The Clocks: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Audio Editions Mystery Masters) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Agatha Christie (Author), Robin Bailey (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Audio Editions Mystery Masters | Publication Date: May 2004

When a young secretary, Sheila Webb, is sent to the home of a blind woman on an errand, she is horrified to discover a dead man behind the couch, surrounded by four clocks that have all been stopped at 4:13. The owner arrives home and denies that the clocks belong to her, the deceased's business card turns out to be a fraud, and a woman shows up claiming to be the dead man's wife. There is only one man who can unravel this complicated case: Hercule Poirot.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Listeners are in the hands of a pro with Robin Bailey, who effortlessly draws them into the Christie’s fictional microcosm." -- AudioFile 2004

"The Clocks receives the narrative skills of one Robin Bailey... lively, excellent listen." -- Library Bookwatch, August 2004

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Audio Partners, The, Mystery Masters; Unabridged edition (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572703938
• ISBN-13: 978-1572703933
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,970,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Christie, Agatha

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for the audio book, 2 stars for the book, September 30, 2010

By 

B. A. Peterson "daggerofthemind" (Hampton, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Clocks: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Audio Editions Mystery Masters) (Audio Cassette)

I had to laugh when I read the previous reviewer's comment that The Clocks was in the top 20% of Christie's works. I'd have to put it in the bottom 20%. It's a wildly improbable mystery story.

However..Robin Bailey's reading of the book is a joy to listen to. Americans may be familiar with Robin Bailey as Charters in Charters & Caldicott, a Mystery! miniseries that aired 20 years or so.

Bailey does voices really well, and even if you don't think much of the mystery, you'll enjoy it because of the reading.

BP
Your Government in Action: July 2010 (Miniscule Guides)
Your Government in Action: August 2010 (Miniscule Guides)
My blogs
The Rush Limbaugh Report
Sarah Palin News Report
The Friends of Mr. Cairo

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holds your attention -- a good cozy murder, January 5, 2007

By 

Patrick W. Crabtree "The Old Grottomaster" (Lucasville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Clocks: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Audio Editions Mystery Masters) (Audio Cassette)

I love listening to audiobooks "on the road" as well as while washing dishes for hours at a time (I'm a very bad dish washer), and this one acutely held my attention. Agatha Christie wrote no shortage of losers (I've read every book and play that she ever wrote, which is more than 80) but I place this one in her top twenty percent.

A young lady typist is sent to a house of a blind woman by her prickly boss (aka "Sandy Cat") and the poor girl finds a man's body lying in the floor. She runs out the door, shrieking, to the aide of a passer-by (who just happens to be a covert agent of the British government!) who takes her side when the police inspector (a friend of his) suspects the girl of being involved in the death. But there is the additional laundry list of close neighbors who are all equally suspicious. I'll stop there to avoid a spoiler.

Poirot is barely part of the mystery, I would guess that Christie stuck him in the last third of the story as a marketing afterthought, but this does not harm the larger work. The reader does a fine job which is often the key element of a decent audiobook. The story line is quite coherent and, while this one is not what I would call "killer", it still earns the full 5 stars.

A final note, this is primarily a murder mystery with a side story of espionage, a trick that Christie often practiced, only not usually so shrewdly as she did in this particular episode.