Why a Booktrail?
A perfect introduction to Agatha Christie – four of the best Hercule Poirot stories, chosen for their readability and sense of adventure.
The Double Clue (Quick Reads)
What you need to know before your trail
A man is found shot through the head in a locked room. A wealthy banker vanishes while posting a letter. A thief disappears with a haul of rubies and emeralds. And, in the golden sands of Egypt, the men who discovered an ancient tomb are dying one by one . . .
The Double Clue’, ‘The Market Basing Mystery’, ‘The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim’ and ‘The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb’.
Travel Guide
If any one is to give you a good introduction to Agatha, then John Curran, the man who wrote her secret notebooks, and Sophie Hannah who wrote the most modern Poirot adventure The Monogram Murders set in a hotel.
The Double Clue is set in the house of a jewel collector. It’s not so much the setting but the language that offers the greatest clues here to solving the mystery. Russian grammar to be precise.
‘The Market Basing Mystery’ takes place in a locked room and sadly in a fictional town although Market Basing is thought to be somewhere in Basingstoke. Leigh House as the mysterious mansion rambing and dilapadated is a great place for Poirot to be. It’s the biggest and most impressive house in the village and certainly not the place for crime. But as Poirot himself points out : ‘Le crime, il est partout’ – crime can happen anywhere.
‘The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim’ puzzles Poirot but he bets his friend Japp that he can solve the mysterious disappearance of a banker, who apparently nipped out to post some letters. He’d earlier boarded a train from Victoria to fictional Chingside where his palatial home The Cedars is situated. He was due to have an appointment in the house but stepped out before he came, and disappears without a trace. This leads you to wonder where on earth he could have gone – and there’s plenty of red herrings in that nearby river!
The more exotic setting of course can be found in ‘The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb’ when an ancient Egyptian curse is murdering anyone who disturbed the tomb of Pharaoh Men-her-Ra. The tomb of Tutankhamun and the subsequent rumours that those who had been on the discovery had died as the tomb was cursed. Agatha Christie takes this idea and explores it evoking the sand, heat and excitement of the time and making each word lead you to wonder just what did go on during that time.
To spend even five minutes with the man with the moustache and the egg shaped head is a treat and this is the ideal place to meet him.
Booktrailer Review
Susan @thebooktrailer
A very clever and compact collection of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. Four very different cases with very clever plots and where every word counts. I like the mix of characters and mysteries and the choice of the locations! There’s always something about hotel and locked room mysteries ( see the cuppa and cake interview with Sophie Hannah – she thinks the same!) and this book mixed a few of these with the mysteries of the Egyptian tombs. I am actually more familiar with Miss Marple myself so I liked this as a nice refresher course. Definately one for the Christie Collection!
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