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Rating: 
Summary: Slow going at first, but ...
Review: ... It really picks up, and when it does, look out! Ms. Christie takes a little longer than usual to introduce us to all the characters -- all of whom will, of course, either become victims or suspects, except for the incomparable Hercule Poirot. The mystery is centered around a real-life game of CLUE, played with real people, that's meant to be entertainment at a local fair. And then it goes terribly wrong. Tortured family relationships and issues of class and heritage complicate matters. Just as the murder was introduced a little too slowly for my taste, its resolution was come upon a bit too abruptly. But these are just quibbles. Suchet's performance as Poirot made this unabridged audio book a delight.
Rating: 
Summary: great plot
Review: Although this book had an interesting concept that quickly caught my eye, I soon discovered that it was not one of Agatha Christie's best works. "Dead Man's Folly" caught my attention with the idea that a murder hunt was to take place on the grounds of the beautiful Nasse House and the famous Hercule Poirot would present the prizes. I expected of course that this was just a facade of what was yet to come. Agatha Christie is one of the greatest mystery writers of all time but I have read some of her better books. Don't get me wrong, this book was a fun read for any mystery lover, but it lacked the plot and suspence needed to first grab the readers attention. The plot was also trite and underdeveloped. Mrs. Oliver, the mystery writer who is in charge of the hunt, pretty much eludes to the fact that there will be a murder. As a character, she does not know, but we as the reader understand the hint that Christie is trying to give. The ending, however, did surprise me. I would not have expect innocent and frail Mrs. Folliatt could hide such a deep secret about her son. In these last pages, Christie does redeem herself for the rest of the book with interesting descriptions and a insightful look into the human mind. Although the plot was underdeveloped and murder was inevitable, Christie wrote about dynamic characters in the novel that had human qualities. I much preferred another one of her novels, a name which i cannot remember, but as always, Agatha Christie had managed to puzzle us once again. She is truely the "Queen of Crime!"
Rating:
Summary: not one of Christie's best works
Review: Although this book had an interesting concept that quickly caught my eye, I soon discovered that it was not one of Agatha Christie's best works. "Dead Man's Folly" caught my attention with the idea that a murder hunt was to take place on the grounds of the beautiful Nasse House and the famous Hercule Poirot would present the prizes. I expected of course that this was just a facade of what was yet to come. Agatha Christie is one of the greatest mystery writers of all time but I have read some of her better books. Don't get me wrong, this book was a fun read for any mystery lover, but it lacked the plot and suspence needed to first grab the readers attention. The plot was also trite and underdeveloped. Mrs. Oliver, the mystery writer who is in charge of the hunt, pretty much eludes to the fact that there will be a murder. As a character, she does not know, but we as the reader understand the hint that Christie is trying to give. The ending, however, did surprise me. I would not have expect innocent and frail Mrs. Folliatt could hide such a deep secret about her son. In these last pages, Christie does redeem herself for the rest of the book with interesting descriptions and a insightful look into the human mind. Although the plot was underdeveloped and murder was inevitable, Christie wrote about dynamic characters in the novel that had human qualities. I much preferred another one of her novels, a name which i cannot remember, but as always, Agatha Christie had managed to puzzle us once again. She is truely the "Queen of Crime!"
Rating:
Summary: Murder Hunt Game Leads to Real Murder in This Thriller
Review: Aridane Oliver is prominent in this novel as she has been hired to stage a Murder Hunt for the village fete to raise money for local charities. Her famous intuition tells her something is not right and her intuition is shown to be right on target when a real body is found instead of the "pretend" corpse in the murder game. Mrs. Oliver calls in her friend Hercule Poirot for assistance. Poirot is fond of Mrs. Oliver and has been since he first met her while solving the murder of Mr. Shaitana in "Cards on the Table." This novel is filled with well-drawn characters including: George Stubbs, the owner of Nasse House where the murder occurs; his wife Lady Hattie, a young woman obsessed with her jewels; Etienne de Sousa, Hattie's debonair cousin who arrives unexpectedly and unwelcomed; Marlene Tucker, a sniffling teen-ager who was chosen to play the "corpse"; and Mrs. Folliat, the former lady of the manor. Along with others, they form the backdrop as Poirot and Mrs. Oliver follow clues that lead to impersonation, old sins, and a ruthless killer.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Mystery
Review: I have to say that this book was far better then Mystery of the Blue Train. It had more twists and turns then a roller coaster. The trouble was I couldn't distinguish between the real clues and all the red herrings. All the characters looked so suspicious, and everyone seemed to have a motive. At one point I thought that everyone in the house was involved in the murder of Marlene and disappearance of Hattie, even the butler (lol). Alec & Peggy Legge was who my mind settled on close to the end. All the clues left by them, the bracelet, the mysterious rendezvous, the boy in the turtle shirt; they were just red herrings produced to stump the reader. I felt that the bracelet was a big clue, I just didn't know where it went, and boy was I wrong. Never in a million years would I have believed who it turned out to be. This was a great book!
