Hallowe'en Party by
Agatha Christie
hbk out May 03
Published by HarperCollins
at £16.99
This book, described by Christie's biographer Charles Osborne as an 'odd novel',
reunites Hercule Poirot with his old friend, the scatty yet amiable detective story
writer Ariadne Oliver. She calls at his London flat to tell him about a Hallowe'en
party she attended at a village called Woodleigh Common. A young girl called Joyce
has claimed that she once saw a murder committed. No-one else believes her and she
finds the teasing of her friends upsetting. A few hours later she is found dead –
drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. As is the case in many of the later Christies,
characters and places from Poirot's past recur, including the stolid detective
Superintendent Spence. At time the story meanders, one of the elements of the plot is
familiar from an earlier book, and there are a few loose ends which in her hey-day
Christie would have taken care to tie up. Nevertheless, the depiction of Poirot's
relationship with Mrs Oliver – affectionate, albeit sometimes irritated – is highly
enjoyable and overall, despite its flaws, this is a book worth reading.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Hallowe'en Party by
Agatha Christie
