Sign in with Facebook
Jaline's Reviews > The Big Four
The Big Four (Hercule Poirot, #5)
by
by
Written in 1927, Hercule Poirot and Mr. Hastings pursue the existence of “The Big Four� � a Chinese man, an American man, a Frenchwoman, and an Englishman known as “the Destroyer� � in a quest to sideline their leadership in a conspiracy of global control.
Papers are discovered that refer to �. . . some powerful wireless installation � a concentration of wireless energy far beyond anything so far attempted, and capable of focusing a beam of great intensity upon some given spot.� There is also a reference to harnessing atomic energy.
Where in the world, in the year 1927, would Agatha Christie have come across such a possibility? It boggles my mind.
Hercule Poirot and Mr. Hastings have several confrontations with members of the Big Four during the course of this novel, as they realize that Poirot must be eliminated if they are to succeed in their mission to control the world and all the entities that make the world turn. Along the way, Poirot and Hastings also need to deal with the “collateral damage� that the Big Four leave in their wake.
Agatha Christie continues to surprise me with the range of her mysteries and their complexity. Add in the quirks of some of her characters and a light touch of humour among heart-racing tensions, and this novel comes out a winner.
Papers are discovered that refer to �. . . some powerful wireless installation � a concentration of wireless energy far beyond anything so far attempted, and capable of focusing a beam of great intensity upon some given spot.� There is also a reference to harnessing atomic energy.
Where in the world, in the year 1927, would Agatha Christie have come across such a possibility? It boggles my mind.
Hercule Poirot and Mr. Hastings have several confrontations with members of the Big Four during the course of this novel, as they realize that Poirot must be eliminated if they are to succeed in their mission to control the world and all the entities that make the world turn. Along the way, Poirot and Hastings also need to deal with the “collateral damage� that the Big Four leave in their wake.
Agatha Christie continues to surprise me with the range of her mysteries and their complexity. Add in the quirks of some of her characters and a light touch of humour among heart-racing tensions, and this novel comes out a winner.
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
The Big Four.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Comments Showing 1-50 of 52 (52 new)
message 1:
by
Barbara
(new)
Aug 15, 2019 06:59PM
Great review, Jaline. I have yet to read an Agatha Christie. Such a hole in my reding!
reply
|
flag
Barbara wrote: "Great review, Jaline. I have yet to read an Agatha Christie. Such a hole in my reading!"Barbara, I had that same big hole in my reading! I read a few of her novels when I was young (our school's little library only had about 4 or 5), and then somehow I just never got back to reading her work. I am having so much fun with these novels now! Thank you for your great comment! 😍
Great review, Jaline! I love Agatha Christie!
It’s been many years since I’ve read an Agatha Christie ....... you’ve encouraged me to search one out - nice review Jaline :)
The scientific references have me wondering too, Jaline. I don’t think I’ve come across anything similar in any of her other books.
You know I LOVE all things Agatha Christie. They are comfort reads to me and bring back wonderful memories of the time I spent reading them all way back in my 20s. I’m delighted you love them too. And of course, terrific review! 💖
Liked your review a lot, Jaline 🌹 the more than Dame Christie means so much to me ...
Wonderful review, Jaline!! 💖
Great review Jaline, glad it was a winner 🤗
Veridiana wrote: "Great review, Jaline! I love Agatha Christie!"Thanks so much, Veridiana! I am definitely a bigger fan now than I was when I was in school. :)
Richard wrote: "It’s been many years since I’ve read an Agatha Christie ....... you’ve encouraged me to search one out - nice review Jaline :)"Thanks so much, Richard! #4 (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) is one of the best I have read so far, although from what I can tell at this point, this series could definitely be read as "stand-alone" novels. It is my own particular quirk that I like to track an author's growth as a writer by reading their series in order. :)
Fiona wrote: "The scientific references have me wondering too, Jaline. I don’t think I’ve come across anything similar in any of her other books."I haven't gotten very far in her series yet, but this definitely intrigued me as I think this novel would have been written in the earliest years of scientific exploration with lasers and atomic energy at best. And even then, I'm sure everything would have been top secret. It would definitely be interesting to research this more! :)
JanB wrote: "You know I LOVE all things Agatha Christie. They are comfort reads to me and bring back wonderful memories of the time I spent reading them all way back in my 20s. I’m delighted you love them too."Thank you so much for mentioning these as "comfort reads", Jan! That is exactly how it has felt for me, too. (PS - Since last Wednesday my email server has been down so none of my notifications have been coming through at all. I feel like I'm finding everything by luck right now! :)
Tina wrote: "Excellent review Jaline!"Thank you so very much, Tina! :)
Holly wrote: "Another great one Jaline!"Thank you so much, Holly! :)
Dita wrote: "Great review of a fun book!"Thank you so much, Dita, and I agree that this was a fun one! :)
Beata wrote: "Liked your review a lot, Jaline 🌹 the more than Dame Christie means so much to me ..."Beata, I am so happy to hear that Dame Agatha Christie means so much to you! And I am also thankful that you liked my review! 🌹😊
Stephanie wrote: "Excellent review, Jaline!"Thank you so much, Stephanie!
