Poirot - The Big Four
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £1.05
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Big Four: Complete & Unabridged for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.05, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
“The acknowledged queen of detective fiction.”
Observer
Review
"The acknowledged queen of detective fiction." Observer
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a slightly odd Poirot, where Christie moves away from her trademark 'cosy' murder mystery and into the world of international espionage and camp villains who want to take over the world... It's still enjoyable, especially the wonderful Hastings who is even more out of his depth here than ever, but I expect you have to be a real Christie/Poirot/Hastings fan to really enjoy this one.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is not your typical Poirot with a limited number of suspects, close ties and fine deductions leading to the solution of the case. Instead it focuses on individual mysteries which link together to form the over all plot. The story is also more action based than your standard Poirot plot with Poirot and Hastings regularly subjected to deadly peril and narrow escapes possibly more suited to a comic book. Indeed at times the story is more like an experiment to see how many times the author can knock poor Hastings unconcious without becoming rediculose.
I don't want to convey a totally negative impression, however, I actually quite enjoyed the story, I just personally prefer stories like 'Hickory Dickory Dock' which have slightly more thought and a little less thrill seeking. 'The Big Four' would particularly suit anyone who is a fan of the abrupt action in the Paul Temple detective stories or who just wants an entertaining story to listen to. It sould not ,however, necessarily be dismissed by those who want a more traditional Agatha Christe, it has flashes of the charm of some of the more famous Poirot stories even if it lacks the depth.
As always with these particular complete and unabridged tales you do have the pleasure of the entire story masterly performed by Hugh Fraser who brings the book to life in the best possible style.
I don't want to convey a totally negative impression, however, I actually quite enjoyed the story, I just personally prefer stories like 'Hickory Dickory Dock' which have slightly more thought and a little less thrill seeking. 'The Big Four' would particularly suit anyone who is a fan of the abrupt action in the Paul Temple detective stories or who just wants an entertaining story to listen to. It sould not ,however, necessarily be dismissed by those who want a more traditional Agatha Christe, it has flashes of the charm of some of the more famous Poirot stories even if it lacks the depth.
As always with these particular complete and unabridged tales you do have the pleasure of the entire story masterly performed by Hugh Fraser who brings the book to life in the best possible style.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I must confess that I have tried to read all of Agatha Christies novels with Hercule Poirot as the main detective. Of all these, this is my favourite, for a number of reasons. I agree with a fellow reviewer, that Poirot is at his best, and most interesting, when Catain Hastings is on board. The synophis is that behind the Worlds diasters/affairs are four people. Poirot takes them on, with a LITTLE help from Hastings. The inclusion of Hastings is a masterstroke by christie, as we see events through his romantic, simple mind, and he addresses points/questions that would often would love to yell out to poirot.This is Boys own stuff, and is riveting to see Poirot stretched to combat this mysterious sect. Great read
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A ladie's whim
My dear wife had come so far in the list of books written by this extraordinary Lady Agatha Christie - or was it Miss Marple - that now she wanted all that where still missing. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dr. Manfred Ottow
Pre-Bond adventure
Like several other reviewers, I'd rate this as one of Agatha Christie's worst novels. There's something implausible about Poirot's genius for solving crimes, but Christie usually... Read more
Published 22 months ago by D. J. H. Thorn
Poirot on acid
This is a departure from the Poirot norm for Christie, which I don't think really worked. Rather than a whodunit, it's more of a thriller akin to James Bond (though they came... Read more
Published on 14 May 2010 by J. R. Johnson-Rollings
The Big Mess!
Having read almost all of Christie's novels and enjoyed the vast majority of them, 'The Big Four' had somehow slipped through the net....and I wish it had remained that way! Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2009 by richard Brown
Christie's worst?
Possibly the worst thing Christie wrote - certainly the weakest of the Poirot mysteries. The plot - Hercule Poirot, aided by a Hastings newly returned from his South American... Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2009 by Budge Burgess
dumbed down Christie
I suppose it sounded like a good idea at the time, reducing a novel to a couple of hundred words and illustrating it with not particularly interesting art work in a bid to grab a... Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2008 by David Spanswick
I look forward to the TV show !
This kept me excited right up untill the end ! I was the edge of my seat as it unfolded . Without giving away too much it is Poirot doing a James Bond & with the fantastical super... Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2008 by Mr. Mg Reynolds
If You Are Looking For Something Different......
The Big Four is one of Agatha Christies very unusual books, it is a great one and if you have read a lot of her regular books, then you should definitely read this because it is... Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2007 by I AM ME
Brilliant!!!!
After reading a few dodgy reviews i was quite sceptical about this book.... however as soon as i started i couldnt put it down. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2006
The Big Four
The Big Four.
I thought this Agatha Christie was one of the best so far. I enjoyed it so much i found it hard to put down. Read more
I thought this Agatha Christie was one of the best so far. I enjoyed it so much i found it hard to put down. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2005 by kerry ingham
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
