Hercule Poirot: The Big Four, The Mystery of the Blue Train

Hello everyone! Welcome, or welcome back to my blog. Today, I am back with another couple of Hercule Poirot reviews: The Big Four, and The Mystery of the Blue train. I hope you like the previous reviews I had posted on the same series. These are the books number five, and six. Also, please check out my other posts if you haven’t already. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

The Big Four

Hercule Poirot is back in The Big Four. This novel is an attempt by Agatha Christie to – for once – elevate Hercule to the level of an international agent. Most of his stories revolve around the murders of normal people. But in this one, its Big, its Bad, and its Bold. This is the time when Hercule Poirot tackled criminals who were more than mere murderers, and whose very existence posed a threat to humanity.

Hercule Poirot and his friend Captain Hastings were sitting in their rooms when an uninvited, and certainly unexpected guest arrived. A man was standing, framed in the doorway, swaying from side to side, covered from head to foot in dust. Then, he fell. They initially thought that he just another tramp, and hurried to call a doctor, but then they saw that he held in his hand a piece of paper, in which the number four was scribbled all over again.

When their friend, inspector Japp came over, he identified the person as a secret service agent, who had reportedly gone missing a few months ago. Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings suddenly find themselves in the middle of an international problem, which is controlled by four different people, leading extremely different lives, but with one aim – world domination. They are the Big Four.

This book is very interesting and provides a welcome change from the somewhat usual settings of most of his novels. It does move at a quick pace, but not too fast. The writing style also is unchanged from the other Hercule Poirot books. But the one thing that is sure to interest you in this book, is the appearance of Poirot’s twin.

The Mystery of the Blue Train

The Mystery of the Blue Train is one of the typical Hercule Poirot novels. A murder, theft, and Poirot’s final apprehension of the criminal. The settings and story, nevertheless are different, and the book is worth a read, but it is okay if you go without it.

The book contains drugs, a murder, a dubious Count, and rubies. A luxurious train by the name of Blue Trai, arrives at the station at Nice. A train guard attempts to wake one of the passengers – Ruth Kettering. But, as usual, Ruth Kettering will never wake up; because she is dead. She was very young and in perfect health. Plus, suicide victims do not bash their heads in, till their faces are disfigured beyond recognition. Moreover, her collection of precious rubies are missing.

Hercule Poirot is on board, and is, inevitably, called in to assist the police in their investigations. People say that Ruth’s estranged husband, Derek, might have done this. Poirot is not convinced, and presently, to add to the confusion, there is another suspect added to the list. He is a certain Count, of redoubtable origins, who is supposed to be Ruth’s forbidden lover. In the midst of all this confusion, Hercule Poirot refuses to do anything except follow his usual methods. He wants to re-enact the whole thing, with the murderer on the train.

In this mix of theft, murder, and uncertain motives, there is the signature twist of Agatha Christie’s. The person who is the real criminal is someone completely different from what she had led you to believe. Despite all of this, though, the book is interesting in itself, except for being a little descriptive. For a first-time reader, I would not recommend. But for someone who is already a Hercule Poirot fan, this is a good read.

Outro:

So, that’s it for today, guys. I hope all of you liked the review. If yes, then that’s great! If you didn’t, then still stay tuned; who knows?, you might like the next post I post. I would recommend you to please check out my other posts, if you haven’t already. Please like, and subscribe to my blog. It’s fun, and it’s free. And most importantly, stay home, and stay safe.