HICKORY DICKORY DOCK
US title: HICKORY DICKORY DEATH
UK publication: 1955 (Collins)
US publication: 1955 (Dodd, Mead)
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Genre: Novel
Plot summary and comments: The story has no real connection with the nursery rhyme. Poirot is introduced to the affair through Miss Lemon, making her first appearance in a Poirot novel; her sister, who runs a boarding house for students, has had an outbreak of petty theft. Poirot investigates, and the trail leads to murder. The students are typecast: Sally Finch, an American girl; Mr. Akibombo, West African; Chandra Lal and Gopal Ram, Indians; and some British students, one of whom simulates a neurosis in order to attract a young psychologist.
Courtesey of: http://stout.physics.ucla.edu/%7eyoder/mystery/christie.html
::READERS REVIEWS::
"I
absolutely loved this book! It was great! The only thing I didn't understand,
and still don't understand is just WHY it's called Hickory Dickory Dock?
The ending was so chilling I had to sleep with the light on! Poirot, as
always, handled the case with the same patience and arrogance we have
come to expect and love him for. This, along with Five Little Pigs, is
Christie's best work as far as I'm concerned! "
"After
reading about 2 - 3 Poirot books, I've noticed a pattern forming in them:
a murder occurs, Hercule Poirot, with his distinctive personality and
habits is called on the scene, another murder (or maybe 2) happen, and
then Poirot manages to superbly solve the mystery. Then, he calls up everyone,
tries to put the blame on each person (and make the innocents squirm...),
and finally revealing the case against the criminal. This book lacked
this pattern: Poirot was assisting the police (a very rare occurance in
more modern mysteries, where the "good" detective has to work
against them) to solve a crime, and the blame was put on a certain character
after being framed by another one.
Even though this was an original book in that respect, I found the story as a whole very predictable, old fashioned (which is to be expected since it was written quite a while ago) and full of places where I figured out how useless the police or Poirot were acting, and came up with a better way of doing things myself... Also, the description of the foreign students seemed a little prejusticed to me, even though the different era could account for that, too."
"I
think that this book was very good! It's the only Agatha Christie book
I have read so far, but from reading that book I want to read more of
Agatha Christie's books. It had kind of a slow plot but all in all the
ending is good! You have to be Poirot to figure this murder mystery out!
It was a fun, yet slow book to read. Not the best book I've read but totally
not the worst! I suggest you read it, you'll never forget it!"
"A
good novel, a good plot, well written. Even though it isn't anything to
remember for the rest of your life."
::YOUR OPINION::
