Customer Reviews

Cat among the Pigeons: A Hercule Poirot Novel (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the very first Agatha Christie novel I read. I thought it was absolutely riveting. A great book for just about anyone, I would say. Reading this book got me hooked on Agatha Christie, though I suppose I was spoiled by it, because none of her books that I have read since then have measured up to this one. This book is a must-read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery. Remember, dont assume reading this book, for it will send you in the opposite direction of the solution. you will never guess what the ending is, that I guarantee! If anyone has comments for me, or a book for me to read, email me!

Agatha Christie, it is not often recognized, was a very good writer. Although her books never achieved the skin-tingling creepiness of John Dickson Carr, the best of the "Golden Age" mystery writers, and though Carr's books are perhaps more re-readable, the writing in Christie's best books (the 30s, 40s) was often as good as any other writer of the period.

She was also as good at writing cloak and dagger books as well as convention detective mysteries, though these books are not generally as well known.

"Cat Among the Pigeons" should be one of her cloak and dagger books. It veers into John Buchan territory with revolutions in foreign coutries and smuggled jewels. It is not, on the face of it, a Poirot novel. When he makes his appearance near the last third of the book, he is a welcome addition to a plot that's beginning to collapse under its own weight. Instead of being a novel of espionage or a novel of detection, it tries to be both. The result is a novel with three murders, but all of them coming late in the narrative and therefore bunched together. Because the set-up is so long, Poirot is forced to make some quantum leaps beyond his normal logic, that seem more like inspired guesses than deduction. One wonders why he was necessary at all.

The book is set at a girl's school and there are many extraneous characters. Christie helps us with her usual page of character descriptions at the start, but many of the names remain little more than names.

Christie was a good writer. She normally got to the point and didn't string plot threads together until her books got oppressive. And the two genres she tried to mix in this book could have been combined in a longer, more complex novel. An earlier introduction to Poirot might also have helped. He is anticipated, but, curiously, is never mentioned prior to his introduction and comes out of the blue.

It looks almost like two books that have run together. Christie normally didn't waste more than one good plot on a book, but here she has the jewel story, which would've made a crackerjack espionage novel along the lines of _The Secret of Chimneys_; and the murder mystery, in the last half, that would've made a fine, typical Poirot novel. A young detective who goes undercover in the book would've made a fine solver of the jewel story.

Too, many of the elements of this novel seem borrowed. The young detective's superior comes off as a lethargic version of Carr's H.M., for instance.

However, one warning: there is an element of the jewel plot that you will guess almost immediately, and wonder why Christie was so obvious with it. Further reading shows that to become more complex, and the reason she wants us to guess it early seems to be so she can take a sudden left-turn with it. But the element itself is not, it turns out, very important to the plot and she can allow us a few pages to think we're clever.

If you are a long-time Christie fan and want to read all her books, _Cat Among the Pigeons_ is a must; if you're just starting Christie, you might want to read a dozen or so others before getting to this one.

The Little Gray Cells strike again in this fabulous book "Cat Among the Pigeons." At a very respectable British boarding school three teachers all die while looking in the gym for some very mysterious foreign jewls put there by a man before his death. Mixed in with also a bit of spying at the beginning and Poirot's wit and wisdom this book is fabulous and has an unpredictable but fruitful ending!

This is definitely my favorite Agatha Christie book. The element of a girls' school murder was classic. It was good without being to deep. Also, no matter how hard you try, you cannot guess the end, unti Mr. Poirot explains of course. Personally, I liked him not being in much of the book because it took a school girl to find out the mystery. I recommend this to anyone who wishes to read a frivolous, exciting, and definitely intersting book.

This 1959 novel begins in a fictional mideastern country. The country is on the brink of revolution, the young prince is planning his escape he entrusts the family fortune in gems to his closest friend to smuggle out of the country. Arrangements are made shortly before the two young men are killed.

Meanwhile, back in England it is the beginning of the summer term at Meadowlands, an exclusive girls' school. Students and staff from all over the world are there, including a princess from the mideast whose cousin/fiance has just been killed. The famous gems have also found there way there. Various unusual occurances begin to take place at the school, strange visitors, unusual behavior among the staff and then murder and kidnapping.

One of the students uncovers part of the secret and decides that she needs outside help so she contacts Hercule Poirot. Poirot, of course, resolves the mysteries both large and small that have been plaguing the school.

There are more characters introduced in this novel than is usual in Christie's work which makes this one of the more challenging of her work to figure out. There are several subplots woven into the action that things confusing as well. This is a departure from Christie's usual 'cozy' stories of village life or house parties. It is more of a thriller than her usual work, some of her most sympathetic characters are killed and Poirot only appears at the end of the novel. Even so it is a very enjoyable mystery and one of my personal favorites.