Rating:
Summary: A solid detective story
Review: Miss Lemon, Hercule Poirot's "perfect machine", receives a telephone call from Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, the famous detective writer. Ariadne is busy organizing a murder hunt as part of a big charity event being held on the grounds at Nasse House. It seems that she is not completely in charge of the script of the murder, because people are constantly giving suggestions and hints on where and how to plan this fake murder. Ariadne truly fears that she is being used to hide a real crime that is about to take place and calls upon her old friend Hercule Poirot to sort things out. The famous detective finds all of this a load of silliness, but nevertheless starts to get a little curious. Dead Man's Folly is a typical Agatha Christie mystery. The setting feels familiar, the characters are most of the time trying to deal with their past and the crime is as mysterious and complex as you can get. A generation conflict between the old folks and the teenagers is added to spice things up. As an extra bonus the reader is treated on a denouement is far from realistic, but is fair enough seen the number of hints you get throughout the story. The only problem that stops the reader from finding it out for himself is the enormous number of red herrings. Noteworthy is that Nasse House is based upon Agatha Christie's favorite residence: Greenway house, the Devonshire home Christie occupied during most of her married life. The character of Ariadne is a caricature of Agatha Christie herself. All in all, this book gives the reader a solid example of a good detective story.
Rating:
Summary: Slow going at first, but ...
Review: Mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver has been enticed into devising a "murder hunt game" for a village fundraiser--but as the event approaches she feels increasingly uneasy, as if some one among those in charge of the event is manipulating her game to their own sinister purpose. She accordingly puts through a call to old friend Hercule Poirot, who drops in on the proceedings to discover that some one has turned the game into reality. DEAD MAN'S FOLLY is not among Christie's better known works, and in truth it does not rank among her great classics. Even so, it has its charms, particularly in the form of Ariadne Oliver, a somewhat frazzled, absent-minded, and eccentric character clearly intended as a parody of mystery novelists in general and Christie herself in particular. The novel itself is nicely written and offers Christie's usual clever twist at the end. An enjoyable read for fans of the genre!
Rating:
Summary: Medium Well Done Christie
Review: This is one of the later Hercule Poirot mysteries (1957), but the setting and characters are vintage pre World War II. This is all to the good because Dame Agatha is the master of the country house with endless servants hovering about doing tiny tasks. Her one nod to modern times is a shortage of gardeners. Crime writer Ariadne Oliver calls upon her friend, Hercule Poirot. She has been hired to provide a Mystery Hunt at Sir George Stubbs' annual Fete. She has a "hunch" that all is not well. Ms. Oliver is prescient; her mock "victim" turns into a real one. There is no shortage of suspects, but Poirot and the authorities are baffled. Ms. Christie rains clues as big as rocks along with her usual red herrings. The problem for the astute reader is not who (though Ms. Christie conceals the murderer with her usual adroitness), but how and why. "Dead Man's Folly" is a very busy book, and the scattered presence of Ariadne Oliver (one of my least favorite continuing characters) is perhaps one distraction too many. Subtract one star for overdone motivation, and another one-half for Ms. Oliver's constant dithering. Rating: 3-1/2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Some people take games far too seriously....
Review: which can really be a problem during a murder mystery game. Mystery novelist (and Christie alter ego) Ariadne Oliver has been hired to devise a murder mystery game for a village fete. While she is on the scene setting up the clues she begins to feel uneasy about the whole thing, as she explains to her friend, Hercule Poirot she fears that her pretend murder may be replaced by a real one! Alas, even with two sleuths a murder does occur during the party. Poirot rises to the challenge and uncovers the culprit in the end of course. Along the way he deals with the various classes of village society, as well as a youth hostel full of foreign students and even a visiting long lost cousin. As always with Christie the clues are all fairly laid out for the reader to find, hidden among all the red herrings. Her characters are consistent, and the solution is clever. We are also treated to a delightful opening scene with Miss Lemon as an added bonus. This is one of Christie's later works (1956) and while she did try to keep up with the changing times she didn't have the same feel for the post war world as she did for the '20's and 30's. Even so one of Christie's lesser works is still better than most writers can ever hope to achieve.
Rating:
Summary: Some people take games far too seriously....
Review: which can really be a problem during a murder mystery game. Mystery novelist (and Christie alter ego) Ariadne Oliver has been hired to devise a murder mystery game for a village fete. While she is on the scene setting up the clues she begins to feel uneasy about the whole thing, as she explains to her friend, Hercule Poirot she fears that her pretend murder may be replaced by a real one! Alas, even with two sleuths a murder does occur during the party. Poirot rises to the challenge and uncovers the culprit in the end of course. Along the way he deals with the various classes of village society, as well as a youth hostel full of foreign students and even a visiting long lost cousin. As always with Christie the clues are all fairly laid out for the reader to find, hidden among all the red herrings. Her characters are consistent, and the solution is clever. We are also treated to a delightful opening scene with Miss Lemon as an added bonus. This is one of Christie's later works (1956) and while she did try to keep up with the changing times she didn't have the same feel for the post war world as she did for the '20's and 30's. Even so one of Christie's lesser works is still better than most writers can ever hope to achieve.
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