List Epithetical Books Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #30)
| Title | : | Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #30) |
| Author | : | Agatha Christie |
| Book Format | : | Audio CD |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 244 pages |
| Published | : | April 12th 2007 by AudioGO (first published 1951) |
| Categories | : | Mystery. Fiction. Crime. Detective |
Agatha Christie
Audio CD | Pages: 244 pages Rating: 3.84 | 18267 Users | 861 Reviews
Description Concering Books Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #30)
Alas, Mrs. McGinty; we hardly knew you.
Really. I mean that. She was a widow, a woman who cleaned houses and took in lodgers to make ends meet; had a niece whom she saw at holidays, and was perhaps a bit of a nosy parker; nothing extraordinary to fill the obituary. When Inspector Spence visits the retired Poirot, he shares his troubling concern that the man he arrested for murdering Mrs. McGinty, and who is now facing the death penalty, is not truly guilty. Yes, yes; the circumstantial evidence was damning, but James Bentley’s milquetoast personality seems so wrong for the deed. Could dear Poirot perhaps put his little grey cells to work? But the clues won’t be found in McGinty’s past; as Hercule Poirot points out “For, you see, Mon cher Spence, if Mrs. McGinty is just an ordinary charwoman–it is the murderer who must be extraordinary.”
It is true; the murderer is a bit extraordinary. The plotting has an interesting premise, albeit perhaps hard to understand in the modern age. A second murder (because there always is one, isn’t there?) was unsurprising. Overall, the book reminded me more than a bit of A Murder Is Announced, so perhaps take a break between if you are on a Christie binge, or perhaps visit one of her more exotic locales in between.
For once, Christie leads with Hercule instead of consulting him later, providing an enjoyable stroll down nostalgia lane. Poirot laments the loss of Hastings as a sounding board and audience, but since Poirot’s investigative strategy is to stir up the village, he ends up ‘confiding’ in a number of people. We are treated to Christie’s standard cast of the post-war English village: a penniless but connected couple with a shabby family manse, a overly dramatic woman who enjoys her own tales of woe, the dutiful but repressed daughter, a bold young woman emblematic of the new age, an insecure, unsmart woman attempting to climb the social ladder, a postmistress with a penchant for gossip. All standard in many Christies, along with the semi-invalid elderly woman and her playwright son, echoes of Marple’s nephew Raymond.
“Mrs. Sweetiman imparted all this information with relish. She prided herself on being well informed. Mrs. Weatherby whose desire for knitting needles had perhaps been prompted by a desire to know what was going on, paid for her purchase.“
Tone seems on the playful side, which self-referential remarks on writing, appreciation and performance. When Mrs. Oliver and her apples make an appearance, it becomes quite clear that Christie is taking an authorial aside to muse on readers who obstinately prefer troublesome characters and playwrights who take license with an author’s characters. “‘How do I know?’ said Mrs. Oliver crossly. ‘How do I know why I ever thought of the revolting man? I must have been mad!… Why all the idiotic mannerisms he’s got? These things just happen. You try something–and people seem to like it–and then you go on–and before you know where you are, you’ve got someone like that maddening Sven Hjerson tied to you for life.”
Poor Dame Christie. She seems to have had at least a gastronomic sort of revenge on Poirot at least, by boarding him at the worst guest-house possible: "I thought I would open a bottle of those raspberries I put up last summer. They seem to have a bit of mould on top but they say nowadays that that doesn't matter... --practically penicillin." If it is any post-humous consolation, in my old age, I prefer Miss Marple to the conceited Poirot, but I enjoy them both. Mrs. McGinty's Dead is one worth adding to the library.
Three and a half self-referential stars.
Present Books Conducive To Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #30)
| Original Title: | Mrs. McGinty's Dead |
| ISBN: | 1572707313 (ISBN13: 9781572707313) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Hercule Poirot Mysteries #30, Ariadne Oliver #3 |
| Characters: | Ariadne Oliver, Hercule Poirot |
Rating Epithetical Books Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #30)
Ratings: 3.84 From 18267 Users | 861 ReviewsArticle Epithetical Books Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #30)
An interesting plot, enough suspects to keep you guessing till the end & a satisfying end (with a usual twist) to tie all ends up. Overall a enjoyable murder mystery that keeps you engaged till the end.Mrs. McGinty's dead. How did she die?Sticking her neck out, just like I." Had Mrs. McGinty a drab life? (Poirot)Ghastly, I expect, said Mrs. Summerhayes vaguely. Always on your knees scrubbing. And then piles of other peoples washing-up waiting for you on the sink when you arrive in the morning. If I had to face that every day, Id be positively relieved to be murdered. I really would.After 2-3 books of literary pretension (Hercules Poirot as Hercules, on a quest for detective greatness!),
This is really a *fun* mystery--I don't normally think of Dame Agatha as funny, but she is quite capable of delightfully dry British humor, and by the time she wrote this novel (in the 1950s) she was well into her long career and comfortable/confident enough to play with a lighter tone when she felt like it. I don't mean that poor Mrs. McGinty's death is treated lightly; it isn't. In fact, few of Dame Agatha's novels feature working-class protagonists, and so I was struck by her sympathetic
This was only my second time reading this book - the first time I read it, I remember being extremely underwhelmed. Like other Christie's, this one improved the second time I read it. This makes me wonder if rereading Passenger to Frankfurt will somehow turn it into The ABC Murders (kidding, kidding). I attribute this to the fact that I'm less concerned with Christie's high-wire mystery act, and rather I allow myself to be absorbed into her world.Mrs. McGinty's dead has several wonderful side
As always, Christie comes through with a great mystery with the mind of Poirot. Excellent reading
4.5*I couldnt resist this when it came up on Audible. One of my favourite Agatha Christie stories, despite the lack of Captain Hastings, but compensated by a superb narration and comic timing from Hugh Fraser. Theres chances of a few more finding their way into my Audible library.Mrs McGinty is dead. The question is by whose hand. Who would want to harm the local charwoman who, although she kept herself to herself, was somewhat of a busy body. Superintendent Spence is concerned the man now
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