This also explains the episodic and disjointed feel of the book. So, when her former brother-in-law suggested that she try and combine some Poirot short stories she had drafted into a novel, The Big Four was the result. It also left her with the pressure of having to write for a pay check. Seriously, The Big Four is not representative of Christie’s other books and is not representative of the Poirot series.Ĭhristie wrote The Big Four shortly after her separation/divorce from her first husband, an event that shook her to her core and left her both devastated an unable to write. It really is not one of Christie’s fines works, and I feel it is important to point this out to anyone who picked up The Big Four as either their first Christie or their first Poirot novel. Still, I like The Big Four even if I can acknowledge that it is a ridiculous book with a ridiculous plot and that the characters and story are all over the place. Of course, I am writing this while firmly implanting my tongue into my cheek. Whether Fleming would have acknowledged such source… Who knows? And why not? Much of the plot of The Big Four seems to have been a blueprint for Fleming’s much later work. 4 – should share the same acclaim and notoriety as Dr. In a way, I feel Poirot’s nemesis – the mysterious No. It is so bonkers that I love comparing it to the best of the worst classic international thrillers, and they don’t come much worse than James Bond for me.

It is surpassed, in my opinion only by Postern of Fate, The Secret of Chimneys, and Passport to Frankfurt in its ridiculousness.īe that as it may, I have a soft spot for this book. This month we turned to The Big Four, a book that deservedly lands in the bottom percentile of any Christie “Best of” list. My fellow Agathytes on Goodreads are currently reading all of Christie’s novels in publication order.

The big four agatha christie