Hercule Poirot is appalled by the unrefined amusingness his leader shows by masterminding a "murder" scene to unfurl as he arrives. Too awful it was genuine... At the point when Poirot understands the man with the gunfire wound is truly biting the dust, he surges over in the nick of time to hear the man heave a name: "Henrietta." Poirot first presumes the spouse of the wrongdoing, at that point the fancy woman, and each other relative and worker thus. He at last understands that each intimation, as opposed to driving him toward a suspect, drives him far from one specific individual... Poirot's interest and craving for reality develop. He should know who executed John Angkatell.

I've read this a few times already, but it never ceases to fascinate me. What got me this time was the pure malevolence of Lucy. So sweet. So charming. Such a good hostess. And without a doubt, a complete sociopath (or is it psychopath?). (OK. I have to take back the bit about a good hostess since she was considering killing one of her guests so things wouldn't be so difficult for her cousin.)To me, she is one of the most frightening characters ever created. Forget about Hannibal....Lucy has him beat by a country mile. And to think that Christie created her in the mid-40s, long before this type of character became popular. Fascinating!

I chose The Hollow to be the first book of Agatha's that I read in its original language. I've read all of Agatha's books but a few, all translated in Arabic, and I had a slight fear that I wouldn't like it in English. But I liked it much better in English.I've seen the adaptation of The Hollow some years ago. I liked it very much, and naturally when I read the book two days ago I had a very clear idea about the ending.But my previous knowledge didn't prepare me for the actual depth of the novel. Surprisingly, most of the characters were detailed profoundly. Especially Henrietta, John and Gerda.Although I didn't see as much as I would liked of M. Poirot. His appearances were rather brief and rushed.Such a marvellous story, This novel became one of my favorites.

I don't think I'm gonna include this one into my still short list of great detective stories by Agatha Christie. The mystery wasn't quite intriguing, although her narrative did mislead me a bit (I should've trusted my gut more, Lol). But I think all the characters were great. By great, I mean, they were all unique and were told in a funny way sometimes. Gerda and Lucy were the ones with the most unique and funniest personality. The way they talk and think were hilarious. So, over all, I enjoyed this book.

"Since she was a woman of disconcertingly rapid thought processes, Lady Angkatell, as was her invariable custom, commenced the conversation in her own mind, supplying Midges answers out of her own fertile imagination. The conversation was in full swing when Lady Angkatell flung open Midges door.And so, darling, you really must agree that the weekend is going to present difficulties! Eh? Hwah! Midge grunted inarticulately, aroused thus abruptly from a satisfying and deep sleep."A house party in the country, where each guest struggles with some internal conflict. The plot is pretty standard for a Christie novel, and so it the resolution. What really drew me to the book, tho, was it's focus on the characters. Not all of the characters are likable, some are down-right horrible, but what I really liked was that many of them are either transformed by the events of the book or undergo some serious soul searching. The weakest part of the book was the ending. Although, it makes for a convenient conclusion, this is one of the Christie books where I felt she could have strayed from the path of formula and presented something more - not controversial, but - challenging as she had done in some of her other books - Endless Night for example.Despite the weak(-ish) ending, I immensely enjoyed the book. I think this is the one that made me constantly think about why I prefer Poirot to Marple (even Poirot is almost a nuisance in this one). I believe the reason I am drawn to Poirot instead of Marple is their difference in outlook - where Marple seems a grounded old lady without many quirks, I have always found her to be a bit of a judgmental snob who seeks out the worst in people - and the gloats when her expectations are confirmed.Poirot on the other hand gives the appearance of an eccentric but for all his quirks, he still manages to express his faith in and hopes for many of the characters he encounters. I really noticed this in his observations about Lady Angkatell, the most beautiful of which was:"Hercule Poirot thought: She is oldher hair is greythere are lines in her face. Yet she has magicshe will always have magic "