The A B C Murders [Hardcover]

Agatha Christie (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap; First Thus edition (1936)
• ASIN: B000L6J10S
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and created the detective Hercule Poirot in her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). She achieved wide popularity with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and produced a total of eighty novels and short-story collections over six decades.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tricky! Tricky!, August 8, 2002

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The ABC murders

"A.B.C. Murders," written in 1936 stars Hercule Poirot with Hastings as his faithful chronicler. A person(s) signing himself as A.B.C writes Poirot taunting letters advertising the locale of his upcoming murders. And sure enough, his first murder of Alice Asher, who is a shopkeeper in Andover, goes off as advertised. The second forecasted murder is of a waitress named Betty Barnard from Bexhill, and the third is Sir Carmichael Clarke from Churston. Gracious! Where will it all end? Will we get to Zachary Zimmerman from Zanzibar? Has Dame Agatha written the first serial killer novel?

To say the least, Poirot is troubled. The little gray cells are working overtime. Finally a gentleman with the intriguing name of Alexander Bonaparte Cust is arrested. He was at the scene of each crime. Witnesses identify him. His typewriter was used to type the insulting notes to Poirot. Open and shut? Poirot is not satisfied.

"A.B.C. Murders" is a bit of a departure for Ms. Christie in that two of the victims are everyday citizens. Usually, Dame Agatha only consorts with the gentry. She has some insights that would do a modern day "profiler" proud when Poirot speculates upon the nature of the murderer. The denouement is intricate, so much so, some readers might find it too clever by half (to quote our British friends). I was enchanted anew at her cunning misdirection and the slyness of the murderer. This one isn't just a whodunit; it is also a "howdunit." A good example of Dame Agatha's brand of sleuthing.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very exciting, thrilling, and well written novel., January 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The ABC Murders (Paperback)

The detective fiction book A.B.C. Murders, written by Agatha Christie, is a thrilling book. Christie's encouragement to read on makes it a "can't put it down" book. She forms the characters in great detail, each detail eventually making perfect sense in the conclusion and making you say, "darn, I should've known." Christie makes the books atmosphere such that it feels as if you are right there, trying to figure out the murders right along with Hercule Poirot, the great detective in the book. Christie's book is such a thrilling and exciting book for many reasons. First, her writing style is unique, in that it excites you from the beginning of the book until the very end. Her style is wonderful because she writes with enthusiasm to keep you interested throughout the book. She grasps your attention in different ways and makes you keep on reading until the very end. Secondly, Christie describes the characters to the last detail, making sure every detail has importance in the conclusion of the murders. These facts tie together at the end, concluding the mystery with great strength and reassurance to the reader. Lastly, the atmosphere of the book is outstanding. Christie absorbs you into the book so well that you want to talk over the mystery with Poirot, as if you were there solving the case right along with him. This book is great because it makes you want to keep on reading and reading, with no end to the book. With absorbing writing, great characterization, and encouragement to read on, Agatha Christie has written yet another outstanding detective fiction.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poirot and Hastings Hunt Together Again, August 27, 2004

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The A. B. C. Murders (A Hercule Poirot Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Captain Aruthur Hastings has returned to England from his ranch in the Argentine to tie up some affairs. One of his first stops is to see his dearest friend Hercule Poirot. The timing is perfect, as Poirot has been presented with one of his most unusual cases, a supreme exercise for the little grey cells.

Apparently, a homicidial maniac is terrorizing England as he taunts Poirot with advance notice of the time and place of his next murder. Because the victims and towns they live in occur in alphabetical order (Mrs. Ascher is killed in Andover, Miss Barnard in Bexhill, Mr. Clarke in Churston, etc.) and because the killer leaves an ABC Railway Guide at each murder scene, the case becomes known as the the ABC murders.

The set-up of this novel deviates from the normal Christie in that while Captain Hastings narrates the story as it has occurred, the reader is also privvy to the comings and goings of the rather strange Mr. Alexander Bonaparte Cust (notice the initials).

The humor is rampant as Poirot and Hastings chide each other over Poirot's dyed hair, Hastings uncanny ability to see the obvious without realizing it, and the unabashed appreciation both men have for a beautiful woman. And even in the midst of murder and mayhem, Poirot has time to do a little matchmaking on the side.

A box of hosiery, a dying woman's grasp of facts,a private murder concealed in a string of unrelated murders, and a meeting with the accused all climax in one of Poirot's most clever deductions as he solves this one and proclaims to his friend Hastings, "Vive le sport."