DEC 07/JAN 08 - AudioFile
Poor Hercule Poirot. Now that he’s retired, there’s only food to look forward to—too bad there are only three meals in a day. Poirot is rejuvenated when Superintendent Spence approaches him about Mrs. McGinty's murder. It SEEMS straightforward, but Spence, and then Poirot, have doubts. Narrator Hugh Fraser is particularly compelling as author Ariadne Oliver, who is said to be Christie's alter ego in her mysteries. The wide range of suspects includes a most convenient one, Mrs. McGinty's lodger. There are some funny moments while Poirot boards with one of the worst cooks in England. The story closes with Poirot teaching her to make a proper omelet. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
The plot is perfect and the characters are wonderful.
San Francisco Chronicle
The plot is perfect and the characters are wonderful.
Publishers Weekly
Who could be better reading this recording of Christie's 1952 classic than Hugh Fraser, who not only has done several audio versions of her novels but who also plays Captain Hastings in those lovely TV adaptations starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot? Fraser uses his own British accent to narrate, then switches impressively to a perfect Belgian tinge as he lets the master detective ramble on about French food, suspicious deaths and how hard it is to handle both in the cities and villages of his adopted England. When Mrs. McGinty, a sweet-natured widow, is found bludgeoned to death, suspicion falls on James Bentley, her somewhat dodgy lodger. Bentley's trial looks like a guaranteed guilty verdict, but a leading policeman is suspicious enough to ask for Poirot's help. As the story begins to explode into a complex web of lies and hidden identities, novelist Ariadne Oliver (much more like the real Christie than the cute Miss Marple) joins the hunt to find the real murderer. Even fans familiar with the novel will enjoy this classic Christie audio. (Mar.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
From the Publisher
The best Poirot since such prewar classics as Cards on the Table.” — New York Times
“The plot is perfect and the characters are wonderful.” — San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
The plot is perfect and the characters are wonderful.
New York Times
The best Poirot since such prewar classics as Cards on the Table.
DEC 07/ JAN 08 - AudioFile
Poor Hercule Poirot. Now that he’s retired, there’s only food to look forward to—too bad there are only three meals in a day. Poirot is rejuvenated when Superintendent Spence approaches him about Mrs. McGinty's murder. It SEEMS straightforward, but Spence, and then Poirot, have doubts. Narrator Hugh Fraser is particularly compelling as author Ariadne Oliver, who is said to be Christie's alter ego in her mysteries. The wide range of suspects includes a most convenient one, Mrs. McGinty's lodger. There are some funny moments while Poirot boards with one of the worst cooks in England. The story closes with Poirot teaching her to make a proper omelet. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
