Rating: 
Summary: Hercule Poirot Gets Angry
Review: ... might have been the better title, but I wasn't there when she decided on the title. Oh well.Air travel in its infancy was neither a preferred nor a classy mode of transportation. The infamous air-sickness was the major drawback of airplanes in the 1930s. But Poirot, desperate to go back to London, had no other choice, and had to board an airplane. All was well, except for a major air sickness in Poirot's part. When they touched down in London they realised that one of their passengers had died during the flight, and much to Poirot's anger, sat a few seats from him! Agatha Christie was fine here, playing with Poirot's sense of pride that a murder had occured under his own nose and could have done nothing to stop it. And he had a premonition that another murder will happen unless he could unmask this killer... Told with her usual wry humour, the solution won't make you jump in your seat, but rather you'll be, like, "Oh, so that's why it happens." You'll enjoy watching Poirot gets angry.
Rating: 
Summary: Sudden Twist
Review: A murder on an aircraft? Right, and within just a few feet of detective Hercule Poirot! I haven't read many books by Christie, but I knew this was going to be a good one...
And it was. It goes through a female passenger being murdered on a aircraft from Le Pinet, under everyone's noses unnoticed. Poirot is air-sick on the plane and is called upon the investigation. The mystery unfolds page by page, introducing new characters--suspects-- chapter by chapter. There were many varius suspects, and they never narrow down. There was a bit of a twist in the last few chapters of the story, well, for Poirot and another in the last chapter for the readers, yet it makes sense and draws in a nice ending. This is a definite page turner and a great read when you think you're bored, because with Christie's mysteries, you never know what's going to happen.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Premise, Odd Conclusion
Review: Agatha Christie was perhaps a little too clever in creating the premise for Death in the Clouds. A woman is killed in a plane with eleven other passengers and stewards around her and let us just say that a wasp, a blowpipe, a dart, and snake venom are all involved. It is an impossible crime (I know this because one character or another says so, frequently) and quite an intriquing one. Sadly, the conclusion does not live up to the anticipation and Hastings abscence as narrator is sorely missed. It is always a joy, though, to read Poirot regardless and the book is crammed with many red herrings and a little more romance than usual. Not top drawer Christie but still a minor pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: Sudden Twist
Review: Aggie starts off the story with a bang (a memorable, highly charged murder location) then sort of finishes it off with some rather silly, almost implausible resolutions to back it up. Only the very astute reader could possibley figure out "who dun it", but at least, you won't be bored. This reminded me of her later work The Clocks, which also had an effective beginning and got even more complicated than it needed to by the time it was over. To make up for its flaws, Christie does, however, put characters together you really wouldn't think would get together. She always was brilliant playing with audience expectations. PS: Even if you can't see the killer before Poirot does, you may pick up on a few clues in the same clever way, so the story isn't a total bust.
Rating:
Summary: fun ride but she's done better
Review: Aggie starts off the story with a bang (a memorable, highly charged murder location) then sort of finishes it off with some rather silly, almost implausible resolutions to back it up. Only the very astute reader could possibley figure out "who dun it", but at least, you won't be bored. This reminded me of her later work The Clocks, which also had an effective beginning and got even more complicated than it needed to by the time it was over. To make up for its flaws, Christie does, however, put characters together you really wouldn't think would get together. She always was brilliant playing with audience expectations. PS: Even if you can't see the killer before Poirot does, you may pick up on a few clues in the same clever way, so the story isn't a total bust.
Rating:
Summary: Surprising....
Review: Ah, fooled again. This is a classic Christie novel, very entertaining. A murder is commited on an air plane, right under Poirot's nose!
A french money lender is found dead in her seat, apparently a poison thorn caused it. Who did it, how? Nobody saw anybody do it, so who did it? I won't ruin the ending though, very surprising.
Rating:
Summary: Surprising....
Review: Ah, fooled again. This is a classic Christie novel, very entertaining. A murder is commited on an air plane, right under Poirot's nose!
A french money lender is found dead in her seat, apparently a poison thorn caused it. Who did it, how? Nobody saw anybody do it, so who did it? I won't ruin the ending though, very surprising.
Rating:
Summary: One of Christie's finest 1930s Novels
Review: Although it was once considered one of Christie's best works, the fame of DEATH IN THE CLOUDS has been somewhat eclipsed over the years by other 1930s works such as AND THEN THERE NONE, THE ALPHABET MURDERS, and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS--but even so, it really should be ranked among her finest efforts. In some respects, the novel resembles ORIENT EXPRESS, for it offers us the tale of a murder committed on an aircraft, a circumstance which gives the writer a very tightly drawn field of suspects. In this case, the victim is a French money lender of somewhat dubious repute and the murder occurs directly under the nose of an air-sick Hercule Poirot and seemingly in the most incredibly improbable manner imaginable. In addition to one of Christie's most effective jaw-dropping plots, the book is extremely witty, sometimes almost to the point of parody. Christie frequently mocked mystery writers who found ridiculous ways in which to dispatch the victim, and here she not only presents us with an impossible murder, she offers us exactly such a novelist as one the primary suspects! But in typical Christie fashion all is not as it seems: there are numerous twists to the fast-paced tale--and only the most astute reader will be unsurprised by her solution. Extremely enjoyable, clever, lots of fun, and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: another Christie delight!
Review: Any mystery fan whould love this book. Not only is the murderer near impossible to guess, the way the crime was committed is equally as difficult. Two mysteries in one book. Who more could you want?
Rating:
Summary: Nice twists and turns
Review: As a fan of Christie, I have already begun to make deductions on how the Ms Giselle, passenger occupying a seat in the last row on a plane, could have been killed by a poisoned blowdart without anyone else in the compartment noticing the murderer using the blowpipe. To add insult to injury, another passenger of the flight, Hercule Poirot who had slept through the incident, found the blowpipe stuffed behind his seat. The flight was not full, and the victim sat alone. The list of suspect was immediately produced - in the rows in front of the victim, there was the businessman James Ryder, the mystery writer Clancy, the dentist Norman Gale and a hairdresser Jane Grey, across the aisle from the victim sat two French nationals; a Dupont father and son team of archeologist, a Harley Street doctor who played a flute sat next to Poirot, and two society ladies who parried each other bitchily. The two stewards who had served the compartments were included but quickly dismissed as suspects. The clue to the murderer was to be found in the belongings of the suspects listed by the police as requested by Poirot, but being a mystery fan, I had zoomed in immediately on a most logical but errornous clue. The writer contrasted the methods of the police, as represented by Inspector Japp, to that of Poirot. While Japp "measured footprints and looked for dropped clues", Poirot sat back tried to determine the murderer from the profile of the victim. Several possible motives became apparent, Ms Giselle was a rich French moneylender who encouraged her multi-national clients to pay up by possession of secrets her clients could not afford to have publicised. She lived alone, leaving her fortune to an only daughter whom she left with an orphanage at a very young age. That was after she became disfigured in her face and chose to pursue a non-traditional lifestyle, distancing herself but not completely cutting off ties with her family. Poirot was able to perceive clues where the British and French police failed. From dealing with the lower classes (being a private citizen), to interacting with other suspects (being a suspect himself), he was able to glean out certain details which appeared to be of no significance, but when put together, clarifies the entire picture properly. Having read a number of her books, I thought myself more familiar with the era of her stories, learning the customs etc, and I pit myself against Christie to put together her clues before it was revealed in her story. I did not win often, and this is another such instance. Can you do better?
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