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The A.B.C. Murders Book Review

The A.B.C. Murders is a 1936 detective novel by British author Agatha Christie. It is one of her most unique works.

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“It’s like all those quiet people,

when they do lose their tempers

they lose them with a vengeance“

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Poirot, Hastings and Inspector Japp investigate a series of murders that are seemingly not connected at all. The title of the novel alludes to the fact that the killer is operating on the principle of following the first letters of victims’ names. There is another curiosity in his operations and that is the fact that he is consistently sending letter to Poirot, mocking him for not being able to solve the crimes sooner.

Agatha Christie is famous for her detective novels, but those stories usually feature a murder that is framed within the confines of a family, usually committed either for financial or for emotional reasons. But when it comes to this particular plot, the killer often has no reasons for his crimes and the criminal is very modern in a sense that he is a full-blown serial killer, a rarity for Christie.

The villain is so intriguing that he made the novel both more modern and more authentic. I of course predicted who the killer was and I instantly realized that the initial suspect was a red herring. Despite this predictability, the twist was still cleverly constructed and the entire story of the red herring was quite powerful and surely the most moving part of the book.

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Structurally speaking, this is by far one of the most authentic pieces of fiction written by Christie. It doesn’t always work, but there is no denying the audacity of this structure. Not only does the novel jump from the first to the third person perspective constantly, but it also features numerous paragraphs that are told in a style that almost resembled investigative journalism. Some of these sections did not fully work as obviously the editing was rather messy, but nonetheless her effort here needs to be respected.

When it comes to the characterization, The A.B.C. Murders doesn’t fare all that well in comparison to some other Christie works. I’ve already stated that the major villain is phenomenal and very memorable and the same goes for Alexander Bonaparte Cust, one of the most sympathetic characters in any of her stories.

However, others did not fare as strongly as these two did and that was a problem as it prevented me from trying to engage more in the question of who the killer is. All of the secondary characters were significantly sidelined as a result of this investigative, almost cold approach at storytelling and that was an issue for me.

Thankfully, Poirot is as amazing as always. In fact, the first half of this book contains some of the funniest lines ever spoken by the man. The first chapter where it is revealed that he colors his hair was absolutely hilarious and that entire exchange between him and his partner was so funny. I wish that there were more of these moments later down the line.

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The book is at its best in the beginning and the ending while the middle section was wildly uneven, but again fresh in its structure. Psychologically speaking, the novel is obviously very well written and insightful. The pacing is terrific, making for one hell of an entertaining reading experience that just flies by. The coziness and charm were undeniable here.