Friday, January 22, 2010

The Hollow

Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
First Published: 1946

The last time I read an Agatha Christie book was probably 5 years ago, on my honeymoon. I was on a cruise with my husband from Singapore to Phuket, and I suddenly developed a severe eye infection. I had a swollen eyelid and my eyeball was red and teary. The discomfort was enough to kill any romantic mood I was feeling, so instead of attending the gala dinners and lively shows, my husband and I decided to visit the ship’s library and spend the nights reading on our suite’s balcony. That’s when I picked up my last Agatha Christie book.

I’ve always loved Christie’s novels and my favourite hero is none other than Hercule Poirot – the little Belgian detective with a touch of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). The Hollow is a Poirot book but unlike most of the books under the Poirot Series, this one doesn’t feature Poirot as much as the others do.

The Hollow is an estate located on the outskirts of London, managed and owned by Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell. As the Angkatells host their weekend family gathering at The Hollow, an unexpected event occurs – a guest is shot dead. Whilst Poirot and the Police struggle to find the killer, they find themselves entangled in a web of family secrets.

As mentioned, there was very little Poirot being featured. A lot of the book was focused on the main suspects, which is a refreshing perspective compared to other Poirot books that tend to circle around the Belgian detective’s thoughts. Here, Christie gives readers a chance to self-evaluate the minds of each character in detail, sort of like a psycho-analysis if you like. The little bit that bugged me though was that I managed to guess who the killer was slightly more than half-way through the book. Nevertheless, the surreptitious but wonky characters and Christie’s writing flair will keep you flipping through the pages at super-fast speed. I'd say not one of the best Christie books around, but still worth a read.

6 comments:

Ryan said...

I have heard a lot of good things about this book, I'm reading them in order so I think it's a while before I get to this one but I will let you know what I think once I do read it.

Kerrie said...

You might like to submit this review to the Agatha Christie Blog Carnival. see here for details

Anonymous said...

I have the complete collection of Hercule Poirot :)
Read Miss Marple - not bad as well
Fav author Agatha Christie is too!

vvb32 reads said...

poirot will be new to me when i read about his investigations for the marples poiroit holmes challenge. good to know that this story does star him as much. so i'll go for another one as a first reading.

Lina Shaik said...

Ryan: Good Luck. Hope you get to it soon.
Kerrie: Thanks. Will definitely check it out.
Anonymous: Wow. I only have about 7 Poirot novels. The rest I read were borrowed!
vvb32: Have fun getting to know the little Belgian detective. I know I certainly did.

Tales of Whimsy said...

Can you believe I love mysteries and have yet to try AC?
Crazy right?

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