The Big Four audiobook

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.

The big four (Hercule Poirot #5), 1927, Agatha ChristieThe Big Four is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 27 January 1927 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It features Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and six pence and the US edition at $2.00.تاریخ نخستین خوانش: هجدهم سپتامبر سال 2011 میلادیعنوان: چهار غول بزرگ؛ آگاتا کریستی؛ مترجم: مجتبی عبدالله نژاد؛ تهران، هرمس، کتابهای کارآگاه، 1390؛ در 220 ص، شابک: 9789643637699؛ موضوع: داستانهای کارآگاهی و پلیسی از نویسندگان انگلیسی - قرن 20 ماگر کتاب را خوانده اید و میخواهید بخوانید، ادامه ی این نگاشته را نخوانید. عنوان: چهار قدرت بزرگ؛ را در جاهای دیگر به جای چهار غول بزرگ برگزیده اند؛ یک رمان جنایی اثر بانو آگاتا کریستی ست که در آن هرکول پوآرو و آرتور هستینگز نقش دارند. این کتاب نخستین بار در انگلستان توسط انتشارات ویلیام کولینز و در بیست و هفتم ژآنویه سال 1827 میلادیمنتشر شد و در همان سال در آمریکا. قیمت نسخه انگلیسی آن هفت شلینگ و شش پنی بود. و در آمریکا $2.00. سبک این رمان با دیگر کارهای آگاتا کریتسی متفاوت بوده و چند جنایت که توسط یک سازمان بزرگ روی می‌دهد را روایت می‌کند. داستان از چند قتل تشکیل می‌شود که همگی کار یک سازمان مخوف به نام چهار قدرت بزرگ هستند؛ که چهار شخصیت اصلی دارند: یک چینی، یک زن دانشمند فرانسوی، یک ثروتمند آمریکایی، و یک بازیگر تئاتر؛ که قتل‌ها به عهده اوست. انگار داستان را لو دادم. ا. شربیانی

5 stars plus , one of her best

De verdad que no sé qué podría decir de Agatha Christie que no hubiera dicho ya, sin duda era una escritora fuera de serie. Este libro lo he disfrutado de principio a fin, para empezar, tiene un argumento bastante inteligente, sin contar que es compleja, una gran conspiración mundial, por supuesto, nuestro buen Poirot en algunos momentos pierde sus batallas y creo que eso es lo que más me ha gustado, que estos personajes llamados los cuatro grandes han puesto en jaque la audacia e inteligencia de Poirot ha puesto en relevancia la humanidad del personaje, lo ha vuelto más cercano de lo que ya era. Es verdad que la trama es tan compleja que podría uno perderse entre tanta investigación de asesinatos, intentos de secuestro, secuestros y demás, me parece incluso que este libro bien podría tener una segunda parte porque a pesar de que se resuelve han quedado algunos cabos sueltos. Pero más allá de la parte policiaca y una buena trama de intriga, lo que más me gusta cuando leo estos libros es que es inevitable soltar alguna carcajada con los comentarios mordaces que hace Poirot por aquí o por allá, igualmente la no me canso de la personalidad vanidosa de Poirot, es realmente delicioso leer a Agatha. Nada más que decir, a pesar de que he leído muchos libros ya de esta autora, me faltan por leer muchos más de los que tenga leídos, tengo que decir que este ha sido uno de los que más me ha gustado. Maravillosa como siempre Agatha

