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Book Reviews of The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders)

The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders)
The ABC Murders - Hercule Poirot, Bk 12 - aka The Alphabet Murders
Author: Agatha Christie
ISBN-13: 9780002237765
ISBN-10: 0002237768
Publication Date: 8/31/1990
Pages: 256
Edition: Centenary Ed
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1

3.5 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

22 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Classic Christie..read many many years ago in jr. high so cannot recall the details but good mystery...
cheesygiraffe avatar reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I liked it I wish I had figured out for sure who the murderer really was. I had my suspicions but wasn't defininate about them. Different murder mystery for Poriot to solve but of course he did.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 254 more book reviews
As usual, Christie presents a fascinating puzzle, where the obvious answer isn't, but the obvious clue which tells you it isn't isn't recognized as such. I don't like the narrator--I prefer Poirot stories without his dear friend and chronicler partially because I prefer 3rd person and partially because I am not fond of this narrator's side comments. The narrator wasn't too intrusive in this book, though, and the mystery was quite enjoyable overall.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 5 more book reviews
Great read by a great author. Loved the explanation of how Poirot's thoughts helped him to discover who the murderer was.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on
This is Christie at her best; many critics have put the ABC Murders in the top 10 of her books. Entertaining characters with the typical twists and turns of an Agatha Christie novel.
littlepine avatar reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 169 more book reviews
The ABC Murders proves to be the Belgian sleuth's most challenging case with Poirot trying to decipher each cryptic message and getting one step ahead of this clever and ruthless killer. I have always enjoy Agatha Christie's novels and this one is not excluded. I found it to be highly interesting with a lot of sleight of hand and subterfuge involve. I would recommend it for anyone interested in reading a story from the Queen of Crime..Agatha Christie.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 18 more book reviews
Fans of Hercule Pirot will not be disapointed
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 55 more book reviews
Entertaining. One of the best old style mysteries by Agatha Christie!
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 183 more book reviews
enjoyed this one
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 359 more book reviews
As always, Christie is a joy and Poirot is a riot!
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 109 more book reviews
Alice Ascher from Andover is the first victim. Next to her corpse is a spellbinding clue. It seems that a killer is knocking off his victims one-by-one, A through Z. Alphabetically speaking, Hercule Poirot fears that it's a matter of one down, twenty-five to go.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 174 more book reviews
I thought I'd figured it out but, by golly, I hadn't. This was my first Agatha Christie book. There will be more.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 52 more book reviews
Classic Christie...one of my favorite Poirot books.
bamboochik avatar reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 54 more book reviews
All Christie books are "cozy reads" and never fail to please.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 61 more book reviews
A is for Mrs. Ascher - fatally attacked in Andover. B is for Betty Barnard - strangled on the beach in Bexhill. C is for Sir Carmichael Clarke - now a corpse in Churston... If nothing else, the murderer knew his ABC's. But the alphabetical assassin would need to know more than that to outwit the world's cleverest detective - Hercule Poirot!
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 3352 more book reviews
Classic mystery from one of the best of mystery writers, Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot accepts the challenge of an anonymous letter and is immediately plunged into a murder only his little gray cells can solve.
AimeeM avatar reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 124 more book reviews
Classic! I love Agatha Christie.
This is a GREAT Hercule Poirot
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 471 more book reviews
A was for Ascher. B was for Barnard. Hercule Poirot was forewarned. But it didn't seem to matter. The letters of warning were signed "A.B.C." And Poirot's homicidal pen pal seemed well on his way to completing the alphabet with 24 more murders. The very best Agatha Christie has done.
ATraveler avatar reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 193 more book reviews
This is the first Agatha Christie I have read . . . I am a murder mystery fan but have never picked her books up before. This one was out of the H Poirot series; the first mystery since he has retired. I enjoyed it and even though I was tuned into looking for the who-dun-it I was surprised at the revelation of the murder. So newbees to murder mysteries -- this is a good book and I suspect I will enjoy other Agatha Christie novels now that I have 'tested the waters'
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 194 more book reviews
A was for Ascher. B for Barnard. Hercule Poirot was forewarned. But if didn't seem to matter. The letters of warming were signed "ABC" And Poirot's homicidal pen pal seemed well on his way to completeing the alphabet with 24 more murders..
PhoenixFalls avatar reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 185 more book reviews
One of Christie's most well-known Poirot mysteries, and deservedly so. It features a very clever solution and a surprisingly large number of clues make it a more than fair challenge for the reader. Unfortunately, it is such a clever solution that numerous television shows have used it since its publication, giving the reader a somewhat unfair advantage over Ms. Christie. Still, I didn't guess the first time through, and it was a fun ride even on re-reading. A deserved classic.
reviewed The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot, Bk 12) (aka The Alphabet Murders) on + 100 more book reviews
A review from Amazon.com:
Captain Aruthur Hastings has returned to England from his ranch in the Argentine to tie up some affairs. One of his first stops is to see his dearest friend Hercule Poirot. The timing is perfect, as Poirot has been presented with one of his most unusual cases, a supreme exercise for the little grey cells.

Apparently, a homicidial maniac is terrorizing England as he taunts Poirot with advance notice of the time and place of his next murder. Because the victims and towns they live in occur in alphabetical order (Mrs. Ascher is killed in Andover, Miss Barnard in Bexhill, Mr. Clarke in Churston, etc.) and because the killer leaves an ABC Railway Guide at each murder scene, the case becomes known as the the ABC murders.

The set-up of this novel deviates from the normal Christie in that while Captain Hastings narrates the story as it has occurred, the reader is also privvy to the comings and goings of the rather strange Mr. Alexander Bonaparte Cust (notice the initials).

The humor is rampant as Poirot and Hastings chide each other over Poirot's dyed hair, Hastings uncanny ability to see the obvious without realizing it, and the unabashed appreciation both men have for a beautiful woman. And even in the midst of murder and mayhem, Poirot has time to do a little matchmaking on the side.

A box of hosiery, a dying woman's grasp of facts,a private murder concealed in a string of unrelated murders, and a meeting with the accused all climax in one of Poirot's most clever deductions as he solves this one and proclaims to his friend Hastings, "Vive le sport."