Take one dead lothario; add his jealous wife accused of his murder; toss in a devoted daughter who wants to clear her mother's name, and you get on...
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Feb 12, 2008
Cindy
rated it: 
In this story, Poirot gets a chance to do something he's never done before - to solve a mystery without a single clue, simply by talking to the people who were involved.
Sixteen years ago, artist Amyas Crale was poisoned. His wife was arrested and convicted of murder. She wrote a letter to her young daughter saying she was innocent. Now the girl is grown and engaged to be married. But first she wants to know what really happened.
Poirot has little work with. He starts by ta More...
Sixteen years ago, artist Amyas Crale was poisoned. His wife was arrested and convicted of murder. She wrote a letter to her young daughter saying she was innocent. Now the girl is grown and engaged to be married. But first she wants to know what really happened.
Poirot has little work with. He starts by ta More...
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Jan 16, 2012
Robin
rated it: 
3.5 Stars. Not one of my favorite Christie mysteries starring Hercule Poirot, but still really good.
(Note: I gather that some editions were published with the title "Five Little Pigs", but my copy is "Murder in Retrospect", which I think more accurately describes the story.)
Poirot is intrigued to investigate a murder which occurred 16 years previously. Carla Lamarchant knows her mother did not kill her father, though she was tried and convicted of th More...
(Note: I gather that some editions were published with the title "Five Little Pigs", but my copy is "Murder in Retrospect", which I think more accurately describes the story.)
Poirot is intrigued to investigate a murder which occurred 16 years previously. Carla Lamarchant knows her mother did not kill her father, though she was tried and convicted of th More...
Mar 14, 2011
Laurel
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Apr 13, 2010
maricar
rated it: 
A bit sad to read through. It’s as if the luster from Poirot’s ‘glamour’ as a detective has lost its strength.
The premise is a promising one, don’t get me wrong: can one resolve a murder that has been resolutely concluded 16 years ago and, for all intents and purposes, left (almost) everyone with no doubt as to the identity of the killer? Poirot hardly thought twice and set off to show the readers just that.
Murder in retrospect, indeed.
In a way, Christie does prov More...
The premise is a promising one, don’t get me wrong: can one resolve a murder that has been resolutely concluded 16 years ago and, for all intents and purposes, left (almost) everyone with no doubt as to the identity of the killer? Poirot hardly thought twice and set off to show the readers just that.
Murder in retrospect, indeed.
In a way, Christie does prov More...
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May 14, 2011
Rubal
rated it:
More like 3.5
I made a status update halfway through the book remarking that I knew who murdered Amyas and how.
I was so confident that I had cracked the “Agatha Christie” modus operandi .I even consciously picked up bits and pieces from the book to support my theory.
But I don’t feel any shame in admitting that the magic of the ‘Queen of crime’ is still successful. I was wide off the mark, exactly where Agatha wanted her readers, right in her trap. For this reason, the book More...
I made a status update halfway through the book remarking that I knew who murdered Amyas and how.
I was so confident that I had cracked the “Agatha Christie” modus operandi .I even consciously picked up bits and pieces from the book to support my theory.
But I don’t feel any shame in admitting that the magic of the ‘Queen of crime’ is still successful. I was wide off the mark, exactly where Agatha wanted her readers, right in her trap. For this reason, the book More...
May 31, 2011
Philip
rated it: 
I'm reading FIVE LITTLE PIGS in the recently-published edition published by Harper Books in the US. Actually it's a re-read, as I read it in 1975 as MURDER IN RETROSPECT - the new edition reproduces the original British text, dividing the novel into three parts (or "books") with an "Introduction" (another reason to be grateful for these new reprints) - the 1974 Dell paperback makes no such distinctions, evening reformatting chapters - it does make note of the five "narr
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Jan 02, 2009
Courtney
rated it:
Another Agatha Christie/Hercule Poirot classic, this particular story covers the psychological detective work of a man investigating a decades old murder mystery. The details of the crime unfold through an interesting slant: the author uses multiple characters' perspectives in a manner reminiscent of the 2008 film Vantage Point.
Overall, this story was a mildly engaging read, but nothing spectacular, as I found myself wholly able to put the book down several times at what should ha More...
