I hate waterAriadne Oliver, once rescued at sea by a friend.I hate apples. I never want to see another apple againAriadne OliverHalloween Party, Hercule Poirot #36, the second to last Poirot novel, published in 1969, and the second to last written, since Curtain was written in the forties, ready to publish when the end would finally come about (which didnt happen for more than a quarter of a century later!). To say this is better than youd expect is no compliment, of course, but it is just is. I had little expectations except to be happily surprised at the cleverness of some aspects of the ending, as I always am, and in that respect was not disappointed.Hostile 13-year-old Joyce, known to be a compulsive liar, tells everyone at a Halloween Party for Plus Elevens that she once saw a murder; when no one believes, she leaves in a huff and is promptly drowned in the tub for bobbing apples. This is the second of the Poirot books, both of them written when Christie was a grandmother, where children die, and almost die. An expression of grandparently worry? Aside from the lively opening, in the spirit of P.G. Wodehouse, to whom the book is dedicated, the book descends for more than a 100 pages into a dull and somewhat needless side story about a forged codicil to a will. This is a Halloween story, can it not be a little scary? Can it not connect to Halloween more than just the opening?! We do have a woman, Mrs. Goodbody who plays a witch at the party, who also seems to have some actual (though underutilized) psychic capacity, and who presciently tells Poirot:Ding dong dell, A pussy in the well quoting a nursery rhyme [and can a reference to pussies in the pussy hat Womens March generation ever again be only a reference to cats? It IS here!]But Christie is (largely) consistent; if you think a murder has to do with madness or magic, you are wrong. Sprites or drooling crazies are not generally killers in Christie. It is usually greed, at the base of things, in some way or the other. You need a reason to kill.The killer in this tale kills for greed, but it is money s/he requires to create Beauty, to make Art. So s/he kills, in the manner of Agamemnon, who sacrificed his daughter Iphegenia so that he could get a wind to take him to Troy.There is always a brave world, but only, you know, for very special people. The lively ones. The ones who carry the making of that world within themselves.Poirot.This novel, set n 1969, includes several references to young men with raucous rock n roll voices and piles of unruly hair. Christie and the sixties were not a match, lets say. There are water and apple references throughout this taleone house that figures in is even called Apple Trees--but as Poirot points out, One always comes back to applesPoirotIt is "scatty detective writer Ariadne Oliver that invites Poirot to help solve the murder(s), which do pile up near the end. She's a lively character, the best thing that came to the imagination of the later Christie.Halloween Party is quite good in places, it really is, overall, but it is uneven, including long passages of near irrelevance and boredom after a promising energetic and amusing opening, though it has, Ill admit, a pretty satisfying conclusion.

Oh, how I love this novel. I re-read it nearly every Hallowe'en. It is the last great novel that Christie wrote featuring Poirot; after this, he appeared in the not-so-good Elephants Can Remember, and then came the final Curtain (actually written many years earlier). It also features Mrs. Ariadne Oliver at her absolute best--one sees so much of Christie in her fictional avatar, especially her wonderful sense of humor. Mrs. Oliver is allowed to express many thoughts on the trials of writing mystery fiction--no doubt Christie's own experiences. The premise is deliciously macabre and dramatic: a child says she has witnessed a murder, then almost immediately is found drowned in a bucket of apples meant for bobbing at a Hallowe'en party. Mrs. Oliver is put right off of eating apples for the time being, and Poirot is called in to help. The solution makes perfect use of Christie's ability to conceal the crucial clue in plain sight.Hallowe'en Party is an elusive novel. Every time I read it, I try to grasp how it is that the tone gradually shifts from matter-of-fact life in a solidly British village to something magical and otherworldly. The sunken garden and the people associated with it bring in some of the dreamy, romantic tone of The Hollow, but with a more clever solution. Christie was known for having an almost transparent writing style--simple and to the point. However, she could build atmosphere when she chose; this novel shows that she was a very fine writer and not just an ingenious puzzler. Perhaps that it why I return to it again and again.

Another block buster from the queen of crime writing. Once again Poiroit teams up with Mrs. Oliver to solve a crime where the characters have a sinister past. Slowly and skillfully the ace detective unravels the plot. Compared to her other novels, this is relatively shorter but not short on thrill

My first Hercule Poirot novelprobably not the best one to start with, but still very enjoyable. Having enjoyed David Suchets portrayal of M. Poirot, I felt I had the basis of the character and was quite comfortable jumping in at number 36 (!) of the Poirot mysteries.I really enjoyed getting a contemporary look at the late 1960s in Britain in this novelthe young men with their sideburns and their fancy fashions! Plus, Dame Agatha is such an accurate observer of the human condition. She includes all the types that I would expect to find in a small town: the catty gossips, the one woman who seems to organize everything and is simultaneously appreciated and resented for it, the cads, the bounders, and the decent men.Probably not the strongest entry in Christies canon, but it filled a very enjoyable evening. Read to fill the Set on Halloween square on my 2016 Halloween Book Bingo card.

''The past is the father of the present.The ''crime'' writers who write like Christie are few. The ones who try to write mysteries similar to her own are non-existent. I may sound harsh, but those who struggle to imitate her should take a step back and reconsider. And why is that? Because she understood, embraced and elevated to a whole new level the implications of the past when facing the present. As horrible as a present situation may be, the roots of all evil lie in the deeds of the past. This is present to every work of the Queen of Crime. In my opinion, ''Hallowe'en Party'' delivers this notion in a highly atmospheric manner and presents one of the most elaborate crimes Agatha ever delivered.13 year old Joyce, a little busybody who wants to be in the centre of attention, is found murdered in a tub filled with apples, in a twisted apple-bobbing game on Halloween. Hercule and the wonderful Ariadne Oliver are called to solve the crime. In this work, sexual passion and obsession are the motives that guide each suspect and there is a plethora of fascinating stories of people attracted to beauty, vice and a twisted notion of love. Agatha creates a unique atmosphere, with prominent descriptions of the Halloween festivities, the beautiful garden, the temptations that guide the characters to questionable deeds. The snapdragon scene, a haunting game that isn't included in many works of Fiction, is among my favourites in all of Christie's novels and stories. Not to mention that I love Ariadne to pieces. I think she's an exciting character on her own and the proper equivalent to our beloved Hercule. And, naturally, the ITV film production was perfect, despite some deviations from the novel.If you want to experience Halloween through Crime Fiction, don't look further. ''Hallowe'en Party'' is just what you want, with a healthy dose of good old British mystery. Can't get any more perfect than that...