After the Funeral

A GOOD MYSTERY,

I'M AN AVID CHRISTIE FAN AND I COULD NOT WAIT TO DEVOUR THIS BOOK. WHAT GOT ME WAS THE TITLE AND AS I READ ON THE BOOK DID NOT DISAPPOINT UNTIL CLOSE THE END WHEN THE KILLER WAS EXPOSED.IN THE USUAL STYLE OF AGATHA CHRISTIE IT WAS A TOTAL SUPRISE! IF YOU LIKE A GOOD MYSTERY WITH LOTS OF SUSPECT THEN YOU WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK

Who did it when everyone seems guilty?

Agatha Christie had true talent when it came to spinning masterpieces. Her legendary Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot used his shrewd logic to defeat many criminals when microscopes and labs were used in other mysteries, taking the reader on a rid of their life as he tracked clues and interviewed the suspects.

When Richard Abernethie dies and his family meets at the funeral, one person is certain that he was murdered. But when Cora, the one who knew something falls to the same fate as her brother, fingers start to point and everyone is in shambles unable to produce a clear alibi. Nieces and nephews, the servants and even strangers who were at the wrong place at the wrong time seem to hide something and it's not too soon when the famous Poirot, disguised as potential buyer of the Abernethie mansion is called to sort out the mess.

"After the funeral" was a complex and delightful read because it wasn't as simple as most books, this tale had so many guilty suspects that the hard part was weeding out the only one person responsible for the death while omitting more than a few red herrings and characters of mixed morals. Poirot outdoes himself relying heavily on his use of conversation, talking about nothing and everything to catch a phrase out of context and secure his bait. I adored the wide array of characters, the feuding family, snobby and marred with flaws as they made for a colorful read with one of the best twisted endings I have ever read. The story itself was simple yet it spiraled into a huge event, one that I loved sitting and reading for a few days, and always trying to find more time to devote to it. Following the fun I had with this book I am going to read another Poirot mystery "Hallowe'en Party" in hopes of sharpening my detective skills, perhaps this time I can catch the killer on my own!


- Kasia S.

Twisting and turning, you can't resist trying to solve it

The revelations from chapter to chapter will take your mind twisting and turning down many possible paths. While After the Funeral is not in the class of Murder on the Orient Express or Death on the Nile, it is a captivating effort none the less. Recommended.

AVERAGE POIROT MYSTERY

AFTER THE FUNERAL was written in 1952 and first published in 1953. This Hercule Poirot "all in the family" mystery is, in my opinion, not one of the best Agatha Christie mysteries of that period but I appreciated it anyway for its implacable portrayal of a British family of the high bourgeoisie. Incidentally, if the members of the Abernethy family hadn't been so self-conscious of their belonging to their social class, there wouldn't have been any mystery at all. The solution of the mystery is, one must admit it, very improbable and strictly lies on the fact that people of a peculiar social class completely ignore those from a different background.

Great Characters and Lots of Plot Twists - a la Christie!

This Poirot book is the usual fare for Christie fans. There are lots of intricate plot twists and red herrings, and the characters are wonderful. I think I read Agatha christie for the characters more than anything, and this book does not disappoint. In this book the family patriarch dies suddenly. He has been ill, and no one questions the death until his youngest sister says "He was murdered wasn't he?" at the funeral. Then the next day this sister is found brutally murdered in her home. Enough for the family solicitor to call in retired Hercule Poirot. The ending of the book is quite unexpected, but that's usual for an Agatha Christie book.