Overall, this story was a mildly engaging read, but nothing spectacular, as I found myself wholly able to put the book down several times at what should ha More...
Oct 13, 2011
Bookworm007
rated it:
First off, if you, goodreader, decided to read this book, then you absolutely MUST watch the film adaption. It's incredible!
Now for my review...
oh my god BEST mystery novel I have read by Agatha Christie!!!!!
It's my absolute favourite type of mystery because each suspect tells his/her perspective of the murder and clues are subtly hidden in their respective stories.
Aaahhh! I'm still overwhelmed by the intestity of this book!
wiorua More...
Now for my review...
oh my god BEST mystery novel I have read by Agatha Christie!!!!!
It's my absolute favourite type of mystery because each suspect tells his/her perspective of the murder and clues are subtly hidden in their respective stories.
Aaahhh! I'm still overwhelmed by the intestity of this book!
wiorua More...
Jun 21, 2011
Bigyellowtaxi1
rated it: 
I never seem to enjoy the nursery rhyme inspired Christies. In this case it was more than a dislike of the contrived feeling that comes from the five little pigs motif. Because Poirot is investigating a (very) cold case this lacks the immediacy that makes the mystery genre so exciting. Instead the reader is subjected to a series of interviews, a series of written accounts and only at the end are all are the suspects together. Of course, I'm as much a fan of the big reveal in the drawing room as
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May 08, 2010
Dhuaine
rated it:
I have a hard time accepting books where characters remember things from several years past. In this case, it's 16 years - a lot. I don't think I remember that much about things that happened 5 years ago. And yet, Hercule Poirot is able to piece the entire setting together based on these chunks of info and find the real murderer.
Well, apart from this, the book is very good and rather plausible. I personally found the analysis of different versions of the story - told by 5 different More...
Well, apart from this, the book is very good and rather plausible. I personally found the analysis of different versions of the story - told by 5 different More...
Jun 23, 2009
This is classic Agatha Christie. I loved it. Her sleuth here is the priggish, but genius, Hercule Poirot. Years ago a temperamental, womanizing artist was murdered and his wife convicted of the crime. She dies in prison, but leaves a note to her daughter asserting her innocence. Her daughter having reached the age of 21 reads the note and hires Poirot to find out the truth, which of course, he does. There are lots of distinctive characters. I actually took notes and tried to unearth the r
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Sep 06, 2011
Heather
rated it:
Look, I don't normally read mysteries. It's just not my thing. This particular mystery seemed perfectly fine, as far as mysteries go, but I still didn't particularly enjoy it. In this case (and in most mystery books), the author buries one tiny, tiny hint in a mountain of non-relevant dialogue and at the end, you're expected to have remembered that only Ginny Blackstone rolls her R's in that particular manner so she must have been the killer, or whatever, and you're left wondering, "Wait, w
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Aug 09, 2011
in one of those curious pieces of transatlantic title changing the copy of this i read had the consideraby less interesting title of murder in retrospect. does the rhyme this little piggy went to market... not exist on the left hand side of the atlantic? the current printing in the us has the original title though.
i read this in the course of a sunday evening, the fastest book i've read in quite some time. the murder had happened years before and hercule poirot goes round to see all More...
i read this in the course of a sunday evening, the fastest book i've read in quite some time. the murder had happened years before and hercule poirot goes round to see all More...
Aug 23, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a very good mystery. However, I think the whole incorporating the "Five Little Pigs" nursery rhyme didn't fit. Unlike the rhyme in "And Then There Were None", it was not relevant to the story. However, I liked the fact that Hercule Poirot had to solve this mystery based purely on psychology and the accounts of the people who, of course, are all suspects. I thought everything made sense at the end, which was nice. There wasn't exact
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Jul 31, 2011
Mintwitch
rated it:
FIVE LITTLE PIGS is one of Christie's later novels, featuring a Hercule Poirot without his faithful sidekick, but with quite a few more wrinkles and gray hairs, though Christie is never so crass as to say so right out. It's also one of her most cerebral novels. The mystery to be solved is 16 years in the past, and Poirot must ferret out the truth solely from the dim recollections of the surviving witnesses.