We are also treated to an update on the Summerhills, old friends from a previous book, MRS. McGINTY'S DEAD. Mrs. Summerhill is a friend of one of the students' parents. Poirot is delighted to hear that although Mrs. Summerhill's house is still disorganized and her cooking is generally deplorable she makes wonderful omelets, a skill that she learned from him.

This is my favorite Agatha Christie so far! You'll never guess the ending, either. I will admit Hercule Poirot didn't come in until kind of late in the story, but it's really good! Don't try and solve it for yourself; there aren't enough clues.

I Definitely Reccomend This Book!!!!

(I'm a 12 year old girl from Alaska. If there are any other Christie fans out there my age please contact me!!! mercat@angelfire.com)

Whose work are we actually reading at this point? There were already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There were further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further additions still in the recent Signet, Berkley, and Leventhal and Black editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. Here the publishers at Collins, dissatisfied with their own earlier efforts, put still more distance between author and public with a "New Ed" edition. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.

There was a time when I would honestly read this book about every two months. I simply HAD to be reading Cat Among the Pigeons, no matter what else I was reading at the time. I would alternate between two different Agatha Christies and this one, and it actually lasted about a year! That's my testimonial to how absolutely perfect Cat Among the Pigeons is.

And what makes this book so great and worth the money? Well, for one thing, Agatha did a flawless job of capturing atmosphere in this book. Ramat doesn't even exist, I don't think, yet I could feel myself there, feel the heat, practically see the opulence of the unfortunate young prince's palace, and feel the current of danger and imminent disaster present in every Ramat scene. I have no idea how she did it, because she was never one to give readers a lot of local flavor. And now, here is Agatha Christie making us feel the heart of an IMAGINARY CITY!

The same goes for the girls' school. I could clearly picture Meadowbank in my mind, with its lazy afternoons and young students concerned more with boys and hiding places for cigarettes, than the relationship between Iago, Desdemona, and Othello.

The characters could reach out and tap you on the nose, they are made so perfectly. There are no faceless, plastic people in this novel (not that there always are in other Christies.) I've often mentally applied Christie's wonderful description of Ann Shapland's hair to other people in my life: "hair that fitted her like a black satin cap." And even though there isn't much else to Julia Upjohn's physical description besides having a freckled face like her mother, she forms a distinct appearance in my mind because of Christie's description of her personality. I don't want to give too much away, but I'll say that she's the kind of girl that Poirot would respect.

And last but never least: How is the actual 'mystery' part? Well, as other reviewers have said, you will have NO IDEA who 'did it.' I can guarantee it. Truthfully. Honestly. You will pause for a second in that wonderful Agatha-Christie-Stupor while it soaks into your head. So don't worry about that part. Agatha didn't miss with this book. The shock effect for this one is one of the highest I've actually ever felt, higher than Death on the Nile, and actually getting up there with Roger Ackroyd and Orient Express. I'm serious! That's how surprising this mystery/thriller is.

To sum it all up: The atmosphere is great, the characters are great, the mystery is perfect, and oh yes! I nearly forgot! The thrill factor is VERY high! There is one particular scene toward the end (it involves a chair; that's all I'll say) that will make you AT LEAST a little paranoid that there is someone watching you. Very creepy and very well done. That happens many times throughout this book.

Cat Among the Pigeons is one of the best. To be fair, it is THE best of all the mystery/thrillers. Buy it and enjoy it!

Cat Among the Pigeons is an Agatha Christie murder mystery. The novel opens in the Royal Palace of Ramat. A politcal coup is in place against Prince Ali Yusef. Ali is a young and democratic leader of the land. His aide
Englishman Bob Rawlinson and Ali plan to flee the country in a plane. Prior to this flight, Bob hides a bag containing priceless jewels in his sister Joan Sutcliffe's room in the hotel. Joan and her daughter Jennifer were visiting Ramat as tourists. Bob and Yusef are killed when their plane crashes. Where are the jewels?
The plot then revolves around the events at the exclusive Meadowbank School for young ladies. The school was founded by the formidable Miss Bulstrode. Three persons are murdered at the school as the murderer wishes to locate the hidden jewels. The police are unable to solve the crimes until Hercule Poiret steps in to unweave all the strings in this complex thriller.
A fun read as Agatha Christie's brilliant mind leads her readers through a complicated maze until the solution of the mystery is made manifest by Poiret. An excellent Christie!

I first read this book when I was twelve, about the same age as the main characters in the story. Some of the motivations of the adults seemed murky to me, but the children, especially young Julia, were all spot on! Good work writing about children, as is typical of Agatha (CROOKED HOUSE) Christie.