Closed Casket audiobook

Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah/ Agatha Christie is a 2016 William Morrow publication. Lady Athelinda Playford gathers an eclectic group of people together when she decides to announce a major change to her will, a very controversial decision that could bring about terrible repercussions. Inspector Edward Catchpool and the incomparable Hercule Poirot, may have been invited due to Playford’s suspicions that murder is on someone’s mind. However, a murder is committed right under the famous Belgian detective’s nose, prompting him to give those little grey cells some mandatory overtime. This is the first Poirot mystery with Sophie Hannah writing as Agatha Christie that I’ve read. I must confess, the very idea of resurrecting one of my favorite detectives sounded like a marvelous idea… if we could resurrect Agatha along with him. I was very skeptical of how this would work out, although, I have seen other long running and well loved series taken over by ghost writers work out quite well. I have also seen them crash and burn. So, with an odd mix of excitement and trepidation, I decided to give this book a fair chance. Honestly, I enjoyed this mystery, if for no other reason than for the pleasure of reading the old tried and true whodunit format used in the golden age of detective novels. The characters are well drawn, the dialogue is impressive, and there are plenty of interesting details and psychology involved. While clever on many levels, it wasn’t too hard to guess who the culprit was, and Poirot is a not quite the same guy we’ve all come to know and love. He’s not as vivid, and his arrogance and fussiness is only evident in one or two places, which are traits I always adored about him and made me chuckle. Still, I thought the author did an admirable job considering the monumental shoes she had to fill. She makes Poirot her own and created a fun and easy mystery, while capturing the essence of a bygone era, and paying homage to it at the same time. Overall, I had a pretty good time with this one. It makes a nice diversion from the stresses of life, and I think cozy mystery lovers would find this one to their liking as well. 3.5 stars

What's better than Belgian chocolate? Obviously our Belgian detective and his grey cells.Incredibly happy that Poirot is back in literary world. This time, Hannah takes us to a country house- one of my favourite Agatha Christie settings. It's really devilish-ly clever this book, I didn't see the end coming at all. Can't wait for the next one in series!!!

4/5Me ha gustado mucho, me ha recordado a Cinco Cerditos y a La Casa torcida, y esas novelas me encantan!

Poirot in 1929 - the heyday, nee the Golden Age of murder and Christie. Ths was great. Lots of fun if a bit brutal and not as adoring to Hercule as Christie would have made it. She still liked him in the early days.

Es la tercera novela que leo de Sophie, y bueno ya he dicho otras veces que nadie puede compararse con Agatha Crhistie, pero es verdad que me gusta mucho, que lleva el personaje de Poirot tal cual lo hiciera Agatha.Una novela igual que las de Agatha, que te engancha desde el principio y quieres saber que pasa, un libro super agil y rapido para tener una lectura amena después de una intensa.Novela de misterio, con una trama que te engancha y que es diferente, como estamos acostumbrados hay gran cantidad de personajes pero que desde el principio sabes quien es quien. Un final bastante impredecible con muchos giros, y si tengo que ponerle un pero, es que hay un punto de la novela que creo que le da muchas vueltas al mismo tema, se me hizo repetitivo una pequeña parte. Por lo demás creo que es una historia para todo el mundo, para leerla en un momento y que entre lecutras densas es magnifica.

Love a good whodunnit with Poirot. A fun listen and great story. I really should go back and read some of the older Christie books....one day!!

More like 4,3 or something, to be honest. I can't give it a solid 5 because the ending wasn't all that shocking, you could have guessed it were you alert enough. However, a 4 is also unjust because I had such a great time reading this book! I enjoyed the characters and the whole atmosphere immensely! I really did feel like I was inside a good old Poirot novel and it was exhilarating! I can't wait to get my hands on the next one and I'm really very grateful to Sophie Hannah for this experience.

Firstly my thanks to the publisher for sending me an arc.I openly admit to being a massive fan of all things Agatha Christie, so was excited to get the opportunity to read this early. Following on from Monogram Murders which introduced us to Edward Catchpool, Closed Casket finds Catchpool and Poirot in Ireland at the home of Lady Platform but why are they there. Is murder afoot ?Written in a style that you would find hard to differentiate from a Christie novel, with classic plotting, a cast of characters who all hold secrets that only Poirots little grey cells can unlock, Sophie Hannah has delivered a novel in the grandest traditions of the golden age for todays readers, which will appeal to die hard Christie fans and todays modern crime readers.

(English/Español)The plot was great. I also enjoyed the characters development and the cultural references BUT the mystery was TOO EASY to solve. Even though Poirot discovered several details I did not think about, I think the crime was plain and obvious. I'm thankful to Sophie Hanna for bringing Poirot cases back to my life but even if the narration style resembles the original ones from Agatha Christie, the mysteries will never be as exquisite as the ones plotted by the First Lady of Crime.I hope we can see more Poirot books in the following years.-----------------------------------------------------------------------La trama fue genial. También disfruté de la complejidad en el desarrollo de los personajes (todos fueron únicos e interesantes) y de las referencias culturales en relación con el mundo literario, PERO el misterio fue muy fácil de resolver; para la página 140 (de casi 300) ya sabía casi la totalidad de la resolución, salvo por detalles que Poirot explicó al final y de los que jamás podría haber sabido porque hablan de elementos que no se muestran en la narración, sino que se relatan por primera vez cuando se resuelve el caso.Agradezco que Sophie Hanna haya retomado a Poirot y nos traiga nuevas aventuras, pero aunque su estilo narrativo recuerde al de Agatha Christie, estos nuevos misterio jamás serán tan exquisitos (y complejos) como los que creaba la Primera Dama del Crimen.Espero que la autora siga escribiendo novelas de Poirot en los próximos años.

A group of people gathered together in a mansion. An unexpected amendment to a will. A gruesome murder. All of the trappings of a classic Christie tale are present in Sophie Hannah's latest Poirot novel. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. I found The Monogram Murders to be a splendid continuation of the adventures of the little Belgian detective. However, for those who found Inspector Catchpool to be somewhat lily-livered and dim-witted in The Monogram Murders, it is pleasing to note that his deficiencies have been toned down to the point of almost being eliminated. Indeed, he comes across as a Captain Hastings in all but name this time around. The setting this time is County Cork which appealed to me greatly as it is the county of my birth. (I believe Poirot mentioned his trip to Ireland in Dead Man's Folly.) Having a chapter entitled Enter The Gardai brought a big grin to my face. In summation, those who enjoyed The Monogram Murders should be pleased with Closed Casket and those who found some elements disappointing in The Monogram Murders should take a chance on it as I believe it improves on some of the weaker aspects of the first book.

Agatha Christie's books have always had a tremendous influence on me and my writing and I was curious to read this new Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah. Christie fans will recognize a number of her favorite mystery elements in this story: including a closed setting, a family gathering, an altered will, and a mysterious death. Others I won't list here, not wanting to give any spoilers for this engaging read.