The Hollow (Poirot) (Hercule Poirot Series)

This unique Agatha Christie novel is closer to a psychological study than a regular by-the-numbers mystery. The great author of whodunits relegates the criminal layer of the story under a very believable portrayal of main characters, especially three of them - Dr John Christow, his wife Gerda, and sculptress Henrietta Savernake. Still, the ever-dependable Hercule Poirot is able to see through a rather ingenious scheme pitted against him and acts before a killer commits another murder.
A different Christie, and definitely one of the better ones.

This mystery contains perhaps the most colorful cast of characters in a Christie novel. Somewhat reminiscent of Evil Under the Sun, it one-ups it with two love triangles, or is it a love square? Readable and enjoyable, yet I found it somewhat mediocre compared to what I expect from Christie. Furthermore, Agatha succeeded in inventing the most annoying character in a novel, namely Lucy Angkatell. Her style of incoherent talking made me repeatedly wish that she would quickly end up the second murder victim.

As with many of Agatha Christie's later books, her famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot has a minor part to play in "The Hollow". He does not appear until over halfway through the book, and even his methods of detection are considerably downplayed. There is no baffled Hastings in tow, no enigmatic comments sprinkled to onlookers, no triumphant denouncement; here it's as though he's so confident of reaching a solution that he doesn't even need to lift a finger, and Poirot is content to sit back and let the suspects come to him.

Instead of a straight-forward whodunit, "The Hollow" ends up being one of Christie's most in-depth character studies. There is no jealous mistress, lecherous doctor, bitter wife, but rather several of the most finely-nuanced individuals of any Christie mystery, who interact in realistic and complex ways. The effect is a mystery that is rather sobering, simply because the lives and personalities of the characters deepen the reader's investment, and the stakes are that much higher as the conclusion looms closer. Rather than looking forward to the solution, it is a sense of dread that permeates the proceedings.

The Hollow is the grand, but rather cold, estate of upright Sir Henry and his wife Lady Angkatell. For a weekend visit they gather together various family members: John Cristow, a brilliant, charismatic doctor and his submissive, meek little wife Gerda, as well as Henrietta Savernake, a talented sculptress who is John's secret mistress, Midge Hardcastle, who hates working in a cheap dress shop, and the hapless Edward Angkatell, who is all set to inherit Ainswick, the country house that means so much to so many of those gathered at the Hollow.

Their quiet family gathering is interrupted by the sudden appearance of the actress Veronica Crale, as beautiful as she is egotistical, who spirits away John into the night after a request for matches and a demand for an escort home again. John does not return until three the following morning.

I doubt it can be considered a spoiler to say that John is found dead the next morning. After an altercation with his one-night-stand, he is found bleeding into the swimming pool. Standing over him is Gerda, the gun in her hand and a stunned expression on her face. Around the body are several of the weekend guests, horror-struck and helpless, but John manages to utter one last word before he dies. It is this scene that Poirot is ushered to, and he is immediately stuck by the staged atmosphere.

The mystery unfolds at a slow but careful pace, with each character's alibi considered less important than their motivation. Many have reason to kill John Cristow, none more obviously than his wife, but as clues and leads continue to lead the police on a merry dance, Poirot's patient investigation inevitably begins to shed light on the proceedings. As Christie explains: "That was how he saw it: a pattern. A design of intermingled emotions and the clash of personalities. A strange involved design, with dark threads of hate and desire running through it."

Altogether, "The Hollow" is one of my favorite Christie mysteries, precisely because of the richness of the characters and their lives. Though they are not necessarily likable, Christie makes them fascinatingly understandable. The dissatisfaction each has with their lives, bordering on despair in some cases (and alleviated only by the fairy-like, though rather unsettling Lady Angkatell) and their tangled array of relationships and emotions makes this a mystery that is carried very much by human psychology rather than convoluted plans to lay hands on the family fortune.

Likewise, there is a cold, eerie atmosphere at work that gets under your skin: the only real point of light in the proceedings is everyone's fond regard for Ainswick. Yet even as it is regarded as a warm, peaceful reminder from each character's childhood, the reader never sees it for themselves. The style and pacing is slower than usual; dreamy and pensive, quiet and subtle.

It's not perfect (I'm not sure what the point of David Angkatell was), but as others have said, this is more than a novel than a mystery, and is carried wonderfully by four intriguing female characters. "The Hollow" is a must for anyone trying to experience the wide range of Christie's work.

The Hollow is an affecting and taut mystery in which the best of the Poirot novel elements are happily combined. The characters are among her most developed and she does her usual good job of demonstrating the impact of the changing post-war society on their personalities. Their motivations are murky, and none of them are particularly innocent. The moral ambiguity that marks this book adds a dose of depth that some of the lesser Christie novels lack.

Also titled as Murder After Hours in some editions. Recommended for Christie fans, or mystery fans new to her work.

