In "Five Little Pigs," Hercule Poirot is tasked with solving a 16-year-old murder case by the daughter of the convicted woman. Poirot gathers the remaining suspects to recount their versions of events leading up to the crime, creating a Rashomon-style narrative. Through interviews and written accounts, Poirot unravels the truth behind the murder, showcasing Agatha Christie's signature clear and simple prose, as well as her talent for laying clues throughout the story.
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From The Publisher:
Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, but just like the nursery rhyme, there were five other "little pigs" who could have done it: Philip Blake (the stockbroker), who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist), who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcée), who had her roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess), who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister), who cried all the way home.
Sixteen years later, Caroline's daughter is determined to prove her mother's innocence, and Poirot just can't get that nursery rhyme out of his mind.
Ratings (21)
Incredible (8) | |
Loved It (8) | |
Liked It (2) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Did Not Like (2) |
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4 comment(s)
Just finished listening to this and, already, I want to reexperience it!
Unexpectedly, I enjoyed myself so much in thinking about these characters, their dynamic and the mystery (in part because I was preoccupied both by the actual story and my own potential film adaptation of it; there is something about this setting and the people presented herein which fills me with the desire to play paper dolls and add a million little moments of my own invention to this narrative)
This couldn't have come at a better time to cheer me up <3
(Also, I cannot be held responsible for the weird way I interact with this story – it's the brain worms)
First Read in 2015
5 ***
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Second Read in 2021
5 ***
RTC
Carla Lemarchant said: 'Oh! of course it's going to be difficult! Nobody but you could do it!'
Hercule Poirot's eyes twinkled slightly. He said: 'You give me the best butter - hein?'
Christie, Agatha. Five Little Pigs (Poirot) (Hercule Poirot Series Book 24) (p. 8). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Carla Lemarchant is stunned when she is told the truth of her parents - that her mother killed her father and then died a year after her trial. But her mother wrote her a letter professing her innocence and her mother wasn't the type of person who lied - not even to spare someone's feelings. So there's only one thing to do - hire the best detective in the world and let him get to the truth of a sixteen year old crime.
This was an amusing premise. Poirot is given a cold case where the murderer has supposedly already been found, tried and convicted and then has to find the truth - with only the testimonies of the witnesses. I mean sure, it's what he usually does to some degree but I was amused by it nonetheless. I guessed some parts and missed others.
I figured that the mother, Caroline was protecting the sister, Angela. I didn't think she'd actually tampered with the drink but thought Caroline thought she had. I didn't remotely guess that Elsa Greer (the lover) was actually the one who killed him. I picked Phillip Blake (the best friend) murdering him out of jealousy.
I was amused by the dead man, Amyas Crale, saying that his wife and his lover (who he'd brought into the same house) both had to "lump it". I mean there's artistic temperament and there's sheer dumb stupidity. I'm honestly surprised after hearing the evidence a jury convicted the wife at all. Elsa Greer boldly stating that when she lives in the house she'll have to redecorate - to his wife! I doubt there'd be many who wouldn't think he deserved everything he got. I was highly entertained by the witnesses commentary on it.
As much as I liked the concept of solving a cold case crime, I didn't really like having to read the different accounts from each person. I prefer it when the case is revealed through questions, interrogations and progressively. It makes me feel slightly less hopeless about my crime solving abilities. Reading it altogether just made it clear I'm not meant to be a detective.
But yet again another fun mystery from the Queen of Crime. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 stars.
This is definitely not the best book from Agatha Christie but it is still an excellent read. And I have read some much worse from The Queen.
The thing is that this story is a bit predictable, there are many things important for the story that I weren't surprise to me.
Like, for example, that the marriage of Amyas and Caroline was, in fact, very successful and that Amyas was not planning a divorce and leaving his wife. And hence the simple path to further conclusions that did not deviate from the truth. Although I have to admit that initially I suspected that the murderess is Caroline's half-sister Angela, in accordance with the solution proposed by Hercules Poirot himself. But then I became more and more convinced that Amyas was not going to leave his wife to be with Elsa. Which gives Elsa a perfect motive.
So the final solution did not surprise me at all and the murderer turns out to be the person I suspected most of the time.
Still, this is a very enjoyable read, totally worth reading.
What can you read after
Five Little Pigs?
About the Author:
Agatha Christie, the acknowledged 'Queen of Crime' (The Observer) was born in Torquay in 1890. During the First World War she worked as a hospital dispenser, and it was here that she gleaned the working knowledge of various poisons that was to prove so useful in her detective stories. Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Hercule Poirot to the world. This was published in 1920 (although in fact she had written it during the war) and was followed over the next six years by four more detective novels and a short story collection. However, it was not until the publication of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd that Agatha Christie's reputation was firmly established. This novel, with its complex plot and genuinely shocking conclusion, attracted considerable public attention and has since been acknowledged by many experts as a masterpiece. In 1930 the sharp-witted spinster sleuth Miss Marple made her first appearance in The Murder at the Vicarage. In all, Agatha Christie published over 80 novels and short story collections. The brilliance of Christie's plots, and her enduring appeal, have led to several dramatisations of her work on radio, television and film. In 1930 she was one of a number of crime writers asked to contribute a chapter to a mystery, Behind the Screen, that was broadcast on BBC radio on 21st June that year. More recently, June Whitfield portrayed Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4, whilst John Moffat starred as Hercule Poirot. On screen, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie have all memorably played Agatha Christie's famous sleuths. As her play The Mousetrap (the longest-running play in the history of theatre) testifies, Agatha Christie's detective stories are likely to appeal for a long time to come. Agatha Christie was awarded a CBE in 1956 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. She died in 1976.
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