Five Little Pigs, by Agatha Christie

 

The Book

Carla Lemerchant engages Hercule Poirot to investigate the murder of her father, seemingly at the hands of her mother, sixteen years earlier. When Carla was a little girl, her father Amyas Crale was murdered by poison. The police believed it was her mother Caroline. The jury believed them, and Caroline did very little to disabuse the jury of her guilt. But, before she passed away, she wrote a letter to her daughter expressing her innocence. Now Carla believes only the great Hercule Poirot can determine which of the other five suspects might have murdered her father. 

It might have been her father's best friend Peter Blake, or his older brother Meredith. Meredith is the one who distilled the hemlock into coniine, the poison that killer Amyas. Or it might have been Carla's aunt, the then teenaged Angela Warren who disliked Amyas. Or Angela's governess, Cecilia Williams because she strongly disapproved of Amyas' philandering ways. Or was it the insufferable brat who was Amyas' current affair, Elsa Greer, now Lady Dittisham. 

Poirot takes the case, but since Elsa had been a meddlesome beast to Caroline in the days before Amyas' death, Poirot fears it may be likely Caroline did it after all. Leave it to Poirot to figure out the lies, so Carla can move on with her life in peace. 

My Thoughts

This book is considered by many to be the best of the Hercule Poirot books written by Agatha Christie, and for good reason. Poirot has taken on a case where there will be no forensic evidence to be uncovered. It's only time, and lies, and the psychology of the crime. 

Christie has expertly laid out the clues in the narratives of the five suspects, paralleling the Five Little Pigs, and while I think the connection to the children's nursery rhyme is more than a bit stretched here, it's not as poorly done as One Two, Buckle My Shoe or Hickory Dickory Dock. Moreover, there are many, many moving passages where the characters are expertly drawn out. This is a simple story, revolving around an all to common circumstance of love and lust. What does it mean to be married, to love someone, to have to put up with another person's flaws? And, in our heart of hearts, what causes someone to commit an act such as murder? 

And true to Christie's work, there are many clues that could be read more than one way. The astute reader will understand. Christie demands that you read her work closely, carefully; that you remember what happened, and that someone can be telling the truth, but their truth can still be misleading. 

It's an enjoyable, fast read. Well worth it. 

How Much My Library Saved Me

This book was sent to me from Evanston Public Library. It was in fairly good condition, with only minor bends on the corner. Evanston leaves no markings on its books as to when they arrived, so I don't know when this books entered into the collection. I can tell you that this edition is in the Agatha Christie Collection and was printed at some point after the ITV series Poirot was sent to Acorn, because there is an advertisement for it in the back of the book. According to Wikipedia, Acorn TV which distributed DVDs and VHS tapes was relaunched in 2013 as a subscription service. Indeed, the copyright at the bottom of the page says 2012. My guess is that this book was replaced during the pandemic, based on the popularity of Agatha Christie titles and given my look at past books of this quality over the years. The back cover says this book sold for $15.99, so that is the number we will use. 

This Book                                                     $15.99

Items Reviewed This Year                          $442.94

Still Here? 

    I am now a published author. You can pick up a *FREE COPY* of my novella The Big Intersection here.