Book Review: Hercule Poirot book 5 : The Big Four

Original Language: English
Publisher: William Collins & Sons
Country: UK
Publication Date: January 27, 1927
Page Count: 282

My rating 

Blurb

Hercule Poirot is preparing for a voyage to South America. Looming in the doorway of his bedroom is an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust and mud. The man's gaunt fae registers Poirot for a moment, and then he collapses. The stranger recovers long enough to identify Poirot by name and madly and repeatedly scripple the figure '4' on a piece of paper. Poirot cancels his trip. An investigation is in order. Fortunately, Poirot has the faithful Captain Hastings at his side as he plunges into a conspiracy of international scope -- one that would consolidate power in the deadly cabal known as "The Big Four".

My thought

I can't get a hold on how exactly I feel about The Big Four. Overall, it read like a collection of short stories, similar to Poirot Investigates or Hercule Poirot's Early Cases. However, each short episode ties in to the plot as a whole.  Rather than being a traditional whodunit, this book deals more with conspiracy and intrigue as Poirot and Hastings attempt to foil the plans of an international group of evil masterminds known as “The Big Four.” Whereas Poirot is usually one to sit back and use his “little gray cells,” in this instance he jumps into the fray, making this book a little too Sherlock Holmes-like. Also, I can't decide if Christie was attempting to pay tribute to Sherlock Holmes, or if she simply wanted to write a similarly styled tale in which the protagonist takes on an all-powerful super-genius bad guy. Who knows? This book is clever as usual but not my favourite. The plot seemed too big - world domination doesn't suit Christie ... much better when she's dealing with murdered aristocrats and jealous lovers. Still, not knocking itThe Big Four was a fun read, and I'm glad to see Hastings back after a stint in South America.