The Hollow (by Agatha Christie)

(Amazon UK link)

I didn't really discover Agatha Christie until the last few years - and am pleased to find so many of her novels, although I try not to read too many at once as they can become somewhat 'samey'. Her plots are always extremely clever and well-planned, but her characters are rather two-dimensional, and my personal preference is for character-driven novels, with people who feel 'alive'.

Having said that, I find Agatha Christie a quick light read when I want something different from my usual choices.

In 'The Hollow', the hospitable Lucy has gathered a houseparty together featuring several different people. She invites Hercule Poirot to lunch, whereupon - unsurprisingly - a man is murdered by the swimming pool.

Eventually Poirot pinpoints the murderer, as usual, after a trail of red herrings. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but I certainly couldn't see the answer clearly until it was revealed.

Not one of the very best, but fast-paced and mostly believable, and - as usual - very cleverly plotted. Still in print many years after publication, in both UK and USA.


(I wrote a much longer review of 'The Hollow' when re-reading this two years later)