Poirot Retrospective #4: The ABC Murders

 

Poirot Retrospective #4: The ABC Murders

Even better than the last one, in my opinion. Interestingly, most Christie scholars disagree: this routinely doesn't even make the top 10. Although not as good as The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, I would put this right up there with Orient Express in terms of interesting plot, interesting suspects, interesting conclusion.

I discovered while reading this that I quite enjoyed it when Christie messes with the reader a bit, subverts the expectations of the genre, or even breaks the fourth wall from time to time. In this novel there are layers and layers and layers: four murders appear to be committed by an insane serial killer taunting Poirot. Is that what is happening? Or ... ???

Many, many twists and turns to delight the curious reader; I can't even name them without spoiling things. Some of them are foundational and go to the heart of the novel's structure, which is ingenious. I will say that although I did not guess the murderer correctly in this one, I also wasn't surprised. I knew something was up, just not precisely what. This was a very fine Christie novel.

The best aspect, perhaps, is a double twist ending - first one rug is pulled out from under the reader, then a second rug you didn't even know was there. When Christie executes these twists with panache and grace, there are few more satisfying ways of being fooled.

The premise of this is also rather modern - it predates the serial killer "trend" by 40+ years - and even if the police didn't understand serial murder in the fairly scientific way we currently do, this novel proves they weren't idiots either. Which is rather intriguing; I guess the experience of Jack the Ripper really taught Scotland Yard a few tricks.