Customer Reviews

Cat Among the Pigeons: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)

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Agatha Christie has been my favorite author since I read one of her books (The Body in the Library) for a book report in high school. My english teacher told me that if I enjoyed the book, I would read all of her books. She was so right. I have read every one of her books more than once and I have them all in my bookcase. This book is one of my favorites and now that I have the CD I can listen to it whenever I am in my car. Agatha Christie will never go out of style. She is the best mystery writer that I have ever read. Her characters (Hercule Poirot & Jane Marple) are unique and her plot lines are complex. I recommend this CD highly to anyone that enjoyes a good mystery!

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is generally thought of a mystery novelist, the creator of Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple--but she varied her output from time to time, writing several celebrated plays, and occasionally turning out a novel that was more of a thriller than a mystery. Such is the case with the 1959 novel CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS, which begins lightly enough among school girls attending the famous Meadowbank school in England and then unexpectedly seques to a revolution in the middle east, stolen jewels, kidnapping, and three murders.

Although most of the story plays out at Meadowbanks, the plot pivot is in the middle east, where revolution threatens progressive Prince Ali Yusuf. In an effort to protect himself and at least part of his fortune, the prince gives his personal pilot, Bob Rawlinson, an extremely valuble package of jewels and asks Rawlinson to find a way to move them to England. Rawlinson agrees and hides the jewels among the luggage carried by his unwitting sister and niece, who are visiting the area but are scheduled to return to England shortly. That same day Rawlinson and the prince attempt to escape the country on an airplane, but sabatoge causes the aircraft to crash and both are killed. It becomes apparent that the jewels are not among Bob's sister's luggage; the must therefore be in the luggage of his neice, schoolgirl Jennifer. To further complicate matters, Jennifer is not the only student at Meadowbanks with a connection to prince Ali Yusuf; his cousin, Shaista, is a student as well, and it seems likely that the jewels will find their way to her.

No sooner are the girls settled at Meadowbanks than not one but two murders occur. Fortunately, Jennifer has a sharp-minded school friend named Julia Upjohn, daughter of a woman who worked in military intelligence during World War II. Julia soon realizes that there is a problem, unravels the story of the missing jewels, and after an inspired guess locates the jewels as well. But now her own life is in danger, and Julia wastes no time in going to the celebrated Hercule Poirot, who produces a final solution--but not before a third death ensues.

CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS is not among the first rank of Christie's novels; although she clearly had fun writing it, and writing similar novels, her gifts did indeed turn more toward the intricate plotting required of her mysteries and less toward the action-adventure required of a thriller. Even so, it is a very enjoyable read--for both fans and newcomers a like. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

In Memory of Floy Bennett

Agatha Christie choses an illustrious girl's school as the setting to Poirot's latest mystery, though Poirot himself is not a major player in the proceedings, appearing for the first time well over halfway through the book. Instead most of the action centers around the staff of Meadowbank School, and its tone resembles that of the Tommy and Tuppence stories considering its emphasis on espionage and international politics.

Mrs Bulstrode rules over Meadowbank School with pride and competence, having established it from virtually nothing many years ago with her college Miss Chadwick. The two women now run the most exclusive girl's school in England, though unbeknownst to them, events are happening on the other side of the world that will have a huge effect on the school. When a cache of precious rubies goes missing from Ramat after an uprising against the monarchy, special agents across the globe narrow their search down to Meadowbank School thanks to a link between the Sheikh of Ramat's English pilot and a young student at the boarding school.

Secret international forces converge on the school, leading to a cloak-and-dagger mystery, with plenty of secret identities, buried secrets, hidden jewels, and of course - murder most foul. When an unpopular teacher is found dead in the new Sports Pavilion the police are called in, but none of them have any idea as to the purpose behind such a killing. Only one thing is certain: that one of the school's staff is involved; the proverbial cat among the pigeons.

Setting the story in a girl's school was an enjoyable change of pace, as Christie deftly paints the interrelations between a suspicious staff and the excited girls, all with their own secrets, opinions, viewpoints and understanding of the world around them. Though the characters are not particularly well-drawn (and a few are simply names on a page), the atmosphere of a school is well-handled and lends the book an added sense of danger considering the close proximity of so many innocent lives. In many ways, this is a "woman's book", given its emphasis on gossip, blackmail, mothers and the allure of jewels.

Sometimes too many things - like the jewels' hiding place and the reason behind the focus on the school - are telegraphed too early, and as blasphemous as it may sound, I felt that the gradual uncovering of revelations were better handled in the recent television adaptation starring David Suchet, as well as being better paced in general thanks to Mark Gatiss's screenplay.

"Cat Among the Pigeons" is certainly not Christie's best Poirot novel. Perhaps by this time she was running out of steam, not to mention struggling with her well-documented frustration with the fastidious little Belgian. Devoted Christie fans will want to finish "Cat Among the Pigeons" for the sake of completion, but newcomers to Christie's work may wish to start their reading experience elsewhere - say with The Mysterious Affair at Styles or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

First, let me say that Hugh Fraser does his usual great job narrating this book. If you've listened to any of the other audio books he's done in this series, you know what I mean. If you haven't, well, pick one and give it a try.

Now, the story is a decent one with lots of Christie craftsmanship. If you're used to Hercule Poirot from the popular BBC/PBS/A&E video series starting David Suchet, you may be a little surprised by this story. Yes, yes, all his personality is there, and Fraser does his voice well. The surprise is that at least 80% of the story develops before Poirot shows up to solve it.

Again, absolutely fine as a mystery tale. It's just a bit limited on the famous Poirot mannerisms due to the way the story is constructed.

[Update: Since I wrote this review, I saw the new David Suchet version of this on PBS. As expected, the video version turned things around a bit and featured Poirot more prominently from the start. You will not find that to be the case in this audio book.]

I am a great Agatha Christie fan and have all her books. I am very busy now so do not have time to sit down and reread them. It is great fun to listen to them in the car as I travel from place to place. I really cannot get enough of them

I am enjoying reading Agatha Christie for the second time and have decided to collect her books. I first read her books in the 80's. I have been very happy with the books I have purchased through Amazon.com. I have never had a bad experience with any of the books that I have purchased through you. Thank you.

This product was delivered in a timely fashion. This book was enjoyable to read.