The Monogram Murders

The New Hercule Poirot Mystery

By: Sophie Hannah

Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt

The new Hercule Poirot novel – another brilliant murder mystery that can only be solved by the eponymous Belgian detective and his ‘little grey cells’.

Since the publication of her first book in 1920, Agatha Christie wrote 33 novels, two plays and more than 50 short stories featuring Hercule Poirot. Now, for the first time ever, the guardians of her legacy have approved a brand new novel featuring Dame Agatha's most beloved creation.

Hercule Poirot's quiet supper in a London coffee house is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified, but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done.

Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at the fashionable Bloxham Hotel have been murdered, a cufflink placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim…

In the hands of internationally bestselling author Sophie Hannah, Poirot plunges into a mystery set in 1920s London – a diabolically clever puzzle that can only be solved by the talented Belgian detective and his ‘little grey cells’.

©2014 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Sophie's idea for a plot line was so compelling and her passion for my grandmother's work so strong, that we felt that the time was right for a new Christie to be written." (Mathew Prichard, Chairman of Agatha Christie Limited and grandson of Agatha Christie)

"We Agatha Christie fans read her stories - and particularly her Poirot novels - because the mysteries are invariably equal parts charming and ingenious, dark and quirky and utterly engaging. Sophie Hannah had a massive challenge in reviving the beloved Poirot, and she met it with heart and no small amount of little gray cells. I was thrilled to see the Belgian detective in such very, very good hands. Reading The Monogram Murders was like returning to a favorite room of a long-lost home." (Gillian Flynn)

Channelling Agatha

What made the experience of listening to The Monogram Murders the most enjoyable?

The story. I think that Ms Hannah has captured the essence of Agatha Christie's story telling style. There is a lot of reliance on dialogue to move the plot along, always interspersed with Poirot's egomanic claims that HIS little grey cells are superior to his offsider's!

The only 2 comments that I make about the book, is the setting is not a classical Christie setting - elite hotel, aristocratic home or simple English country village. (Indeed the village in this story bears more relation to Midwich that St Mary Mead!) The other comment is that the writing is a bit more detailed than I am used to with Agatha Christie, making the story a bit too long.

However, neither of these was a significant barrier to my enjoyment of the book. I congratulate Sophie Hannah on an excellent replication of a Hercule Poirot tale, and await her foray into Miss Marple's world.

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

Not on the edge of my seat, any more than one of Agatha Christie's stories did. What it did do well was to get me to exercise my little grey cells. I thoroughly enjoyed the many and varied red herrings as they trailed across the story.

Have you listened to any of Julian Rhind-Tutt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard Julian Rhind-Tutt previously, and I thought that his personification of Poirot was especially good. I liked his voice and the pace at which he read.

One problem that I did have was that he varied the volume of his voice rather too much, and that even with earphones that sit inside my ear, there were times when I had to turn the volume of my iPod very high (if I had time) and then, when using hie regular voice, it was much too loud.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction - a quiet delight that there is someone who can write a good copy of Agatha Christie's style.

Any additional comments?

If you are a Christie afficionado - read it. If you have never read Christie - read it, but then read some Christie afterwards

No, no and NO!

I don't know where to begin. I've listen/read almost all Agatha Christie books. Definitely all the Poirot mysteries. This is such a disappointment.

One:
This is not Poirot at all. Period. Shouting, ordering people around, mean insulting... also he never withholds important information, unless he found out something at the end of a book and hasn't had time to reveal it yet, and does so in the last tell-all moment, even then all the hints are there to at least make the reader guess what he is up to and what he suspects. Agatha Christie lays all that you need to know to solve the problem somewhere in plain sight, it never hangs on the missing info.

Two:
The narrator, the young Scotland Yard detective is simply blind! Even when Poirot is spelling things out he doesn't seem to follow the simplest reasonings. I understand that the narrator (usually) doesn't get things the right way, right away but eventually once the reader has been lead all the way to the answer what is the point of dragging the stupidity any further?

Three:
Plot holes so big you could fit an entirely new story in them! None of it makes sense. At first it looks like a highly detailed plan by the wrongdoers of the story, in the end everything about it is stupid and unnecessary. To avoid spoilers I wont say more here.

Four:
The writing! why so repetitive? why? I think the author should respect her readers more.

SPOILERS... The twists just don't make sense!
For example, Jennie leaves Lady W.'s house because they've already made their plans and she can't be there when Poirot shows up! Ok! and this has happened just shortly before Poirot shows up because we know the new maid is horribly inexperienced. Ok! meanwhile Lady W has had time enough to take the crested bowl belonging to Jennie out of the servants' quarters and put it in a guest room (what kind of lady does this?) and then Nancy (who is in on the plan) painted Lady W in that same place with the bowl in the picture, and had time enough to finish it? And then has to repaint it with a different color to hide the crest? Why paint it in the first place? The plans were already made! You either care or not care about the crested bowl. Why even say you were delivering a picture to Lady W and then stayed for dinner (alibi)? You're friends with Lady W and she is going to lie anyway, just say you were there for dinner... why bring attention to the altered picture? This is just one example of things that don't make sense at all!

Another example: Just remembering that in 1920s all lifts had lift attendants (unlike the story) the story falls apart badly. Not much of a mystery left for Poirot to solve.

THE MONOTOMOUS MURDERS

Would you try another book from Sophie Hannah and/or Julian Rhind-Tutt?

Judging by thus book, I doubt it.

Has The Monogram Murders turned you off from other books in this genre?

It will be a long time, before I try a pseudo Agatha Christie again.
Can't beat the real thing.

What didn’t you like about Julian Rhind-Tutt’s performance?

His performance was okay. The book was too long.

What character would you cut from The Monogram Murders?

All of them;

Any additional comments?

Was bored to tears. Book was tooooooo long, did not hold my attention. Was longwinded.
Was a waste of money. Fell asleep twice. Was surprised it was still going, when I woke up.
Terrible.

Great journey, disappointing destination

I was very satisfied with the book until the end, where the solution and the character decisions infuriated me. I re-listened the ending chapters to make sure I wasn't the one mistaken, but no such luck. The "true" chain of events is moronic and inconsistent. I would advice any mystery fan to skip this one.

Really disappointing

This was a slog. So much repetition, such frustrating narration, shitty payoff at the end. I've never hated Poirot before.