The third book in our week-long jaunt through books released on 20th August is the latest Hercule Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah.
I’m an avid Agatha Christie fan, but this is the first of the ‘new’ Poirot books that I’ve read by Sophie Hannah. The idea in principle is sound – take one of the world’s most famous fictional detectives and drop him into a new mystery that bears all the hallmarks of Christie’s own fiendish plots. What’s not to like?!
In this book, Poirot is accompanied by Inspector Catchpool, a slightly tamer substitute for the charming Hastings in the originals. Catchpool becomes our narrator for the book and – it s fair to say – is several steps behind Poirot and his ‘little grey cells’. As the reader follows Catchpool’s narration, we sometimes stay in the dark and occasionally make connections that he doesn’t.
The duo are travelling via motorcoach to Kingfisher Hill, an exclusive gated development where the Devonport family live. One of the Devonport sons has died, a woman has confessed and faced the gallows, but will the correct killer be brought to justice?
Alongside this plot, a nervy woman on the coach catches the police detective’s eye with her pronouncement that she will die if she chooses a certain seat and he is left trying to piece together the true stories behind the lies.
I wanted to love this and it did draw me along- there are lots of red herrings and shady characters in the spirit of the original books. However, I was slightly disappointed in the denouement and thought it lacked the spark that Christie’s books have.
Overall, I enjoyed this book as a light read even when I wasn’t always convinced by the plot development. It would love to read more in the series as it was lovely to return to Poirot, a firm favourite for me.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
If you would like to pre-order this book (out Thursday!) then the link is below. It is an affiliate link, so I may earn commission at no extra cost to you.
Photo by Shopify Partners from Burst
