From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Big Four (Hercule Poirot, #5)

Agatha Christie

Start date: July 1, 2025

Finish date: July 31, 2025

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: Next in our Poirot and Marple challenge
[close] Next in our Poirot and Marple challenge

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Showing 2 of 166 topics — 7,784 comments total

Group Challenges

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
By Susan · 14 posts · 16 views

last updated Sep 02, 2025 12:08AM

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
By Susan · 4 posts · 12 views

last updated Sep 01, 2025 04:16PM

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What Members Thought

May 20, 2025 Susan in NC rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, audiobook, kindle, currently-re-reading, christie, want-to-reread, put-aside-for-now, 25detectiveschallenge

Only my second time reading, I’d forgotten the throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks plot (if you can call it that), but we’re reading the first six Marple and first six Poirot mysteries in one of my groups, so I decided to reread. Luckily, I was able to snag the audiobook narrated by Captain Hastings himself, from my library-he made it bearable. I never thought I could be bored reading a Christie mystery, but I guess there’s a first time for everything!

In a nutshell, it’s Poirot vs. ...more

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May 01, 2019 Jan C rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, hot-read

This isn't one of my favorites. But it is twisty and turny.

I started out reading it in a paperback but I think the print bothered my eyes. Discovered that I had it hiding on my Kindle. Donated my book to a charity sale.

A re-read for me. Maybe I liked it better the first time. ...more

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Feb 25, 2022 ☼Bookish in Virginia☼ marked it as dnf

Shelves: mystery, 2020

Hastings is back in this tale of espionage. (I actually wish the doctor from THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD had worked out... but alas, it wasn't to be.)

But Hastings is not why I quit. He was actually more on the ball, taking over new page space and showing more normal intelligence. No, the problem was that I just found the story tedious and boring. There were twists and turns, however after 5 chapters I realized I didn't care one wit about this intellectual sparing between Hercule and the baddies. ...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Carol Evans rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, professional-sleuth, audio-book

I've read many of Agatha Christie's books over the years, she's one of my favorites, and I felt like reading a Poirot mystery, well listening to one actually. I chose poorly with The Big Four. Poirot is his usual dapper self, eccentric and fastidious. He's as vain as always, but with faithful Hastings as the narrator, he doesn't become overly-egocentric. Hastings humanizes him some, makes fun of his quirks and appreciates his friendship.

But the mystery here let me down. It's too big, but not big ...more

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Feb 04, 2023 Marcella rated it really liked it

Shelves: murder-mysteries, fiction, 2023-75-book-challenge

Agatha Christie does espionage. I generally prefer her "body in the library" type of mysteries, perhaps because personal grievances never go out of style, and it's harder to take a 1920s death ray seriously, but this story of a global crime ring cracked by the master Poirot and his "active" sidekick Hastings does pretty well at layering smaller mysteries into an overarching plot. Hastings is strangely eager to leave his hot young wife across the globe for what must be an entire year during this ...more

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Jan 09, 2021 Lillian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-vintage-golden-age, read-in-2021

This was another exceptional narration by Hugh Fraser. I know most Christie fans don't favor this as among their favorite Poirot novels. I think if one goes into it knowing it was originally written in serial form for a magazine it helps to understand the writing style. Sometimes the chapters have long periods of time between them. Each chapter is sometimes a mini mystery in and of itself. And sometimes Poirot and Hastings are in some very absurd situations. Many say it has a Sherlock Holmes fee ...more

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Mar 04, 2009 Laura Anne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: espionage, mystery, british-isles

2025 Series Re-read: 2.5 stars This is weirdly paced and doesn't feel like any other Poirot story. But I did like it a bit better upon reread and can think of it as just silly fun.

2009: 2 stars The introduction of Achille Poirot amused me, but the rest of the story is made up of the weakest and silliest Poirot short stories strung together in a disjointed fashion. That said, it is the novel that I am most eager to see David Suchet film, just to see how it will be adapted. ...more

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May 13, 2022 Anna Adams rated it really liked it

First Agatha Christie I haven't deeply enjoyed. It was a little odd for me.

But--great to see Hastings again! And great to see Hastings and Poirot being so happy to be together. So maybe I should put it up a point.

On second read, I did enjoy more! ...more

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