I read my first Agatha Christie book when I was 10 years old and “upta camp” for the summer at Tacoma Lakes. I was hunting for a book to read, and came across a large print book of my grandmother’s. It was The Body in the Library and I was hooked from page one!
Having died in 1976, Agatha Christie is still the most prolific mystery writer, the most translated author, and is arguably the best-selling author of all time. (I am quite the Christie nerd and can easily spout all kinds of factoids.) In fact, I am such a huge Christie fan that I have collected every book she ever wrote, including the ones written under her pseudonym, Mary Westmacott.
So last year when I heard there was a “new” Agatha Christie book coming out, by a different author, I was skeptical. So skeptical in fact, that I boycotted reading it. However, curiosity got the best of me, and I finally broke down a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try, certain that I would be disappointed.
Sophie Hannah’s The Monogram Murders, published in 2014, was actually authorized by the Christie estate. She is the only author whom has ever been permitted to resurrect a Christie character. The mystery features Hercule Poirot as he tries to solve a clever conundrum that puts his “little grey cells” to work.
Surprisingly, Christie’s beloved Poirot seems to be in good hands with author Sophie Hannah. I was all set to discount the book for many reasons, and instead I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, Hannah has the character so down pat that you feel as though you are seeing an old friend again. I will admit there were times that I snobbishly felt “Poirot wouldn’t say that”, however, those times were few and far between. The author really deserves kudos for bringing Poirot back to us.
As bestselling author Gillian Flynn put it, “Reading The Monogram Murders was like returning to a favorite room of a long-lost home.”
Indeed.
