The ABC Murders (Mass Market Paperback)

by Agatha Christie (Author) "IT was in June of 1935 that I came home from my ranch in South America for a stay of about six months..." (more)
Key Phrases: railway guide, Inspector Crome, Franklin Clarke, Lady Clarke (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A baffler of the first order. -- New York Times

A masterwork...stunningly original. -- Julian Symons

Agatha Christie at her best. -- New York Herald Tribune

Christie is beyond criticism. -- New Statesman and Nation --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
Agatha Christie at her best. (New York Herald Tribune) A baffler of the first order. (New York Times) A masterwork...stunningly original. (Julian Symons) Christie is beyond criticism. (New Statesman and Nation) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Open Market Ed edition (December 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042513024X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425130247
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #403,445 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 12 in The Hercule Poirot Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tricky! Tricky!, August 8, 2002

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

This review is from: The ABC murders

"A.B.C. Murders," written in 1936 stars Hercule Poirot with Hastings as his faithful chronicler. A person(s) signing himself as A.B.C writes Poirot taunting letters advertising the locale of his upcoming murders. And sure enough, his first murder of Alice Asher, who is a shopkeeper in Andover, goes off as advertised. The second forecasted murder is of a waitress named Betty Barnard from Bexhill, and the third is Sir Carmichael Clarke from Churston. Gracious! Where will it all end? Will we get to Zachary Zimmerman from Zanzibar? Has Dame Agatha written the first serial killer novel?

To say the least, Poirot is troubled. The little gray cells are working overtime. Finally a gentleman with the intriguing name of Alexander Bonaparte Cust is arrested. He was at the scene of each crime. Witnesses identify him. His typewriter was used to type the insulting notes to Poirot. Open and shut? Poirot is not satisfied.

"A.B.C. Murders" is a bit of a departure for Ms. Christie in that two of the victims are everyday citizens. Usually, Dame Agatha only consorts with the gentry. She has some insights that would do a modern day "profiler" proud when Poirot speculates upon the nature of the murderer. The denouement is intricate, so much so, some readers might find it too clever by half (to quote our British friends). I was enchanted anew at her cunning misdirection and the slyness of the murderer. This one isn't just a whodunit; it is also a "howdunit." A good example of Dame Agatha's brand of sleuthing.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice, but not one of her best, February 22, 2005

By	Adi Lachman (Israel) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Christie's A.B.C. Murders is a nice, readable, read-while-you-travel sort of mystery novel. It probably won't leave a lasting impression on you (I had to reread it myself before I wrote this review), and it doesn't stand out among many other other Christie books. If you're a Christie fan, as I am, you'll get to this one in due course. If you're new to the world of Agatha Christie and are looking for a first taste, I recommend "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" or "And then there were none" first.

Still, there are a few nice little novelties in the plot and book that give it some character over other Poirot stories: First, the murderer sends a warning letter to Poirot before each murder, as a sort of challange to the detective to see if he can prevent them. In addition, the narration is different - jumping back and forth between Hastings telling the story first hand and occational third person narration. Another small point I found amusing is the Sherlock Holmes reference - possibly a small attempt by Christie to compare herself with England's other master mystery writer.
Unfortunately, all of these devices have a limited impact on the plot. Christie throws a red herring at the reader that is so emphasized and overexposed that it has very little credibility and loses its effectiveness. Also, it seems as though much of the narration is filler, waiting for the next murder to take place. Characters spend way too much time talking about thinking about the murders, rather than actually doing any thinking about them. You get the sense that Christie is stalling, because she can't have any meaningful occurences between the murders, and she has to write _something_ or the book would be too short.

Still, it's a Christie novel, so it can't be truely bad (ok, there's "Third Girl", but let's not talk about that). The story roles out nicely, the end is rather difficult to guess, and Poirot is Poirot, of course. As I've said, it's a nice read. You won't feel you've wasted your time, even if the story doesn't stay with after you put the book down.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh! what a way to baffle us!, November 15, 1999

By A Customer

After reading this book, I felt like she might have written A to Z Murders! Of course I have read and studied all the books of Agatha Christie. I would say - in front of Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and other masterpieces, ABC murders may be found a bit slow, but nevertheless it matches the height of mystery and narrative of the masterpieces.