Book #69 The A.B.C. Murders

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read The A.B.C. Murders back in the 70s. Last week I watched the BBC TV adaptation starring John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot - Poirot, but not as you know him! I had to read the book again just to confirm what a travesty the BBC airing was! The book for the most part is narrated by Poirot's old friend Captain Arthur Hastings, O.B.E. who has returned in June 1935 from his ranch in South America to see to various affairs at home. He looks up his old friend who is now retired but still practiced his profession on occasion. The BBC for reasons best known to themselves completely omit Hastings from the cast list! DCI Japp figures prominently in Poirot's previous investigations and he plays his usual rôle in the book - BBC have him retired and bump him off with a heart attack in the first scene... And Malkovich? Well - he is not David Suchet!

Despite all of this, reading the book again so soon after the TV show was very rewarding. It did not spoil my enjoyment in the slightest. I won't go into the details of the plot as I am sure most of you will be familiar with it. The book really is Agatha Christie at her best. And those little grey cells? Don't get a mention on the BBC!





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