Dead Man's Folly (Hercule Poirot) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "IT was Miss Lemon, Poirot's efficient secretary, who took the telephone call..." (more)
Key Phrases: murder hunt, tennis pavilion, tea tent, Sir George, Miss Brewis, Lady Stubbs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The solution is one of colossal ingenuity. -- New York Times Literary Supplement

Review

The solution is one of colossal ingenuity. (New York Times Literary Supplement)

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Reissue edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425174735
• ISBN-13: 978-0425174739
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,881 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 34 in The Hercule Poirot Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder Hunt Game Leads to Real Murder in This Thriller, June 13, 2001

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

This review is from: Dead Man's Folly (Mass Market Paperback)

Aridane Oliver is prominent in this novel as she has been hired to stage a Murder Hunt for the village fete to raise money for local charities. Her famous intuition tells her something is not right and her intuition is shown to be right on target when a real body is found instead of the "pretend" corpse in the murder game. Mrs. Oliver calls in her friend Hercule Poirot for assistance. Poirot is fond of Mrs. Oliver and has been since he first met her while solving the murder of Mr. Shaitana in "Cards on the Table."

This novel is filled with well-drawn characters including: George Stubbs, the owner of Nasse House where the murder occurs; his wife Lady Hattie, a young woman obsessed with her jewels; Etienne de Sousa, Hattie's debonair cousin who arrives unexpectedly and unwelcomed; Marlene Tucker, a sniffling teen-ager who was chosen to play the "corpse"; and Mrs. Folliat, the former lady of the manor. Along with others, they form the backdrop as Poirot and Mrs. Oliver follow clues that lead to impersonation, old sins, and a ruthless killer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mark of genius, July 8, 2005

By	Jack Sparrow (Singapore) - See all my reviews

Having read and re-read most of Christie's famous works, I decided to sample this lesser-known story set in post-war England. Christie delivers as she always has; the story is gripping, perplexing, witty, and charming.

The premise is nothing new for Christie; most of her mysteries are domestic murders, where one of the household must have done it. This book follows the same pattern. What makes this story different and interesting is the Murder Hunt, organized by the character of Adriane Oliver. Since it will be obvious to the reader from the very beginning that Mrs Oliver is based on Christie herself, the whole Murder Hunt plays very effective mind tricks with him. It is as if the author has jumped into the mystery to give vital clues.

The rest of the mystery is the typical blend of varied and fascinating characters, in a sprawling setting. The exotic foreigner, trophy wife, country squire, efficent secretary, all well-recognized mystery story hallmarks are present. Of particular interest is the character of Mrs Folliat, the old and mysterious ex-owner of the estate in which the story is set. As Hercule Poirot quickly divines, there's something about Mrs Folliat...

The only problem with this book arises towards the end. With the exception of Oliver, Folliat and obviously the incomparable Poirot, the other characters are a shade disappointing. I have always appreciated Christie's shrewd analysis of the psyche of the domestic murderer. The reason why it is always near impossible to guess whodunnit is that the ruthlessness is always so neatly concealed within the character of the murderer. However, in this particular story, the characters are not as well-developed as they should be. They are interesting and plausible people, but rather simple. There is little of the shadowy bent of mind that makes them possible murderers. This leads to the actual solution sounding a tad contrived. A further disappointment is that the ending fails to tie up the Murder Hunt with the parallel tale of the actual murder. All along, the Murder Hunt has proven suggestible and exciting, but in the end nothing comes of it.

Having said that, there is nothing seriously wrong with Dead Man's Folly. It possess all of Poirot's cunning and idiosyncratic charisma. And the true mark of the genius is that the reader will neither be able to guess at the solution before Christie herself decides to reveal it, nor will he be able to put the book down.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Medium Well Done Christie, October 3, 2002

By	sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is one of the later Hercule Poirot mysteries (1957), but the setting and characters are vintage pre World War II. This is all to the good because Dame Agatha is the master of the country house with endless servants hovering about doing tiny tasks. Her one nod to modern times is a shortage of gardeners.

Crime writer Ariadne Oliver calls upon her friend, Hercule Poirot. She has been hired to provide a Mystery Hunt at Sir George Stubbs' annual Fete. She has a "hunch" that all is not well. Ms. Oliver is prescient; her mock "victim" turns into a real one. There is no shortage of suspects, but Poirot and the authorities are baffled.

Ms. Christie rains clues as big as rocks along with her usual red herrings. The problem for the astute reader is not who (though Ms. Christie conceals the murderer with her usual adroitness), but how and why. "Dead Man's Folly" is a very busy book, and the scattered presence of Ariadne Oliver (one of my least favorite continuing characters) is perhaps one distraction too many. Subtract one star for overdone motivation, and another one-half for Ms. Oliver's constant dithering. Rating: 3-1/2 stars.