From seat No. 9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers. Over to his right, a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No. 13, sat a Countess with a poorly-concealed concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No. 8, a detective writer was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.
What Poirot did not yet realise was that behind him, in seat No.2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman
I am a massive fan of Agatha Christie. I am currently taking part in a Read Christie Challenge organised by the Official Agatha Christie website and this was the October pick. I had read this book before, however I read so many Agatha Christie books and other murder mysteries that I never remember the twist so this was just as enjoyable the second time. I gave this book 5 stars and I feel justified in this. I loved it so much and am not looking forward to ranking my favourite Christie reads of the year as they’ve all been such gems!
Poirot is on a fairly routine flight from Paris to London and is trying to sleep because he does not enjoy flying. Poirot on a plane was hilarious and I enjoyed this element of humour in the book. During the flight, the flight attendant notices that a death has taken place. Nobody on the plane was expecting Poirot to have been present on the plane and he was poised and ready to start his investigation.
This book had quite a few characters but it was easy to remember who was who because they were all pretty different. Each suspect had enough character building to make for a really interesting story.
This book took place in both Paris and London (and the airspace between) so we got Inspector Japp and the Parisian police. I really enjoyed the investigation taking part in two locations, it added to the excitement of the book! Also, in these current times, I’m not travelling anywhere so a book with a plan journey and jaunt to Paris was just what I needed.
I did not see any of the twists coming, I never do. They were so well written that once they were announced I felt so silly for not noticing the super subtle nods that had been hidden among the red herrings.
I will forever recommend any and all Agatha Christie books to anyone who is looking for a murder mystery! I will be doing a wrap up at the end of the year of my favourite Agatha Christie reads of 2021 and this is a contender for a podium position…but that is going to require a lot of thought and consideration and maybe a chart
Kapowski Reads 