Add your review
Avg. Rating: 4
DEAD MAN'S FOLLY (DODD, MEAD & COMPANY, INC./1956)
REVIEW: Ariadne Oliver (Dame Agatha's own satiric parody of herself in print) has been invited to construct a "murder hunt" game to be played by the guests at a fete (or local fair, if you prefer) which is being held at Nasse House: a gorgeous estate in Devon, England. Unfortunately, she has a premonition that something awful is going to happen, and begs her friend Hercule Poirot to come to Nasse House at once. Although at first reluctant: Poirot does agree to come, and soon the pair are embroiled in a real-life mystery involving a possible kidnapping and multiple murder. The finale of this complicated little puzzle is well up to the Christie standard, but (like "HICKORY, DICKORY, DOCK") the solution is too abruptly given and one or two key bits of information is kept secret from the reader until after Poirot has announced the killer's identity. And even though the scene of the novel is based upon Agatha's own fondness for Greenway House (the country estate she would later come to own): the various subplots feel tacked on, and the richness of the minor characters and suspects are sadly lacking in any charm or depth. As a result of the botched writing job: "DEAD MAN'S FOLLY" ends up on the list of "so-so" books within the Christie canon even though it had the potential to be a really good, first-class thriller. However, there is one striking feature that I must point out: the character of Mrs. Folliat (the former owner of Nasse House). She is without question one of Christie's finest creations, and a personality who seems to understand the truth behind the murders yet is hesitant to tell Poirot what all she knows. Every scene she's in is unforgettable. HARSH LANGUAGE: about 18 words. VIOLENCE: about 3 scenes. SEXUAL REFERENCES; a couple of discreet references to rape and sex crimes.
Vintage Poirot
Discovering an Agatha Christie mystery you've never read is like discovering gold. And Dead Man's Folly is Hercule Poirot at his best. Even near the end of the book, you wonder if he is actually going to be able to solve this one.
Good friend and mystery writer, Ariadne Oliver, unexpectedly calls Poirot and imperiously demands the little detectives' presence at a village fete in Devon, where a Mystery Hunt is about to take place. She worries that it won't just be a fake murder. Intrigued, our hero immediately takes the train to the village of Nassecombe to try to put a stop to whatever is afoot. Mrs. Oliver turns out to be correct in her assumptions and Hercule is terribly perturbed that he wasn't able to prevent it. As usual there are lots of red herrings and a totally convoluted solution. An excellent read.
WILL SOMEONE LET THE WOMAN SPEAK?
What "improvements" have been made for the Berkley edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further differences still in the Signet, Bantam, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.
Hercule Poirot performs a miracle . . .
and solves this crime in the last few pages of the book, with little to go on and less proof than usual that what he says is right. Agatha doesn't let us see the wheels working in this book, as she usually does, which is disappointing. The solution suddenly came about in a big rush after many chapters spent dithering around with a story. Granted, it's an interesting story -- but in the end, I was left wanting more.
I just love Mrs. Oliver
I started reading this story but lost interest part way through. when I finished it, it was by listening to David Suchet's excellent reading on an audio book. One of the chief attractions for me in this book is the wonderfully random Mrs. Oliver. She just cracks me up with her hairdos and outfits and idiotic comments. Of course the story is great, Christie at her best...I didn't guess the murderer, but I like to be surprised.
Review this book
|