The result is a surprisingly tense and enjoyable Who Dunnit. The reader has acce More...
The result is a surprisingly tense and enjoyable Who Dunnit. The reader has acce More...
Nov 27, 2011
Constance
rated it:
I "really liked" this one because Agatha goes into more interesting and deeper discussions about relationships in it (whereas usually it seems that she writes a lot about various characters' personalities but not as much about the relationships between them).
I'd also like to mention that the edition I received from my hold with the library is this young adult edition, which I found somewhat distasteful. But you know, the publishing industry has got to do what the publishing More...
I'd also like to mention that the edition I received from my hold with the library is this young adult edition, which I found somewhat distasteful. But you know, the publishing industry has got to do what the publishing More...
Mar 18, 2010
Kate
rated it:
I never realized before how much literary experimentation AC did. This one feels like her take on Dorothy Sayers, because Poirot is collecting statements from the witnesses of a long-ago crime, and there are points on which they agree, and points on which they differ, and HP only appears to tell us that that's important.
The crime itself is interesting - a talented artist was murdered, his wife was convicted, and their daughter wants to find out the truth, umpteen years later. There More...
The crime itself is interesting - a talented artist was murdered, his wife was convicted, and their daughter wants to find out the truth, umpteen years later. There More...
Jun 01, 2011
Rodion
rated it:
The title, though taken from a nursery rhyme, which I personally didn’t have a clue about , still was made to appear and disappear quite a few times. I didn’t see its relevance. A murder which had taken place 16 years before, is asked to be re-investigated by Poirot. Clearly, from the very outset, there are only 5 suspects to keep you guessing. Here, Poirot’s ingenious breakthrough of psychoanalysis is effectively highlighted with a stellar image of the murder coming to the fore at the e
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Aug 23, 2010
Renee
rated it:
I know people scoff at Agatha Christie. I have heard people complain that she sneaks in facts at the last minute, so they can't possibly guess the murderer before the end of the book. However, I don't read mysteries with any particular effort at figuring out whodunnit. The clever detectives are there to do that for me, and I enjoy their efforts and pause every now and then to wonder, mildly, which of the cast of characters is guilty. Christie's novels are short, sharp, and thoroughly entertainin
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Jul 31, 2011
Zoë
rated it:
This is actually a very enjoyable Poirot mystery. I have had a run of Christie books which were not really of such a high standard, but this one is intriguing. It's a cold case. A young woman approaches Poirot to clear her mother's name of murder, even though her mother was convicted and subsequently died in prison. The "five little pigs" are the five suspects, and initially it seems that none of them have a motive. Poirot, however, uncovers the old secrets still hidden, by asking each
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Jun 05, 2009
Jim
rated it:
A classical murder mystery novel by Agatha Christie, Five Little Pigs is another Hercule Poirot story. I always enjoy Poirot stories as they are very low-tech, just basic murder with alot of complex characters--all with good reasons to kill the victim. Of course, Poirot must interview all of the potential murders and then sort thru their version of the events. Each tells a slightly different version and of course at least one is lying about the events.
In this story it seems that one More...
In this story it seems that one More...
May 11, 2009
Katie
rated it:
This is the best Agatha Christie I have ever read (or listened to). I don't want to give anything away, but let me just say that Christie was a master of a technique that 99.9 % of writers don't have a clue about: giving the reader ALL the information up front and witholding nothing. Most authors think that by keeping information from the reader, they are being clever and mysterious. Christie knows better. She tells you everything and lets you put 2 and 2 together... A great ending, a well-
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Oct 30, 2009
Barbara
rated it:
Great who done it, I had my murderer narrowed down to one of two, I'm glad one of my picks did it, that means my powers of deduction are working OK. I liked the cold case aspect of the story, Poirot must make his deduction based on what people who were at hand say and remember about the case from 16 years ago-The five little pigs. While it is obvious the wife didn't do it,Christie uses each character's memory (in letter form)to sway their perspective of the murder. It also provides an interest
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Nov 23, 2010
Kasia
rated it:
I'm an avid reader of Christie but I haven't heard of this book until I ran across the title in a few favorable reviews, Five Little Pigs ( primarily published under Dodd in the 40's under the name of " Murder in Retrospect") came up a lot so I had to try it and listened to the reviewers and they were right... This is was fun and engaging and piqued my interest throughout the whole sleuthing process, once I was done with it I had to read one more to keep me on that Christie high~ ha-ha
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Dec 17, 2011
Misha
rated it:
I almost always pick up an Agatha Christie book when I need something great to read that also counts as an easy distraction. For my money, few writers are as consistently readable as Agatha Christie.
