The Hollow (Hercule Poirot, #26) in Appointment With Agatha

Jun 07, 2016 BrokenTune rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed

"Since she was a woman of disconcertingly rapid thought processes, Lady Angkatell, as was her invariable custom, commenced the conversation in her own mind, supplying Midge鈥檚 answers out of her own fertile imagination. The conversation was in full swing when Lady Angkatell flung open Midge鈥檚 door.
鈥樷€揂nd so, darling, you really must agree that the weekend is going to present difficulties!鈥� 鈥楨h? Hwah!鈥� Midge grunted inarticulately, aroused thus abruptly from a satisfying and deep sleep."

A house par "Since she was a woman of disconcertingly rapid thought processes, Lady Angkatell, as was her invariable custom, commenced the conversation in her own mind, supplying Midge鈥檚 answers out of her own fertile imagination. The conversation was in full swing when Lady Angkatell flung open Midge鈥檚 door.
鈥樷€揂nd so, darling, you really must agree that the weekend is going to present difficulties!鈥� 鈥楨h? Hwah!鈥� Midge grunted inarticulately, aroused thus abruptly from a satisfying and deep sleep."

A house party in the country, where each guest struggles with some internal conflict. The plot is pretty standard for a Christie novel, and so it the resolution. What really drew me to the book, tho, was it's focus on the characters. Not all of the characters are likable, some are down-right horrible, but what I really liked was that many of them are either transformed by the events of the book or undergo some serious soul searching.

The weakest part of the book was the ending. Although, it makes for a convenient conclusion, this is one of the Christie books where I felt she could have strayed from the path of formula and presented something more - not controversial, but - challenging as she had done in some of her other books - Endless Night for example.

Despite the weak(-ish) ending, I immensely enjoyed the book. I think this is the one that made me constantly think about why I prefer Poirot to Marple (even Poirot is almost a nuisance in this one). I believe the reason I am drawn to Poirot instead of Marple is their difference in outlook - where Marple seems a grounded old lady without many quirks, I have always found her to be a bit of a judgmental snob who seeks out the worst in people - and the gloats when her expectations are confirmed.

Poirot on the other hand gives the appearance of an eccentric but for all his quirks, he still manages to express his faith in and hopes for many of the characters he encounters. I really noticed this in his observations about Lady Angkatell, the most beautiful of which was:

"Hercule Poirot thought: 鈥楽he is old鈥揾er hair is grey鈥搕here are lines in her face. Yet she has magic鈥搒he will always have magic鈥︹€� " ...more

61 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2023 Teresa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, agatha-christie

I LOVED this one! Even though it's a Poiret novel he's not really the main character. This book is more about the characterisation rather than the actual murder and the characters are depicted perfectly. I saw the tv adaptation but in this case the book is better. The murder is cleverly done.
It all takes place at a country house owned by the Angkatells. A weekend party arrives with tensions in the air. Everywhere you look someone is hiding something.
I loved Lucy Angkatell. She's away with the ...more

35 likes · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2023 Wanda Pedersen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, female-authors, read-in-2023, public-library, mysteries-thrillers, brit-lit

My library only had the audiobook of this title, so I had my first experience of listening to an Agatha Christie novel. I really enjoyed Hugh Fraser's narration. He speaks quickly enough that I was able to listen at normal speed (unlike some narrators who read incredibly slowly). I do wonder how long I shall remember the details, but I thoroughly appreciated the experience.

Christie does her magic once again, giving us a striking assortment of characters to contend with. For the first third of th ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2019 Christine PNW rated it really liked it

Shelves: halloween-bingo-2019

2019:

Not one of the strongest entries.

2023:

WTF was 2019 me thinking? This mystery was OUTSTANDING!

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2023 Jazzy Lemon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: english-authors, classics

BANG! Another brilliant tale from the pen of Agatha Christie.

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2023 Debbie Maskus rated it liked it

Reading Agatha Christie always brings pleasure. The Hollow follows Christie鈥檚 formula for a fun mystery with the range of suspects and Hercule Poirot utilizing his gray cells. The end result provided much discussion concerning all the red herrings. This story follows the murder of Dr. John Christow. His wife, Gerda, stands in front of the dead John, holding a gun. Hercule Poirot had been walking to the neighbor鈥檚 house and heard the shot and arrived minutes after the incident. But all does not f ...more

Like · see review

Oct 10, 2023 Maggie rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, mystery, agatha-christie, british

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. While I read through Agatha Christie's novels with the Appointments with Agatha group, I'm putting a templated synopsis of each novel in my review. It has spoilers!

Book: 36 of Christie's novels, 24 of Hercule Poirot novels
Setting: The Hollow, an English country house
Detective and Companions: Hercule Poirot, Inspector Grange
Crime: John Christow is found dead at a swimming pool, with his wife Gerda holding a revolver. But it turns out that that revolver was not the weapon that killed John.
Suspect ...more

Like · see review

Dec 09, 2022 Roseli Gomes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: agatha-christie, desafio-2022

Caros leitores!

Um dos melhores livros de Agatha Christie (t谩, eu sempre digo isso de um ou outro), mas esse 茅 intrincado, 茅 f谩cil de descobrir o culpado e 茅 UM LIVRO DE DETETIVE cl谩ssico dos cl谩ssicos.

Esse livro 茅 uma releitura e consegui lembrar quem era o culpado, diferente da resenha que anexei.

A Lucy 茅 meio cansativa, mas no final, ela faz parte de todo a hist贸ria e faz o enredo se fechar... mesmo queimando v谩rias chaleiras...

Segue uma resenha super bem feita e sugiro irem ao site, pois a le ...more

Like · see review