#55: Dead Man's Folly

Christie, Agatha: Dead Man's Folly. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1956. Print. 226 pages.

SETTING: Nasse House in Devon, a county in South West England.

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SUMMARY: The successful Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, is suddenly called upon by famous mystery author, Ariadne Oliver, to come to Nasse House, a beautiful country property where she is a guest.  A crime has yet to occur, but Ms. Oliver feels an impending evil is upon Nasse House.  She is unfortunately correct...

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'I think when one is old, the death of anyone who is young upsets one out of proportion.  We old folks expect to die, but the child had her life before her.'

'It might not have been a very interesting life.'

'Not from our point of view, perhaps, but it might have been interesting to her.'" - Chapter 16, part 2, page 187.

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With just a little more free time than before, life has become so relaxing!  Our school bookstore was recently revamped and now provides a very comfortable place to sit and read.  I missed reading a good Poirot novel, so decided that this would be the next book of choice!
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Things I liked about this book:

1. The storyline.  It was very simple, but I was hooked from start to finish.
2. Poirot's methods of deduction.  It's not explained all the way until the end, as in any good mystery novel, but when the grand reveal happens, Christie manages to tie everything together very nicely.
3. The subtle clues scattered throughout the book.  Piggybacking off of the last point, she brings all the little clues she gives the readers together at the end, and everything makes sense, as it always does.
4. Christie's writing style.  But you already know this :)
5. Hercule Poirot himself.  One of my favorite detectives, only in close competition with Sherlock Holmes.  He is eccentric and has his own unique methods of successfully completing his work, and most importantly, he stays true to his character, regardless of what other people say about him. 

Things I didn't like about this book: 

1. We aren't given any information as to the fate of the criminals.  It made the story feel a little incomplete to not know what the final outcome was.

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I love Christie's novels, especially ones featuring Poirot, and I rarely have any dislikes.  I pick these novels when I want a good book without having to go through the effort of shopping around for one.  My book soul was successfully satisfied.

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Recommend?  Yes!