From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Death in the Clouds

Agatha Christie

Start date: February 1, 2019

Finish date: February 28, 2019

Discussion: Archive: Poirot Buddy Reads

Why we're reading this: The next in our popular series of Poirot buddy reads.
[close] The next in our popular series of Poirot buddy reads.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 71 topics — 1,981 comments total

Archive: Poirot Buddy Reads

* Reading Order for the Unofficial Poirot Buddy Reads
By Jessica-sim · 54 posts · 155 views

last updated Dec 27, 2020 08:20AM

Poirot Buddy Read 40: SPOILER THREAD Curtain
By Jessica-sim · 20 posts · 35 views

last updated Feb 05, 2021 06:12PM

What Members Thought

Apr 13, 2011 Shabbeer Hassan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: whodunit, 2018, 2017, mystery, 2019, 2020, brit-lit, 2024

Going by the sitcom "Friends" naming convention, this book should have been called "The One Where Poirot Flies", given his marked aversion to flying! Plot-wise, it's one of the rather lazy, mediocre Christie mysteries, with all the relevant info on the murderer kept hidden from the reader until last. From an audio/audiovisual entertainment perspective, either the narrated version by Hugh Fraser or Moffat's BBC dramatization are pretty decent, with and David Suchet's ITV version being the rather ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2021 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, agatha-christie, vintage-mystery, mystery, mount-tbr-2021, bought-2019

Death is waiting for one of the passengers who cross the English Channel on the air liner Prometheus. Hercule Poirot suffers from mal de mer and mal de l'air. So, he sleeps for most of the journey and someone murders Madame Giselle right under the nose of the airsick detective. The victim is a money-lender who backs her loans to the upper classes with a bit of judicious blackmail as security. Only rarely does anyone default on their loans when they know Madame Giselle will publish their darkest Death is waiting for one of the passengers who cross the English Channel on the air liner Prometheus. Hercule Poirot suffers from mal de mer and mal de l'air. So, he sleeps for most of the journey and someone murders Madame Giselle right under the nose of the airsick detective. The victim is a money-lender who backs her loans to the upper classes with a bit of judicious blackmail as security. Only rarely does anyone default on their loans when they know Madame Giselle will publish their darkest secrets.

At first, the steward thinks the Frenchwoman is asleep as well and leaves her alone until just before the plane will land. When he tries to awaken her, he discovers, to his horror, that she is dead! At first glance, it looks like she may have had a severe reaction to a wasp sting (there had been one flying around the compartment), but it soon proves to have been from a dart laced with an obscure snake venom. Then a blowpipe is found stuffed down by Poirot's seat--of all places! [Causing those at the inquest to believe "that little foreigner done it."] Some of Poirot's fellow passengers seem to fit the profile of Madame Giselle's clients, thus giving them a possible motive, but it seems impossible that any of them could have used the blowpipe to kill her within the small confines of the plane without being seen by at least one person.

Poirot has asked his friend Inspector Japp to get him a detailed list of what was in each passenger's pockets and carry-on baggage and he is quick to spot the essential clues. But he is also puzzled because although objects he expected to be found were found--they were among the belongings of the wrong person! Several trips to France and more interviews with all the passengers and the stewards will be needed as well as an interview with an as yet unsuspected person before the puzzle will make sense.

It hasn't been so very long since I read this one--but I'm attempting to read Dame Agatha in publication order and didn't want to skip over. She wasn't able to pull the wool over my eyes this time. I was rather proud of myself that I remembered all the little clues that Poirot picks up on so easily (and that I missed totally when I read this the first time). I still enjoyed myself and was able to sit back and observe the fun without spending time trying to work out whodunnit. A fun read.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, mystery, vintage-mystery

Death in the Air (aka Death in the Clouds) is another fine Agatha Christie outing. In this one, the murder takes place right under Hercule Poirot's airsick nose. Yes, fortunately for the killer, Poirot's famous little grey cells were sleeping their way across the Channel in order that he might not be aware of his discomfort--fortunately for a little while, that is. Because, of course, once Poirot is awake and realizes that a crime has been committed he's on the trail of the murderer.

The victim i Death in the Air (aka Death in the Clouds) is another fine Agatha Christie outing. In this one, the murder takes place right under Hercule Poirot's airsick nose. Yes, fortunately for the killer, Poirot's famous little grey cells were sleeping their way across the Channel in order that he might not be aware of his discomfort--fortunately for a little while, that is. Because, of course, once Poirot is awake and realizes that a crime has been committed he's on the trail of the murderer.

The victim in this case is one Madame Giselle, a money-lender to the upper-class who uses a bit of judicious blackmail as security on her loans. She is found dead in her seat just prior to landing from what appears at first to be a wasp sting but soon proves to be from a dart tainted with an obscure snake venom. A blowpipe is found stuffed down behind Poirot's seat--of all places! There are a few of Poirot's fellow passenger's who may fit the profile of Madame Giselle's clients, but it seems impossible that any of them could have used a blowpipe to kill her within the small confines of the plane.

It doesn't take long for Poirot to spot the essential clues--objects that were listed in the tally of each passenger's belongings. But he is puzzled because the objects he expected are found on the wrong person. He will make several trips to France and interview all of the passengers and the stewards before the final pieces fall in place.

It had been quite some time since my first reading of this particular Christie novel (a good 20 years, I'd say). If I hadn't watched the production with David Suchet earlier this year (for the Book to Movie Challenge), I wouldn't have spotted the killer in this reading. I believe I was distracted by the same darn red herring in my first reading and during the watched episode. That's the beauty of Christie for me--if I go long enough between rereads it's quite possible for her to pull the wool over my eyes repeatedly.

I thoroughly enjoyed both the Suchet production and this reread. It's always a treat to watch David Suchet play the quintessential Poirot. And I also enjoy Philip Jackson as Inspector Japp. One thing I did notice between the show and the book--Christie's novels have taken a lot of flack for some of her racial representations and stereotypes. This time the production is a bigger culprit than Christie's original work. The production has Inspector Japp working closely with his French counterpart--in France (the only contact in the book is in England)--and Japp treats him pretty shabbily, just because he's a "Frenchy." The scenes in the novel show a much more collegial and respectful collaboration. I'm wondering if the writers/producer decided to emphasize Japp's supposed mistrust of French investigations and investigations as a replacement for the few racial comments made by other characters in the book.

Overall, a fine performance in both print and onscreen. Four stars.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2014 Amy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-as-an-audiobook

The great narrator on the audiobook did a great job. The killer was a bit far fetched even for an Agatha Christie fan like myself but the interesting side characters made up for that. I particularly like Mr. Clancy the mystery writer. I think she had a lot of fun writing him and poking fun at her profession.

Like · see review

May 16, 2011 Abbey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: myst-fems-project, myst-cosies, myst-set-andor-auth-uk, own, reviewed, vintage, myst-pi, series, to-re-read, sell

Death via rare poison and a bushman’s blow pipe - the hoariest and oldest of mystery conventions - mixed with the most modern up-to-date technology of the time (1930s) makes this a lovely satire on mystery styles and the expectations of readers. The plot is complex, the characters classic, the motives bizarre, and a good time is had by all as The Great Detective does his thing superbly.

Like · see review

Dec 19, 2013 Christine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015, mystery-thriller-suspense, authors-a-to-d, nbrc-gladiator-challenge-2015

That was fun. I tend to read more Miss Marple than Hercule Poirot, but I enjoyed this a lot. He is an eccentric and intelligent man, that shows. I havent read AC in ages. I have to come back to her books more often but then again I would miss all the new books that come out. Darn!

Like · see review