For years I wanted to read everything Agatha Christie wrote....every book, every short story and each play. But life is always so busy....and Christie wrote more than 60 detective novels and 14 short story collections. I came to love Christie's books when I was 9 and bought my first Hercule Poirot books at a garage sale. For years, I carried a tattered list of her books I didn't already own in my purse, buying titles to fill in my collection when I could. But I never found time to read most of them.....and in the pre-internet age it was difficult to keep track of them all. Some books were published under one title in the UK and another in the US....or some stories weren't available in the US at all. And book listings in the front of paperbacks were not necessarily in order. It just became too Herculean a task .....and life whirled me away in other directions.Until now.Armed with the internet, digital library offerings, and my own book collection, I have finally started my Christie quest. And I'm loving every minute of it!!The Big Four was published in the UK and the US in 1927 and features one of Christie's most popular characters, Hercule Poirot. I was excited to reach this title in my quest because this is my first reading of this Poirot mystery!! I own a tattered paperback from the early 1980s, but never read it. I'm sure I picked up the copy at a thriftshop, garage sale or used book store somewhere and was delighted to cross the title off my Christie shopping list...but then the paperback joined the collection on my shelves and was never enjoyed. I have now happily rectified that situation! I'm really not sure how I missed out on reading this book. It was published just weeks after Christie disappeared for 11 days (December 3-14, 1926). Public interest in her disappearance and eventual discovery at a hotel in Harrogate caused sales of The Big Four to skyrocket. I never knew this interesting fact until now. If I had, I might have read this book long before 2020! As it is, knowing a bit more about the background (the internet can be a wonderful learning tool!) of the story and its timing, made this an even more enjoyable audio book for me. The audio version I listened to is narrated by Hugh Fraser (Harper Audio). Fraser gives a great performance. The unabridged audio is 5 1/2 hours...so it's a relatively easy listen. The Big Four is actually a mashup of several earlier published short stories centering around the diabolical antics of a international group of four criminal masterminds. The stories were first published in the Sketch magazine in the UK from January - March 1924. US publication in Blue Book Magazine followed in March 1927 - January 1928. The 12 short stories are: The Unexpected Guest, The Adventure of the Dartmoor Bungalow, The Lady on the Stairs, The Radium Thieves, In the House of the Enemy, The Yellow Jasmine Mystery, The Chess Problem, The Baited Trap, The Adventure of the Peroxide Blonde, The Terrible Catastrophe, The Dying Chinaman, and the Crag in the Dolomites. Each story was worked into one or two chapters of The Big Four. The stories are all interconnected and assembled as a novel the tales actually flow pretty well. I would never have known the story started out as different short tales had I not learned as much while doing pre-reading research into the book. I can see why Christie went this route.....her personal life at the time was in tatters. Her mother had died, she was deeply depressed, her husband left her for another woman.....who can write a new, glorious murder mystery while perhaps having suicidal, dark, depressed thoughts? She cobbled together prior stories that work perfectly well together....and granted herself some time to work on her personal life. Kudos, Agatha! The book was adapted by the television series Poirot in its final season. The basics: Poirot gets a surprise visit from an old friend, Captain Hastings. But, they don't get to have a relaxing reunion.....the two are pulled into international intrigue as a group of 4 mysterious criminals attempt to further their attempts to gain world dominance. While the concept of taking over the world through nefarious means is now a cheesy plot, back when this book was written the plot wasn't cliche. There were a couple times as I listened to this story that my mind pulled up visions of Dr. Evil, Mojo JoJo and James Bond villains.....but all in all, it is an enjoyable Poirot adventure. A bit dated....but enjoyable. There were spots in this tale that I found a bit ..... racist isn't the term I'm looking for really. Let's say...racially or culturally insensitive. The plot pretty much jumps right into the concept that The Bad Guys must be affiliated with American criminals, Russians or the Chinese. And a few antiquated terms (like coolie) are used. But, the book is nearly 100 years old. Political intrigue tales just don't age very well. The cultural concepts of 1920s England just seem a bit cheesy, cliche and insensitive in 2020. Even so, I still enjoyed Poirot and Hastings sleuthing out the identities of these 4 sneaky, international masterminds. They tried to trick, out maneuver and even kill the master detective. Silly ploy....they were the Diet Coke of Evil....not quite evil enough. ha ha. So glad I finally read this book!! I wish I could read the stories in their original format. I'm going to do some sleuthing of my own and see if I can't ferret out the original tales online just so I can say that I read them. Moving on to the next novel: The Mystery of the Blue Train! (Another Christie novel I haven't read before!)

