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Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot, #41)

Agatha Christie

Start date: October 1, 2016

Finish date: October 31, 2016

Discussion: Group reads

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What Members Thought

Oct 20, 2016 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, audiobook, currently-re-reading, my-library, holiday-rereads, want-to-reread, reread, christie

10/2020 reread: Still a favorite, good to see Poirot out investigating again! Ariadne Oliver, mystery novelist, calls Poirot in this time when she’s present at a children’s party where a girl is killed. Retired superintendent Spence lives in the village, and becomes a good source for background info on the case. Our group lamented the repetitive griping of the old folks on the increasing use of psychology to handle criminals, but agreed it’s an interesting look at Britain changing in the postwar 10/2020 reread: Still a favorite, good to see Poirot out investigating again! Ariadne Oliver, mystery novelist, calls Poirot in this time when she’s present at a children’s party where a girl is killed. Retired superintendent Spence lives in the village, and becomes a good source for background info on the case. Our group lamented the repetitive griping of the old folks on the increasing use of psychology to handle criminals, but agreed it’s an interesting look at Britain changing in the postwar years, and how people reacted.

2016 read: A very enjoyable Poirot mystery I had somehow missed; after seeing an excellent David Suchet/BBC version, I was thrilled to find an original 1969 edition at a used book sale. As usual, Christie gives readers an excellent puzzle and an enjoyable visit with Poirot and his novelist friend Ariadne Oliver; what I didn't expect, but found fascinating, were the views on "modern youth", education, parenting and the rather earth-shattering social changes in post-WWII Britain expressed by Poirot and several other characters.

So many times in America, especially during our endless presidential election campaigns, we hear older voters saying they "want their country back" and lamenting social change; I'm too young to feel that way but old enough (and enough of a history and news junkie) to have an idea of the events that brought about that disillusionment. It was interesting to read a book set in that tumultuous year, 1969, when those feelings were emerging - the social remedies and reforms put in place right after the war had had a chance to settle in and the effects, good and bad, were being felt. The views expressed by Poirot and several characters helped me to understand those disappointments and what it must have felt like to live through the changes.

And of course, I always enjoy following Hercule on his rounds visiting witnesses and suspects, getting into his head for awhile, behind the rather silly facade of the aging, foreign mountebank to where the little gray cells are churning away, seeing through the lies, forever seeking justice. Recommended to classic mystery fans! ...more

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Nov 16, 2016 Jan C rated it liked it

Shelves: re-read, mystery, 2016, gr-group-read

I don't think I thought about this before but snapdragon seems to be a terribly dangerous game for children to be playing. I probably didn't think about it before because I don't know that we play it in America. I do recall bobbing for apples once at a party.

This book was okay, not one of my favorites by Christie. And, of course, the sartorial Hercule Poirot couldn't let down the side and change his shoes just because he'd gone to the country. But I have a special place for the Ariadne Oliver st ...more

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Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction, crime-fiction-uk, classic-mystery-fiction

This is a reread especially for Halloween which is coming at the end of this month.I didn't like it as much this time around as I did the first time -- I must somehow and despite myself be gaining a semblance of reading maturity.

Having recently watched the excellent dramatization of this book on DVD (with David Suchet, of course, as Poirot and Zoe Wanamaker the absolutely perfect Ariadne Oliver), I figured I'd give Christie's Hallowe'en Party another go in book form. After finishing it late yes This is a reread especially for Halloween which is coming at the end of this month.I didn't like it as much this time around as I did the first time -- I must somehow and despite myself be gaining a semblance of reading maturity.

Having recently watched the excellent dramatization of this book on DVD (with David Suchet, of course, as Poirot and Zoe Wanamaker the absolutely perfect Ariadne Oliver), I figured I'd give Christie's Hallowe'en Party another go in book form. After finishing it late yesterday afternoon, I found myself agreeing with a contemporary reviewer from the Toronto Daily Star who wrote that "Poirot seems weary and so does the book." It was a bit disappointing in that I'm used to actually seeing Poirot's little gray cells at work, and here, while he does solve the mystery, it's just not the same as the older Poirot novels -- he does indeed seem incredibly tired. Poirot's less than lackluster self combined with several missed character opportunities and plot holes made this book not as fun to read as I'd hoped.

The plot itself is an incredibly good one. The wealthy Mrs. Rowena Drake, who has her fingers in every social, civic and church-related pie in her village, throws a Halloween party at her home for the "eleven-plus" group of kids. Ariadne Oliver happens to be in the neighborhood, staying with her friend Mrs. Butler, and they both attend the party. Mrs. Oliver is famous, of course, and one young girl (Joyce) tries to impress by telling her about the time she saw a murder happen. Of course, she says, she didn't realize that it was a murder that she was seeing at the time, but now she realizes the truth of it. Joyce, who has a penchant for story telling and making things up, is pooh-poohed by everyone at the party -- no one believes her and they make fun of her for making up something so outrageous. But someone must have believed her, because when the party ends, Joyce is discovered head down in a tub filled with water meant for apple bobbing. Poirot is visited the next day by a very shaken Ariadne Oliver, who tells him what happened. He latches on to Joyce's tale of murder, leading him to go to the scene of the crime.

While the plot is good, I think Christie missed the boat on this one -- it most certainly isn't the best of Poirot and it isn't the best in terms of clues for the amateur armchair detective to follow. I just don't feel like she utilized those skills in this book that made her such an enduring mystery writer. When it comes down to the who and the why, things seemed rather shaky and I found myself saying things like "but what about..?" more than once. I hate plot holes, no matter who the writer is, and there are definitely a couple or three sinkhole-sized ones here a person could drive a Mack truck through.

So the long and short of it is great plot potential, but not so hot in the execution. I suppose even Agatha Christie can have an off day, and it definitely shows in this one. ...more

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Nov 24, 2014 Louise Culmer rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

Mrs Ariadne Oliver is attending a Halloween party when one of the guests is murdered. Naturally she calls on her old friend Hercule Poirot to solve the mystery. As well as Mrs Oliver,who is always fun, we meet again Superintendant Spence from Mrs McGinty’s Dead,and he and Mrs Oliver assist Poirot in his investigations. The tone of the book is generally light, despite the murders, and there are several entertaining conversations between Poirot and Mrs Oliver. And a very dramatic climax. Highly en ...more

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Nov 02, 2020 Lillian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: holiday-reads, audio-chirp, read-in-2020

Narrated by Hugh Fraser. I read this book many, many years ago. It was the first Agatha Christie I ever read. I enjoyed it then but I was young and still easily taken in by modern books. After reading so many of those "bestsellers" and being repeatedly disappointed, I can now appreciate Christie for not only her delightful mystery plots but her writing style. Her worse books are still levels above and beyond most of what is written today, there are exceptions but very few. ...more

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May 15, 2009 Robin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

This maybe could have used an editing. It was written in 1969, toward the end of Christie's career, and she does go on and on (and on) about mental or juvenile delinquency. Seems like everyone Poirot talks to has to give their opinion about 'the morals of today's youth'. But if you discount all that, the plot is pretty good. ...more

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