Robert M. (shotokanchef) reviewed Murder After Hours (Hercule Poirot, Bk 25) on + 813 more book reviews
Members of an extended family have gathered here: possibly to inbreed. Well, possibly some out-breeding as well. Isnt that what British society is all about? The characters are all such crashing bores that it hardly seems proper for the authoress to whack one of them. They also seem much too obtuse to even conceive a murder. By the middle of the book I am ready to scream with ennui when it happens. Wow! Poirot stumbles on the murder scene just as the corpse expires. The murder has been staged just for him. Red herrings galore in this one; youll lose count. All are guilty; none are guilty. Finally the killer is exposed and is brought to justice. Absurd ending! But, arent most of Aunties endings as such? This is the book behind her play The Hollow.
One of the very few Christies in which I have been underwhelemd, She seems to dither around for MANY chapters - and Poirot keeps saying he is baffled, and says it too often, and finally something happens.........eh, a semi-typical country house murder, with lots of red herrings, and not enough excitement, and very few of her famous twists and turns. A sad disappointment.