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This is the fourth book of Christie’s that I have read. It is very different to her other works, but I still enjoyed it. That being said, I can completely understand why this book has fallen flat for others.The big four follows Poirot and Hastings as they work to track down a dangerous criminal group. The big 4 have their eyes set on world domination.This book had so many twists and turns, I didn’t know if I was coming or going! But that made me want to read on, I felt like I could no longer trust my own brain. I really enjoy espionage/spy novels (such as the James Bond novels) and this felt almost reminiscent of that. Just without the extreme danger and beautiful women that those novels are well known for. What I really enjoyed about this book was the scene setting that occurred when the trial of the big 4 brought Poirot and Hastings to various European countries. I love it when an author is able to transport me to these beautiful places in my mind, and that is exactly what Christie managed to do. That being said, I can understand why this novel gets such mixed reviews. It is a big step away from Agatha’s usual cozy mystery style. It was also very bitty and could be a little clunky at times. However, I will always love the character of Poirot. Sometimes he just makes me wish I could reach through the pages and give him a big squeeze!I would say, if you are a huge Agatha Christie fan because of her specific style, this probably isn’t the book for you. But if you’re willing to read something with more of a spy/thriller/espionage feel then definitely give this book a go!

4'5⭐ YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM Lo he disfrutado mucho, sobre todo porque Poirot sale mucho y desde el principio, lo cual no siempre es habitual, puesto que hay libros en los que no hace acto de presencia hasta la mitad, por ejemplo.En este libro, Poirot se enfrenta a una gran conspiración liderada por cuatro terribles delincuentes de alcance internacional que se lo van a hacer pasar mal. Debo decir que la conspiración no me ha parecido superbién definida. Las motivaciones del grupo no quedan claras, por poner un ejemplo.No obstante, lo he disfrutado mucho porque cambia un poco la dinámica de las historias de Poirot. Como he dicho, nuestro detective belga favorito sale desde el principio y la dinámica del misterio también es diferente. No nos encontramos con el asesinato de un patriarca en una gran mansión ni nada por el estilo, sino con un misterio/historia de espionaje en el que tenemos claro quiénes son los malos desde el principio, aunque haya que ir descubriendo sus verdaderas identidades poco a poco. La historia también está planteada de tal manera que nos va presentando pequeños misterios menores, que luego formaran parte de un conjunto más grande, con lo cual podemos ir poniendo a prueba nuestras habilidades deductivas bastante a menudo.Hay un aspecto de la historia que me ha tenido bastante loca en cierto momento porque he picado totalmente en el anzuelo y no podía creérmelo. Quisiera dar más detalles para que me entendáis mejor, pero no quiero destriparle la historia a nadie. Solo diré que creo que entiendo de dónde sacaron ciertas cosas para la película de Muerte en el Nilo, y me fascina establecer estas interrelaciones.

It's 1927 & Hercule Poirot & his trusted sidekick Hastings encounter murder, mayhem & international intrigue in The Big Four.For its age I found this to be one of Agatha Christie's most fast paced novels. This could be explained by the fact that it is believed that the novel is a compilation of short stories originally published in the Sketch magazine. Some have been revised to make the story flow better as a complete novel.The Big Four has the feel of a Fu Manchu novel (& was published a few years after these stories) & seems quite different from Christie's usual work. However, it's still a great read & a good old fashioned action packed adventure.

Puede usted sonreír, Hastings ; pero ahondar en la personalidad de un hombre, saber exactamente lo que hará en determinadas circunstancias…ese es el principio del éxito. Es un duelo entre nosotros dos. Y mientras él está descubriéndome constantemente su mentalidad, yo me esfuerzo para que sepa lo menos posible de la mía. Él se halla en plena luz, yo en la sombra. Le digo Hastings, que cada día que paso aparentemente inactivo crece el temor que sienten por mí.Este ha sido un libro atípico protagonizado por el afamado detective Hércules Poirot. En vez de encontrarnos con el típico asesinato, los protagonistas se encuentran envueltos en un caso mucho más grande de lo que ellos llegarían jamás a imaginar.No tenía muchas expectativas en cuanto concierne a esta novela. Lo dicho, pensaba que iba a ser como el resto. Me dije a mi misma “venga vamos a leer otro de Poirot que necesitas un descanso de fantasía.” Y así fue. A decir verdad, me lo he terminado bastante rápido, ni yo misma pensé que tardaría tan poco, y más con lo lenta que estoy últimamente con las lecturas. Como sospeché fue una lectura ligera que me mantuvo entretenida. Lo único que me “desagrada” por así decirlo es el hecho de no ser capaz de llegar a las mismas conclusiones que el detective, (es pedir mucho lo sé), pero hay veces que me siento verdaderamente estúpida.

