THE ABC MURDERS Book Review

The ABC Murders (book 13 in Hercule Poirot series) by Agatha Christie, audiobook, 4h 44m

Synopsis from Audible: An Audible Original multi-cast adaptation of Agatha Christie's acclaimed classic, The ABC Murders, starring Peter Dinklage as the legendary Hercule Poirot. Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings reunite for their most difficult case yet. When Poirot receives a letter warning him that a crime is about to be committed by the writer: 'A.B.C' the friends find themselves in a race against time to decipher the killer's twisted logic as he taunts the great detective by announcing the next murder location alphabetically.

With every new killing a new pool of suspects is uncovered. First is Alice Ascher in Andover, whose abusive husband has a shaky alibi. Then the flirtatious Betty Barnard is murdered, leaving behind possessive fiancé, Donald Fraser and jealous sister Megan. Carmichael Clarke is the third victim, a wealthy man whose ambitious secretary, Thora Grey, or grieving brother Franklin, could be suspects. All the while, the mysterious Mr. Cust makes his rounds through England. Can Poirot and Hastings unmask the killer before a final letter seals an innocent victim's fate?

Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) returns as Agatha Christie's famous detective in his most beloved outing, with Himesh Patel (Yesterday) reprising his role as Captain Hastings. Also starring Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games), Lydia West (It's a Sin), Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody), Rahul Kohli (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death) and Sian Clifford (Fleabag).

BOOK REVIEW: Here's the thing...I had no idea that this was a part of a larger series however it appears that there is only one full cast audiobook with Peter Dinklage staring as Hercule Poirot. I haven't listened to it yet but, just like this one, it is currently free if you have an Audible subscription so it's up next! I do enjoy a full cast production but there can be downsides as well. Overall this was a great Agatha Christie story. I've only read one of her books before and I might have to revisit it.

One of the things that I did enjoy about this is that the audiobook is under 5 hours. It definitely didn't need to be any longer than that. The cast was great and the story moved at a nice and easy pace. A book that came out in the 1930s with today's actors brought this story to life. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was there were sometimes sounds that were kind of ick to me. The heavy breathing from "running", the grunting when "fighting"...those kinds of things.

This is a 4.5 star for me. It really was the breathing and grunting that was just enough to have me knock it down a half star HOWEVER it will be rounded up to a 5 star. Like I said, the cast was great and kept the story moving forward at a great pace. I also found that I sometimes needed to increase the speed of the playback because there were too many dramatic pauses or whatever but regardless it was fun to listen to and I can't wait to read the other audiobook that stars Peter Dinklage.

4.5/5 Stars

2026 Reading Challenge: 2/55 complete