Bookraft

The Big Four by Agatha Christie, A Hercule Poirot mystery

Riding to and from work has been enhanced lately by the adding of a CD player to the car. This now rescues 40 minutes of listening to the radio news and weather reports - replaced by a steady stream of audio books from the local libraries. One of my favorites has been the Hercule Poirot mystery, The Big Four. This was written in 1927 by Ms Christie and it surely shows the effects that the previous World War had on people's psyche. Of course Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burrouhs had developed a near science fiction genre with their own cast of characters. Some of course were malevolent to suit the plot line but hardly meglomaniacs. But with The Big Four, Ms. Christie introduces just such characters - and not just one but four:No 1 Li Chang Yen-the master Chinese criminal, No 2. Abe Ryland ruthless American capitalist, No.3 Madame Olivier a mad French nuclear scientist and No.4, Claud Darrell "the destroyer", a Thespian as assassin .

This book is 20-25 years before IanFleming's James Bond- and yet has all the elements of a Bond adventure. In fact, it is so different from the usual double gathering Modus operandi for a Hercule Poirot mystery - i.e. the gathering to commit the crime and the final gathering of all the surviving parties where the villain/murderer is revealed. Instead we travel all over England and then Europe, as the plot unfolds. And of of course with the "modest" Hercule and his constant kick-in-the-sides, Captain Arthur Hastings this turns out to be a new adventure indeed.

Suffice it to say that my rides to and from work became a delight - I really looked forward with great relish to matching wits and my little grey matter with the superior folds of the little Belgian.