Category : Classic-Fiction
Genre : Mystery
No. of Pages : 226 Pages
Format : Paperback
Publishers : HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date : January 27, 1927
ISBN : 9780008164904
Read Date : December 21, 2019
Rating : 3.5/5 ⭐
“If one man does not make a move, the other must, and by permitting the adversary to make the attack one learns something about him.”
Hercule Poirot, who is just about to leave for South America in order to solve a mystery is surprised by Hastings visit who desires to stay back. But there is a bigger surprise awaiting the both when they discover a man in one of the rooms in Poirot’s residence, who stares at them for a moment and then falls.
When brought back to consciousness he keeps scribbling the number “4” in all sizes. Then, he begins to describe four people – number one a China Man as the brains, number two an American who is represented by the dollar sign, number three a Frenchwoman and number four the destroyer, after which he is murdered.
What follows is Poirot’s mission and attempts to track down these people. Each of his attempts leading to one murder after another, till he accepts the fact that he is dealing with really big and powerful people who possibly have agents everywhere around the world. Surrounded by such agents, falling into traps and living in constant danger of life, Poirot is obsessed with “The Big Four”.
Is killing Poirot the only aim of The Big Four or do they have bigger plans for taking over the world? How many times is Poirot going to escape from their traps?
Narrated by Captain Hastings, this book has the mystery of “The Big Four” going on, while there are many more murders happening around, motives and methods of which need to be resolved by Poirot.
The language is easy to read and understand with a few French words and phrases here and there. The character building of all the four people involved is done wonderfully giving full details, especially that of “the destroyer”. But, there are way too many characters being introduced, as the plot develops. (Too many characters in a book is a turn off for me). I felt the story got a bit draggy once all the four people were known. I would have loved a little more background as to the reason of the syndicate being formed or how they managed to form it. (But that’s me.)
For me, this book wasn’t quite the page turner I’m used to while reading Christie’s books. I did enjoy my read though.
Recommendation – To Christie fans, absolute Yes. For people who enjoy reading stories of international crime/mafia and espionage you will definitely like reading this book.
Fun Fact : This book is a compilation of 12 short stories separately published.
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