In this book, detective Hercule Poirot is given an interesting problem to solve: sixteen years ago, painter Amyas Crale was poisoned. His wife was convicted of the crime, but in retrospect, did she really do it?
Even though I've read this one many times before and already knew wh More...
In this book, detective Hercule Poirot is given an interesting problem to solve: sixteen years ago, painter Amyas Crale was poisoned. His wife was convicted of the crime, but in retrospect, did she really do it?
Even though I've read this one many times before and already knew wh More...
Aug 24, 2011
m1 Gwen
rated it:
Very interesting. I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie overall. Not a good choice if you don't like murder mysteries, but it's not gruesome.
Merged review:
An intriguing book, I can't imagine how the author managed to come up with such a plot. A detective is interviewing witnesses from a murder committed over 15 years previously, then comes to his own conclusion. Throughout the book, you make your own assumptions, deciding on who it is, then changing it as a new web of lies is disc More...
Merged review:
An intriguing book, I can't imagine how the author managed to come up with such a plot. A detective is interviewing witnesses from a murder committed over 15 years previously, then comes to his own conclusion. Throughout the book, you make your own assumptions, deciding on who it is, then changing it as a new web of lies is disc More...
Dec 09, 2011
Nazifa
rated it:
A thoroughly satisfying mystery with one of the most well-drawn cast of characters I have yet encountered in an Agatha Christie mystery - and that, as any Christie fan knows, is saying something. As always, the reader is given all sufficient clues to solve the mystery for themselves; more than any other Christie novel I've read, I was able to puzzle out why certain characters chose to behave the way they did. This was in large part because of how well I felt I grew to know these characters - a
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Oct 16, 2011
Megan
rated it:
This lesser known (and by lesser known I mean it's now 'Murder on the Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, etc) of Christie's Poirot novels was quite enjoyable. In this intriguing plot, Poirot is given a sixteen year old already closed case to crack. He has five (haha, get it? five little pigs? Yeah, it's not that funny...) suspects: Phillip who was Amays' best friend and hated the convicted killer (Caroline), Meredith, Phillip's brother who had a thing for Caroline and had a lab of
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Feb 06, 2011
Anu
rated it:
4.8/5.0
Гэмт хэргүүд болон хүн амьны хэргийг болсоных нь дараахан мөрддөг. Харин 16 жилийн өмнө болсон хүн амьны хэргийг яах вэ?
Арван таван жилийн өмнө хатагтай Крейл (Caroline Crale) өөрийн нөхөр, алдарт зураач ноён Крейлыг (Amyas Crale) хордуулсан хэргээр яллажээ. Удалгүй нас барнаар түүний охин Карлог авгууд нь үрчлэн авч өсгөжээ. Карло гэрлэхийнхээ өмнө ээжийгээ буруугүй байсан гэдэгт итгэлтэй байхын тулд мөрдөгч Хериүл Пуароуг хөлслөн авах болно. Учир нь төрсөн эх нь нас More...
Гэмт хэргүүд болон хүн амьны хэргийг болсоных нь дараахан мөрддөг. Харин 16 жилийн өмнө болсон хүн амьны хэргийг яах вэ?
Арван таван жилийн өмнө хатагтай Крейл (Caroline Crale) өөрийн нөхөр, алдарт зураач ноён Крейлыг (Amyas Crale) хордуулсан хэргээр яллажээ. Удалгүй нас барнаар түүний охин Карлог авгууд нь үрчлэн авч өсгөжээ. Карло гэрлэхийнхээ өмнө ээжийгээ буруугүй байсан гэдэгт итгэлтэй байхын тулд мөрдөгч Хериүл Пуароуг хөлслөн авах болно. Учир нь төрсөн эх нь нас More...
Mar 14, 2010
Heidi
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