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But she developed her talent,
her wit, her plots, and Poirot himself, into a series novels and stories beloved
the world over.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
created a furor and divided enthusiasts of the detective story into two distinct
camps -- those who cry "Unfair!" versus those who contend that the reader is at
fault for failing to discern who the murderer is. After all, one is supposed to
suspect everybody. (No, I won't give any spoilers here. If you haven't
read it yet I don't want to take away from your pleasure and delight at
discovering it.) The funny thing is, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was not the first time
Ms. Christie's trick was performed. In "Thou Art the Man," Edgar Allan Poe
introduced the trick. Christie herself used it in a previous novel, but it
escaped the notice of the reading public. When she tried it again, in The
Murder of Roger Ackroyd, readers reacted strongly and a heated debate was
on. But Agatha Christie didn't stop there. Her list of Hercule Poirot books has
become a treasure trove of classics. In
Murder on the Orient Express,
she created another puzzler in the grand tradition which is a must-read.
The Mystery of the Blue Train,Murder in Mesopotamia,
Death on the Nile and
other books listed below are indispensable. Ms. Christie introduced new tricks
to fool aficionados as she quickly ascended to mastery of her craft. Perhaps the
biggest mystery is how she was able to consistently take us all in. Hercule Poirot is known for using what he calls his
"little gray cells" and for his order and method. He is incomparably
fussy about his appearance. And he is extremely confident and
competent in his deductions. On occasions he has warned someone ahead of
time not to follow through with a plan or scheme or relationship. Although we
have seen all that he has seen up to that moment, what is obvious to him becomes
merely foreshadowing for us. We know that something is amiss because of his
response, and that something significant is bound to happen. But we haven't a
clue until subsequent developments reveal to us what Poirot has known all along. Agatha Christie's Poirot books are a great place to introduce oneself to her
detective fiction. Fanatics have been known to become so absorbed in reading her
that they have ignored other detectives until they have read everything of hers
they can get their hands on.
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(1920)
