::READERS REVIEWS::

Oh My! - As the author of Peril on the Katy Trail I was curious to find out more about Peril at End House. This book was showing up at the top of the search list whenever I typed Peril. Who else had used the word Peril in a title and who was so popular?

Oh My! Imagine my surprise quickly followed by a smile. Peril at End House was written by Agatha Christie! I immediately understood the attraction. So I obtained a copy and began to read. I am glad I did.

Peril at End House is a classic Hercule Poirot mystery. The primary strengths are in the plotting and mystery. From the very beginning the reader is intrigued and captivated by wondering the who and why.

Another strength is the description of the location. I found myself wanting to travel there to enjoy the ambiance. Perhaps to enjoy high tea.

For me, the use of occasional phrases in French slowed the reading. Many of the obvious were quickly translated. However, a few references to a French dictionary were necessitated for a complete comprehension.

I enjoyed reading Peril at End House and now understand why it is usually first on the search list when typing the word Peril.

Hercule Poirot Stumbles Across a Difficult Challenge - This book is exactly what you come to expect from an Agatha Christie mystery, but with a change in Hercule Poirot, the famous detective and star of this mystery series. He has just retired and is slowly settling into a quiet, calm life of leisure and is refusing to be called back into duty. His mind, he thinks, is made up. However, a new mystery finds him, small and subtle at first, then shows itself to have a sinister meaning. He can't help but observe that which is right in front of him, and without meaning to, he is drawn into its web, and begins to apply his detective skills.

The great Hercule Poirot, who is known far and wide for his unmatched detective skills, can't resist asking one question, then another, then another. A perplexing and potentially deadly set of circumstances takes shape, and his concern for the wellbeing of a young woman he happens to meet, leads him to investigate. However, the motives and players behind this mystery prove themselves difficult for him to ascertain. Where he was always bursting with confidence and assuredness in his perceptions, skills, and outcomes, he is now struggling with something unfamiliar to him - a shaky self-confidence that worsens and lingering uncertainty. He finds himself bumbling about without meaning to. As events unfold, he feels powerless to stop them. His once sharp and nearly infallible intellect and investigative skills seem to be outmatched. His frustration grows and so do his mistakes, missteps, and incorrect assumptions.

With its intriguing twists and turns, Peril at End House is a very engaging and rewarding mystery tale and will be sure to please die-hard Agatha Christie fans as well as those new to the stories.

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

not one of my favorites but STILL worth reading - I love Agatha Christie's books and think they are all worth reading. It's very difficult to even come up with my top 10, but I can say this one is not in contention...the story itself was terrific and captivating (I want to go on vacation to these places), but the ending had pieces that weren't tied into the story as well as she normally pulls it off. With that said, it's a great read.

Great reading fun - It is always such great fun to read a Dame Agatha. This one had a nice twist! I am pleased to be able to get hardbacks for such a low price. They seem to be well-made.

a lovely diversion with an ending not to be guessed - Captain Hastings and Hercule Poirot are on holiday when they learn that several attempts have been made on a local girl's life. Poirot seeks to stop a future murder, with mixed success.

This is the 8th published work featuring Poirot (6th novel), and while not the finest (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, perhaps? I have not read them all...yet), it made for a pleasurable travel diversion while waiting in Brazilian airports. As the New York Times Book Review said of this novel in 1932, "With Agatha Christie as the author and Hercule Poirot as the central figure, one is always assured of an entertaining story with a real mystery to it" [1].

[The previous Poirot works are - in order - The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Big Four, The Mystery of the Blue Train, and Black Coffee (a play later adapted as a novel).]

Note on potentially objectionable content: Sexist protagonists (Women, they are impatient!) and murder as entertainment.

[1] Isaac Anderson, March 6, 1932, p20. Quoted in the wikipedia entry for this book.

Great reading fun - It is always such great fun to read a Dame Agatha. This one had a nice twist! I am pleased to be able to get hardbacks for such a low price. They seem to be well-made.

Escaping Death - Agatha Christie's sleuth, Hercule Poirot is a singular creation. Often conceited by his great intelligence, Poirot is stumped for the longest time in "Peril at End House". Even though he has retired, again, he finds himself caught up in the case of the beautiful Miss Nick Buckley, who has escaped three near-fatal "accidents" in three days. "Peril at End House" reunites Poirot with his friend Captain Hastings, and is filled with Christie's usual twists and turns as Poirot tries to stop a murderer before it is too late.

Knowing that Nick Buckley's brushes with death were no accident, Poirot takes it upon himself to protect her and find out who may really want her dead. He knows immediately that it cannot be a stranger, so he looks into the intimate circle of friends surrounding Nick. There is her friend, Frederica Rice, who stands to gain from the will Nick had drawn up earlier in the year. There is Frederica's lover, Jim Lazarus, whose business may be in a shabby state of affairs. Also, there is her cousin, Charles Vyse, a lawyer who will surely inherit the family home. And then there is also Commander Challenger, a Navy officer in love with Nick, but it is a love that is unrequited. Yet Nick Buckley lives in the heavily mortgaged End House and has very little money of her own - why would anyone want to see her dead to gain money if there was no money to gain? When murder does occur at End House, Poirot begins to wonder if there is more to the matter of inheritance than he at first considered.

All of these characters and all of the questions concerning them stump the great Hercule Poirot (and the reader) until the very end. The conclusion is a clever and surprising finish. "Peril at End House" is a delightful mystery, one that will have readers guessing for the longest time and gasping when the truth is finally revealed. After all, appearances can be deceiving.