 7h

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suvata

The Big Four (Poirot) | Agatha Christie

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Reading on #Litsy with Christie‘s Capers (Reading Agatha Christie's books in publication order) Hosted by @Librarybelle #AgathaChristieClubR3

4 Stars • In Agatha Christie's The Big Four (1927), Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings investigate a shadowy international crime syndicate known as the Big Four. ⬇️

suvata The group, led by four enigmatic figures—a Chinese mastermind, an American millionaire, a French scientist, and a elusive operative—plots global domination. Poirot and Hastings follow a trail of mysterious deaths and conspiracies in a thrilling, espionage-driven adventure to stop them.

#TheBigFour #HerculePoirot #AgathaChristie #Bookish
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kspenmoll Love your review! 2d

Librarybelle Glad you liked this one! 1d

suvata So far, I have been loving all of them. I am so glad I decided to do this read along. 1d

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Librarybelle

The Big Four | Agatha Christie

It‘s time for our #ChristiesCapers discussion! I have five questions posted as spoilers; you can find them on my feed, the book‘s feed, or by searching the group‘s hashtags.

Next month is another Poirot novel; this time, we‘re traveling on the Blue Train! Official post tomorrow! #AgathaChristieClubR3

Aims42 Can‘t wait for next month‘s read 🤗 1d

Librarybelle @Aims42 I think it‘s better than this month‘s book! 1d

Aims42 @Librarybelle Wahoo! 🥳 1d

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Librarybelle

The Big Four | Agatha Christie

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5. The ending...Poirot faking his own death to unmask the rest of the Numbers! We of course know that Poirot cannot possibly die at the end of this book, but imagine being a reader in 1927. Would you believe that Poirot was dead?

Incidentally, critics do say that this aspect was a good Poirot move...the book is not great, but at least there is a glimmer of the real Poirot in this move. #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin Yeah, I probably would‘ve believed that. Christie was killing of Poirot but I liked that part of the story. I‘m not sure about the twin aspect though. 2d

MallenNC I would have believed it back then and been surprised, I think. The twin bother trick was a little less believable though. 2d

dabbe Christie plays a masterful trick not just on the characters, but on her entire audience. She exploits the absolute trust the reader has in the narrator (Hastings) and the unspoken rules of the detective genre, only to shatter them in a spectacular and joyful reversal. For a few brief, heartbreaking chapters, the world would have genuinely believed the little Belgian detective was gone. Or would they? #sherlockinthefinalproblem

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Librarybelle

The Big Four | Agatha Christie

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4. Let's think about the characters beyond Poirot. We have Hastings back in this novel, and we fall into the conspiracy rabbit hole with this group of individuals who wish to control the world. Any thoughts on the Numbers? Any other characters worthy of discussion? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

OutsmartYourShelf Hastings didn't irritate me as much as usual in this one. 2d

MallenNC I was somewhat interested in the female scientist in the Big Four. She was unusual as a villain 2d

willaful @MallenNC yeah, a bit less of a type than the others. 2d

dabbe To me, Madame Olivier is perhaps the most chilling member, representing the corruption of knowledge and intellect. Science, which should be used for human betterment, is in her hands a tool for destruction. Her development of powerful explosives and deadly radium-based weapons prefigures the real-world anxieties of the nuclear age. She symbolizes the danger of scientific advancement without ethical constraints. 1d

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Librarybelle

The Big Four | Agatha Christie

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3. Poirot the action hero?!? Poirot's portrayal in this novel differs a bit from our prior reads. We still see Poirot putting together the pieces to the international crime cartel, but it just feels...well, different. Think back to our prior Poirot reads. Compare and contrast Poirot's methods in The Big Four versus his prior cases. Can the Poirot we know really be an action hero??? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin Yeah, Poirot and action doesn‘t really fit for me. It was all a bit farcical. 2d

OutsmartYourShelf I really can't picture the famously rotund Poirot climbing down the ivy on the side of a house! 😂 2d

MallenNC The “action” definitely felt out of character to me. 2d

willaful @OutsmartYourShelf lol! 2d

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Librarybelle

The Big Four | Agatha Christie

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2. The Big Four was actually a number of short stories thrown together into a novel. The stories first appeared in 1924 as a serial in magazines. In 1926 Christie decided to adapt the short stories into The Big Four. Critics cite the mishmash of stories, somewhat quickly put together to try and present a full length novel. Do you agree? Would this book have worked better as a collection of short stories? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin She probably should‘ve left them as short stories. Mark Gatis did a pretty good job of rewriting it for the BBC adaptation. 2d

OutsmartYourShelf Maybe, as it seemed a bit of a jumble. 2d

MallenNC I think this explains a lot of repetitive story in this book. It kept feeling like it had come to a conclusion and then a similar situation would happen again 2d

willaful It doesn't work IMO. The standard type Christie stories and the framing narrative really clash. 2d

Aims42 This makes sense!! I kept wondering how many concussions Hastings could endure 😳🫣 1d

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Librarybelle

The Big Four | Agatha Christie

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1. The Big Four did not receive many positive reviews upon its publication in 1927; in fact, Christie called it “that rotten book,“ and critics rate it as one of their least favorite works by Christie.

What was your impression of this novel? How does it compare to other Poirot novels we read? If this was your first time ever reading a Christie mystery, would you pick up another one? #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3

Cuilin Luckily it wasn‘t my first Christie!! I didn‘t hate it. I liked the pace. It just got too much towards the end. 2d

OutsmartYourShelf It was kind of odd compared to the other Poirot books in terms of pace & plot etc. 2d

kelli7990 I didn‘t care for this book as much as her other books I‘ve read. 2d

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MallenNC I did not like it either. It didn‘t feel like a detective mystery to me but more like a comic book character. 2d

willaful I think it's one of her worst, though more readable than some of her last books. 2d

dabbe I read it as seeing an artist who was still testing her craft, trying to see which genre fitted best and which genre she kicked ass at. IMHO, spy novels weren't it. 1d

Aims42 Not a pick for me 👎🙈🙉🙊 1d

TheAromaofBooks I don't mind her over-the-top spy tales, but the pacing of this one feels comparatively slow. It covers months of time with not a lot happening. I don't hate it, but it's not a favorite. 22h

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