Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot #8) by Agatha Christie
5 of 5 stars
Book Summary:
Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckly. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo.
Poirot has taken a particular interest in the young woman who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.
Poirot has taken a particular interest in the young woman who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.
Book Review:
One of the best! It’s no secret that I am a fan of Agatha Christie, but still, in my opinion, this is one of her best books by far! I enjoyed this one completely and I can’t discuss much without it being a spoiler.
And I wouldn’t like to spoil it.
The protagonist and ensemble cast is well sketched out, and Christie is the master of creating characters and their personalities. This book was one of the greatest examples of it. As an added benefit, it has a few small mysteries scattered amidst the one big mystery, which made me feel like I was getting an even better story!
It featured Poirot as well as Hastings and I utterly enjoyed each and every page of this beautiful book.
I’m sick and lying in bed, and time just seemed to fly past when I was reading this book. Side note, but these books are like comfort food when I am sick. They help pass the time and make me feel so much better.
The peripheral characters also had fairly important parts to play, and for once, I figured out bits and pieces of the mystery before I read it.
Now, I know that people are equal parts proud and disappointed when they figure out the mystery before the author reveals it. Proud that they managed to do so, and disappointed that the author didn’t make it difficult enough for it to be a surprise.
Well, for me, this book gave me a happy medium and a solution to the above subject that has nagged at me for a while. I figured out enough to be glad I did, but not enough that Poirot’s declaration finale was meaningless to me. I knew just enough to be happy with the proceedings. So I’ve figured that out about mystery books in general. It holds true for me, at least. It may hold true for you as well.
This gets a full five stars from me.