Aboard a plane, a woman dies in her seat, apparently the victim of a wasp sting. Then, a venom-tipped dart from a South American blowgun is found in the aisle. Everyone is suspect, including Hercule Poirot, who was sitting a mere fifteen feet from the victim. Poirot finds closer ties between some of the passengers on the plane than they would admit, but who could have wanted the woman dead? He must find the real murderer and the truth of the case, if only to clear his own name. Read by Hugh Fraser.
Death in the Clouds (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
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Editorial Reviews
Review
'It will be a very acute reader who does not receive a complete surprise at the end.' Times Literary Supplement
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Agatha Christie is the most popular mystery writer of all time. In a career that spans over half a century, her name is synonymous with brilliant deception, ingenious puzzles, and the surprise denouement. By virtually inventing the modern mystery novel she earned her title as the Queen of Crime.
Read by David Timson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Read by David Timson
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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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The mid 1930s were some of the best years of the so-called "Golden Age of Detective Fiction" in Britain. Most practitioners belonged to the Detection Club, they reviewed and promoted one another's books publically and privately they shared and re-worked one another's ideas. An example of this literary cross-fertilization may be seen when Freeman Wills Crofts' "The 12.30 From Croydon", 1934, and "Agatha Christie's "Death In the Clouds", 1935, are compared. Both books begin with a passenger plane flight across the English Channel. In the former novel, a passenger is found to be dead at the end of Chapter One when the plane touches down in Paris. In the latter, a passenger is found to be dead at the end of Chapter One when a plane touches down in London. Thereafter, and indeed in the titling of the two books, each writer develops the idea differently.
Agatha Christie devises a whodunit puzzle. Characters are displayed in terms of how they appear physically, in their dialogue, by reputation or hearsay. Clues and significant red herrings are tossed about so that the murderer might mislead everybody else, and the writer might mislead the reader. Just how misleading appearances might be, is cleverly contrived at one point in this book when a jury at an inquest into the passenger's death return a unanimous verdict of murder at the hands of another passenger, namely Hercule Poirot.
Agatha Christie, who lived to become the world's best-selling author, presents her puzzle in immensely readable but unsophisticated prose. The two dimensional characters are somehow easy to keep in mind as you strive to guess the murderer's identity and, of course, there is Hercule Poirot to unerringly point the finger. He can also voice a note of compassion with his oft repeated, "Ah, yes, life can be terribly cruel".
"Death In the Clouds" is recommended for reading during prolonged international flights or sleepless nights as an escape from stressful reality. Don't begin it, however, if you need a full night's sleep. It is possible you will want to keep reading through to the last page.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A murder on an aircraft? Right, and within just a few feet of detective Hercule Poirot! I haven't read many books by Christie, but I knew this was going to be a good one...
And it was. It goes through a female passenger being murdered on a aircraft from Le Pinet, under everyone's noses unnoticed. Poirot is air-sick on the plane and is called upon the investigation. The mystery unfolds page by page, introducing new characters--suspects-- chapter by chapter. There were many varius suspects, and they never narrow down. There was a bit of a twist in the last few chapters of the story, well, for Poirot and another in the last chapter for the readers, yet it makes sense and draws in a nice ending. This is a definite page turner and a great read when you think you're bored, because with Christie's mysteries, you never know what's going to happen.
And it was. It goes through a female passenger being murdered on a aircraft from Le Pinet, under everyone's noses unnoticed. Poirot is air-sick on the plane and is called upon the investigation. The mystery unfolds page by page, introducing new characters--suspects-- chapter by chapter. There were many varius suspects, and they never narrow down. There was a bit of a twist in the last few chapters of the story, well, for Poirot and another in the last chapter for the readers, yet it makes sense and draws in a nice ending. This is a definite page turner and a great read when you think you're bored, because with Christie's mysteries, you never know what's going to happen.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book (also published as "Death in the Air") is vintage Christie because of the way she has a murder committed in a roomful (in this case planeful) of people and yet no one can see this audacious murder being committed. Unfortunately for our killer, Hercule Poirot happens to be on board this flight from Paris to London!
The murder takes place during the serving of lunch and the victim is discovered to be a notorious blackmailer travelling under an assumed name. There is a melodramatic discovering of a poisoned dart containing a deadly South African snake venom nearby as well as a blow-pipe like the ones used by South American Indian tribes. But the astute Poirot utilizes his innate sense of order and method to wade through the many red herrings and unmasks the murderer through the evidence provided by luggage and pocket contents.
This mystery is notable for its well-defined characters. We become privvy to the lives of many of the passengers and learn to what extent they have been touched by the victim. A simple case of many with motive and opportunity, but only one will be unveiled by the master detective Poirot.
This is a light and fun read which enables you to match wits with Poirot and try to discover "whodunit" before he does.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Mystery in the Clouds
Are you someone who loves mysteries? Do you want to read a great book? Then I recommend Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Whirley's Literature
Christie does it again
I loved this book. I am an avid Christie fan and have read many of her books but just came across this one recently. Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Ledger
What we came to expect from Christie
Agatha Christie at her very best. Hercule Poirot is on a plane when a fellow passenger is murdered. Almost everyone on the flight is suspect, including Poirot himself. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Giant Panda
One of Poirot's Best!
Since 2008 I have been trying to make my way through all the Agatha Christie mysteries. After spending several years reading here and there I am now trying to read the missing ones... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bella McGuire
Death in the Clouds is a classic Agatha Christie novel featuring...
Death in the Clouds is an old Agatha Christie novel. It was first published in London in 1935. The novel is short and ingenious as it asks readers to match their little grey cells... Read more
Published 10 months ago by C. M Mills
Tricks of the Trade
"Death in the Clouds" may be unique among Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mysteries in that the famous Belgian sleuth finds himself a suspect in a murder. Read more
Published 15 months ago by R. Chaffey
Just can't beat Christie!
It is no wonder that Agatha Christie is the most widely published author around the world. "Death in the Clouds" is Christie at her best. Read more
Published 17 months ago by S. Taylor
Disappointing for an Agatha Christie Novel
In 'Death in the Clouds', a woman is found dead while airborne on a plane enroute to London. This places immediate suspicion on the plane's passengers and stewards - including one... Read more
Published 22 months ago by RandomizeME
terrible
i read and then there were none before this book and loved it. this book has nothing that gabs your attention. it doesnt have that wow factor. Read more
Published on May 17, 2010 by Brian Donovan
"There is an Unknown Factor in This Case..."
Described on the original cover as Agatha Christie's "Greatest Poirot Story," this particular mystery has several unique aspects to it. Read more
Published on April 18, 2010 by R. M. Fisher
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