Death in the Clouds

A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Hugh Fraser

From seat number nine, Hercule Poirot is almost ideally placed to observe his fellow air travelers on this short flight from Paris to London. Over to his right sits a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite. Ahead, in seat number 13, is the Countess of Horbury, horribly addicted to cocaine and not doing too good a job of concealing it. Across the gangway in seat number eight, a writer of detective fiction is being troubled by an aggressive wasp. Yes, Poirot is almost ideally placed to take it all in - except that the passenger in the seat directly behind him has slumped over in the course of the flight ... dead.

Murdered. By someone in Poirot's immediate proximity. And Poirot himself must number among the suspects.

This title was previously published as Death in the Air.

©1935 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers

solution elegantly simple

What made the experience of listening to Death in the Clouds the most enjoyable?

The story was straightforward enough. A person dies on a plane, one of the passengers must have done it. There were many complicated motives and possible solutions, but in the end Poirot manages to ignore all the distractions and focuses on what really matters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Death in the Clouds?

The revelation of the murderer's identity. Forgive me I cannot further elaborate

What does Hugh Fraser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voice of Poirot. I used to read Christie's novels until recently I started to listen to them. Hugh Fraser brings Poirot's French/Belgian side of the character to life. As I have limited exposure to French, I cannot but imagine Poirot as the typical English gentlemen. Hugh Fraser gives me a more complete illustration of Poirot's character

Any additional comments?

Listen carefully. I listened to this story while my sister read the book. Poirot at early stages of the book finds out who the murder is by looking at a list of items carried by the passengers. If you really want to try to solve the murder yourself it may be worth searching for the list online - after all, listening to a list of items may not be the most enjoyable experience.

A classic Christie

Lots of suspects, a series of clues and misdirections, plus a couple of love affairs and still Poirot is triumphant. Hugh Fraser's renditions of the Poirot stories are the absolute best.

Excellent

What made the experience of listening to Death in the Clouds the most enjoyable?

Hugh Fraser never disappoints. This is another excellent Agatha Christie mystery. I tried so hard to figure it out but was still completely in the dark up until the last 5 min. when it was explained. An excellent read!....er, hear!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I tried so hard to figure it out but was still completely in the dark up until the last 5 min. when it was explained. Several of what I thought were "clues" never came into play.

What about Hugh Fraser’s performance did you like?

He is so consistent with his voices throughout the books. I know who is talking now just by the voice. I really appreciate that because it helps the book become more real and easier to follow.

love these books

its another good one that has you guessing until the end. love the way she writes. fun read

A Great Read!

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the narration. It had good variety and kept my attention the whole time.

insufficient clues to guess the end

we enjoyed this story until the end. The author did not provide any clue to the guilty person. I like to keep guessing, but this one withheld information so it wasn't possible to guess at all.

Good puzzle

Hugh Frasier is wonderful as a narrator. He takes on every character so that it feels like you’re listening to a play.

I like the fact that this mystery isn’t as well known as Christie’s other stories.

It is complicated with the clues so that being an audio, it’s harder to keep track of things, but still a good teaser of who could possibly of been the murderer.

Sensational murder on an airplane

Another great and puzzling installment in the Poirot canon. I had correctly identified the murderer early in the narrative, but had absolutely no idea how or why it was done, nor could I follow some of Poirot's methodical steps to solving it. Sensational crime, and sensational solution revealed. Once again, fantastic performance by Fraser.

So so

Not the best Poirot. A bit draggy in the middle. Does the trick if you are looking for a mystery, but wouldn’t be my first recommendation.

Love the Poirot series!

this is one of the best mysteries series of all time. which is why it's still a classic almost 100 years later. this is also, I have found, the best narrator of Agatha Christie's works. I highly recommend this audiobook.