The Hollow is a typical example of Agatha Christie's manor house mysteries, full of rich eccentrics, poor relations, loyal servants, and out-of-place neighbours (including, of course, Hercule Poirot). It is not a great puzzler but it is a pleasure. Lady Angkatell is one of the best eccentrics that Christie ever created and she criss-crosses the story in her zany manner, keeping the mystery light. This novel belongs in the mid-range of Christie mysteries as it lacks truly bizarre red herrings or an ending so impossible it almost charms. This is a straight forward story but the author still has fun putting her touchingly stock characters through their appropriate paces.

What "improvements" have been made for the Berkley edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further differences still in the Signet, Bantam, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.

I have read virtually all of Christie's books over the years. I'm sure I read this one years and years ago, though forgot it completely. It was a good mystery but not one one of her best. She cleverly added an interesting twist toward the end. Any Agatha Christie is good and this one is no exception.

Superb. The characterizations are much deeper than is usual in Christie, and to a great extent, it is character that leads to the solution here. There are clues, of course, but it is in reading the dialogue and the characters' thoughts that we have the best chance at solving the puzzle. It is true that Poirot is a bit superfluous here; the story works equally well without him (Christie removed him when she wrote the play), but if his presence does not add anything, neither does it detract from the effect of this unusually constructed and deeply moving story.

Agatha Christie is brilliant, no two ways around it. This story is seamless, insightful into human nature, fast-paced, and spicy - a worthwhile mystery.

There was one part I particularly liked near the end of book, in which Agatha Christie spoke philosophically about how people who have ultra-inquiring, scientific minds need to know the truth of things. Her character Poirot is one of those people - getting to the truth is his passion. Presumably Agatha Christie herself is one of those people too.

My question, however: What motivated her to write murder mysteries? Granted, they're fun to read for light background entertainment, and she's a master of a genre, but why did she tackle it repeatedly for decades?

I can't help but suspect that she had buried rage, perhaps a buried desire to pull off a symbolic or real murder of some sort (at her abusive parents of childhood?). Agatha Christie is fascinated by motives...and too bad she didn't reveal her own.

I understand she didn't write an autobiography. I wonder what she was hiding. The little I've read about her suggests there was a lot...

Dame Christie postpones Poirot's arrival till many chapters in, and the result intrigues and challenges. Ultimately, though, it also frustrates. Too much of too many irritating people and not enough of the man himself.

Do not give credence to anyone who says Hercule Poirot is superfluous in this book. He is the avenging angel and the bearer of the truth in Christie's brilliant stew of ambiguity and moral relativism. That the insanely clever solution (and don't bother trying to guess cause you won't) is couched in the middle of an actual novel only serves to draw the reader away from the incredible conclusion. Exceptional characterizations and superb setting accentuate the plot in what is decidedly one of Christie's best.

I found the interaction of the characters in this book to be most interesting; This is Poirot at his best! It took me longer than usual to follow the usual suspects and discover their motives. Their peculiarities kept getting in the way! In any case - it was great fun - also a bit macabre !

This is a very good novel from Agatha Christie, one of her best. Atmosphere, characters, the detention itself, everything here is interesting and well developed. There are even interesting parts where the author gives some reflections about art.

"The Hollow" is certainly one of Agatha Christie's more enjoyable books. Agatha Christie has created several extremely fascinating characters in this novel. Hercule Poirot solves this mystery with remarkable finesse, as always. The solution is not altogether anticipated, which makes for a very entertaing read.

This is really the best AC novel. The characters are frightening real. Especialy Lady Lucy, Gerda Christow and Henrietta Savernake, the leading ladies in this novel. The plot is surprising, though not very superb. But this book isn't a whodunnit, but a real novel. Absolutely worth reading!!

I enjoyed it much more on the second reading. Poirot does fit into the story, as a perceptive and benevolent presence on the sidelines. I like the way the various characters find excuses to visit his cottage (a white, modern concrete box, of course). Another reviewer called the houseparty "cosy" - the whole point is that it was never going to be cosy. All the characters are anguished and have ambiguous relationships with each other, their lives and the past. You want to know what happens to them all after the book ends, especially the victim's son. Two flaws: Henrietta's sculptures sound awful, and it's a shame Christie's casual anti-Semitism wasn't edited out.

In my opinion,this book is one of Agatha Christie's finest.It is a book that stands alone as a kind if compared to Christie's other books.You will find out what I mean when you reach the last chapter but one of this book.The characters of John Christow,Gerda Christow,and Henrietta Savernake is brought up and developed very nicely throughout the book.This book do not have much in the line of detection,but the characterization and the story line of this book is well worth its price.All in all,I would really recommend this book to all Christie's fans,and particularly fans of Poirot.

Poirot suspects that someone has staged a murder for him, until he discovers that he has walked in on the real thing. The book is actually quite dull and spoiled by the other characters, who are either entirely selfish and unpleasant, or pitifully inadequate. Not one of the best and the inability to warm to the other characters does not help at all. Not bad, but not too good, either.

Christie experiments a lot, I admit that.

But the final was disappointing.

Why idolize John? He was a selfish guy and an adulterer.

Good riddance, I'd say. No wonder he got killed.

Poor Gerda.. requiescat in pace.

This is a satisfying, suspenseful story. Lady Angkatell is an original character, and sort of sets the stage for the rambling, disconnectedclues in this book.

Good book for a short trip -- takes about three hours to read.