Nicola wrote: "Fantastic review Jaline! 🌹"Thanks, Nicola - I appreciate you! 🌹
Julie wrote: "Wonderful review, Jaline!! 💖"Thank you so much, Julie! 💖
JV (semi-hiatus) wrote: "A terrific write-up dear Jaline! 🤗"Thank you so very much, dear JV! 👍😊
Maureen wrote: "Great review Jaline, glad it was a winner 🤗"Thank you so much, Maureen! I can hardly wait to see what happens next! 😊
Terrific review, Jaline! Glad you enjoyed <3 x
Fantastic review, Jaline! I haven't read this one, but I must read it! I love Agatha Christie!
Great review Jaline
Another AC book I need to catch up with!
I love Agatha Christie! I haven't read this one yet but I need to :D
Debra wrote: "great review, Jaline!"Thank you so much, Debra! :)
Jen wrote: "Great review, Jaline!"Thank you very much, Jen! :)
Alex � Comets and Comments � wrote: "Terrific review, Jaline! Glad you enjoyed <3 x"Thank you, Alex - there is definitely something special about Agatha Christie's novels. <3
Meredith wrote: "Fantastic review, Jaline! I haven't read this one, but I must read it! I love Agatha Christie!"I hadn't read Agatha Christie since one or two novels read in my teens. I am definitely loving her writing - and appreciate so much how her mind works. Thank you for your great comment! :)
Adrian wrote: "Great review Jaline"Thanks so much, Adrian! :)
Mary Beth *Traveling Sister* wrote: "Superb review Jaline! 🌸"Thank you so very much, Mary Beth! 🌺
Paula wrote: "Fantastic review, Jaline!"Thank you so much, Paula! :)
Paul wrote: "Top-of-the-line review, Jaline!"Thank you for your great comment, Paul! :)
Andrew wrote: "Another AC book I need to catch up with!"My plan is to read them all in sequence, too, Andrew - although it isn't really essential in this series. (At least, I don't think so yet.) What an amazing mind AG has - and her writing is great, too. I only have a couple that are not part of a bundle. Unfortunately, the bundle hasn't had the best digital quality so I may need to try and track them down from the Library if all else fails. :)
Olivia-Savannah wrote: "I love Agatha Christie! I haven't read this one yet but I need to :D"Thank you for your great comment, Olivia-Savannah! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did once you've had a chance to read it. :)
Jaline wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Another AC book I need to catch up with!"My plan is to read them all in sequence, too, Andrew - although it isn't really essential in this series. (At least, I don't think so yet.)..."
I’m not sure how many HP novels there are, Jaline, but (as always with your structured approach to reading) this seems an eminently sensible approach. Good luck in finding some better copies 🤞
Hope you are well!
She really is the Grand Dame of Mystery. Fantastic review Jaline!
Andrew wrote: "I’m not sure how many HP novels there are, Jaline, but (as always with your structured approach to reading) this seems an eminently sensible approach. Good luck in finding some better copies 🤞Hope you are well!"
Thank you, Andrew, and I hope you are well, too. The final novel in the HP series is, ostensibly, #42. However, some of the volumes are short story collections so I'm not sure how many are actually novels, either. I guess I will find out. To make it more confusing, an additional 5 books of HP short stories were published after the final novel. Quite an undertaking to read them all, but it will be fun trying! :)
JanB wrote: "She really is the Grand Dame of Mystery. Fantastic review Jaline!"I agree with you 100%, Jan! And thank you for your lovely comment. :)
