Hickory Dickory Dock was first published in the UK in 1955 and was the first full length story to feature Hercule Poirot's ultra-efficient secretary Miss Felicity Lemon, although she had previously appeared in some of short stories featuring the Belgium detective.When Miss Lemon makes an uncharacteristic mistake, or three, in a letter Poirot realises that something is amiss with his usually precise secretary. His questioning leads him to discover that Felicity Lemon has a life outside her work, and she is troubled by a problem her sister is having. The delightfully named Mrs Hubbard is the warden of a boarding house in Hickory Road, London. Items have gone missing and others have been destroyed.Fortunately, Poirot doesn't have any murders to solve and is at a bit of a loose end so he decides to lend a helping hand. When he meets Mrs Hubbard he congratulates her "unique and beautiful problem." As in the best Christie tradition the number of suspects is contained to those living or working in the house and as their lives are gently probed by the detective secrets are revealed. Soon there is a death and as tensions in the house reach fever-pitch Poirot is determined to find the perpetrator.As much as I enjoyed the story, I found this book equally fascinating as a snapshot of the time it was set in. The boarding house is home to a number of students, both English and foreign with the house split in half to ensure proprietary between the sexes although they all mixed on the communal ground floor. There are frequent references to communists and the way some of the foreign residents are portrayed made me wince at times, not just because of what was said but because the author was clearly writing for her audience and the prevailing views of the times. However this book also features more modern crimes with the police grappling with drug smuggling which I hadn't realised was a concern in the 1950's.This is a clever little puzzle with the clues available for the amateur sleuth to attempt to compete with the brilliant mind of my favourite detective, Poirot.
'Hickory Dickory Death' is a nice mystery with a slew of suspects, but a suspect plot. Hercule Poirot rather stumbles into what seems to be a mere issue of theft until turning into murder. His involvement seems a bit of a stretch to begin with, but as the story goes the narrative seems less Poirot and more the authorities as if Poirot seemed more interested in the theft than the deaths. There area long string of suspects that Christie does her best to discern, but still seems a bit too similar and that confused me while reading. In today's radicalism view of political correctness, it's likely younger folks will needlessly cringe at Christie's attempt to distinguish her characters. It is not one world. We are not one people. Unfortunately, Christie doesn't do enough to kick up a notch the differences.Something else Christie doesn't expound enough about is the basis of the solution to the mystery. There's a lot to it and could have been far better defined involving dangers which leads to murder.The writing is good as Chrisite is, but she sets too much up with the assumption that all know Poirot. The rest of the plot becomes far too convoluted due to what i commented about above. There's a very good plot here and the underlying mystery has been done many times. Just done far better than Christie has done. Though, in that this is from 1955, Christie is early in handling subject matter far more common today.Christie is a legend and i hate to write this involving legends, but...Bottom line: i don't recommend this book.
Hickory Dickory Dock, as the name suggests, is part of Agatha Christie’s nursery rhyme mysteries, or mysteries that are based on a rhyme or song or poem. I reviewed a similar one, And Then There Were None, earlier in the series. At the time of its release, Hickory Dickory Dock did not have a very warm reception. Inspite of being a Hercule Poirot mystery, it lacked punch. And the nursery rhyme in the title had hardly any connection to the mystery itself.Miss Lemon, Poirot’s efficient secretary, solicits his help. Her sister Mrs. Hubbard runs a boarding house for students. There has been a spate of robberies in the boarding house with certain unusual items being stolen. Hercule Poirot is called in and the investigation begins. The items appear unconnected – a stethoscope, lightbulbs, flannel trousers, box of chocolates, boracic powder – and a diamond ring that is later recovered. Poirot begins the case simply, by threatening to call the police.Find out more about this book at A Million Kindle Books.
—P S Karr
As I posted yesterday, I picked up a pair of Dame Agatha's Poirot novels over the weekend. I read and reviewed The Clocks first, which I found quite underwhelming.In my view, Hickory Dickory Dock (in spite of the moderately silly title) was a more entertaining book. It still doesn't rise to the level of her best, but it was engaging enough that I read it in a two hour sitting before bed.It is a bit of a blood bath, with two three separate murders happening during the book's time span. For a Christie novel, as well, the characterizations had a surprising depth. She moved beyond her traditional "bright young thing" characterizations and gave the young people conflicting, deeper, and occasionally more sinister, motivations. Miss Lemon's sister, as well, was a delight. The murderer is a nasty piece of work, as are many of the murderers depicted in the golden age mysteries. The authors - Christie, Sayers, Allingham - wrap their stories in English coziness and gentility, so the baseness and brutality of the murderers is often understated. The pursuit of justice, or even retribution, seems to contribute little to the motivations of the investigators or the witnesses.3 1/2 stars.
—Moonlight Reader
I've always loved Miss Marple, but not so Monsieur Poirot. So it was with disappointment that I realized this was a Poirot story, as the first Christie I was sitting down to read.He comes off as slightly arrogant and condescending in his opening incredulity about his secretary Miss Lemon's errors in her work - not much of a spoiler here as it is on the first page - but he becomes a bit more likeable later on.The characters seemed a little thin, unless it was my own frame of mind while reading that was irresolute in paying attention to the minor details separating the identities of half a dozen young people. They seemed largely interchangeable for me for the first half of the story, especially when they were all talking together. But despite a slow start, I ended up getting really engrossed in the story, and really enjoyed the ending.
—Neil
