My mother gave me a series of Agatha Christie books as a gift. Some of them I had read before, but The Hollow was new to me. I really enjoyed it.
The Blurb
Agatha Christie’s ingenious mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.
Lucy Angkatell invited Hercule Poirot to lunch. To tease the great detective, her guests stage a mock murder beside the swimming pool. Unfortunately, the victim plays the scene for real. As his blood drips into the water, John Christow gasps one final word: ‘Henrietta’. In the confusion, a gun sinks to the bottom of the pool.
Poirot’s enquiries reveal a complex web of romantic attachments. It seems everyone in the drama is a suspect – and each a victim of love.
The Hollow is the country estate of flighty Lady Lucy Angkatell, who invites Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, brilliant selfish specialist Dr John Christow and his wife, a plain woman called Gerda but also his mistress the sculptress Henrietta.
The Review
In-depth characterization is perilous in a detective story, where the main interest is the mystery. However, with Christie characterization is an integral part of the plot.
In “The Hollow”, for instance, a romance is superbly delineated and of great interest by itself.
An actress, Victoria, occupies next door to the Hollow. She was the doctor’s fiancee whom he dumped fifteen years ago. The doctor lies in a puddle of blood next to the swimming pool, Gerda stands over his body with a gun, while the other guests look shocked.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tightly written who dunnit and recommend it to those who enjoy Christie's style of storytelling.
The Author
Born in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie began writing during the First World War and wrote over 100 novels, plays and short story collections. She was still writing to great acclaim until her death, and her books have now sold over a billion copies in English and another billion in over 100 foreign languages. Yet Agatha Christie was always a very private person, and though Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple became household names, the Queen of Crime was a complete enigma to all but her closest friends.