Di awal kariernya, novel misteri Agatha Christie bisa digolongkan jadi dua kelompok besar: jenis pembunuhan ruang tertutup (biasanya menampilkan detektif non-konvensional seperti Hercule Poirot dan Jane Marple), dan jenis petualangan/thriller bertema spionase (menampilkan pasangan Tommy & Tuppence Beresford, maupun tokoh-tokoh petualang wanita yang lincah seperti Bundle Brent dan Anne Beddingfield). Menurut pendapat umum (*yang saya setujui), judul Christie yang terbaik berasal dari golongan pertama, yang sifatnya lebih prosedural dan realistis. Namun, bukan berarti judul-judul dari golongan kedua itu tak punya pesona tersendiri melalui ceritanya yang lebih ringan dan lebih sarat action. Lalu, apa jadinya kalau detektif dari golongan pertama ditampilkan di cerita golongan kedua? Hasilnya adalah Empat Besar, di mana seorang Poirot yang biasanya 'mager' dan berpedoman "Akan kupecahkan kasus dengan duduk tenang di ruang kamar sambil mengerahkan sel-sel kelabuku!" terpaksa harus keliling dunia untuk menghentikan sepak terjang gembong penjahat super yang ingin menguasai dunia!!......yah, untuk menikmati judul yang satu ini, ekspektasi terhadap cerita memang harus disetel sedemikian rupa. Jangan harapkan trik pembunuhan yang cerdik, balutan nuansa psikologis yang mendalam, atau kasus yang kompleks. Ini juga bukan tergolong cerita yang realistis, walau saya tidak masalah soal itu asalkan alurnya logis. Empat Besar memenuhi syarat itu, dan secara keseluruhan merupakan novel petualangan/spionase favorit saya dari Christie selain N atau M. Buku ini juga menjadi satu-satunya momen kemunculan Achille Poirot, saudara laki-laki Hercule Poirot. Struktur buku ini tergolong unik bagi karya Christie. Narasinya dipecah-pecah jadi sejumlah episode/kasus yang berkesinambungan, masing-masing menampilkan konfrontasi Poirot dan sobat setianya, Hastings, dengan geng penjahat 4 Besar. Nuansa ketegangannya cukup terasa, dengan balutan humor khas Christie. Bagusnya lagi, tiap kasus menghasilkan perkembangan yang signifikan dalam upaya Poirot + Hastings membekuk 4 Besar, hingga akhirnya berujung klimaks penyelesaian di akhir buku. Walau saya suka baca novel kriminal realistis yang super detail, alur lebih cepat dan lugas tanpa dipanjang-panjangkan seperti ini juga bisa menyenangkan *tidak seperti sebuah komik Jepang yang sudah 20 tahun lebih, tapi detektifnya belum selesai-selesai juga meringkus si geng penjahat super*Tiga setengah bintang dibulatkan ke atas supaya ngepas-pasin saja dengan judulnya karena ini WAJIB DIBACA penggemar interaksi Hastings dan Poirot. Hastings tidak selalu efektif sebagai narator di novel-novel Christie lainnya, tapi di cerita sejenis ini, perannya sebagai foil Poirot sangat kuat. Walau saya harus geleng-geleng kepala melihat betapa mudahnya ia dibodoh-bodohi sepanjang buku ini (*baik oleh 4 Besar maupun Poirot), saya juga dibuat terpingkal-pingkal oleh narasi sarkastisnya.... dan terkesima oleh kesetiaannya yang tak ada tara kepada sahabatnya yang doyan memuji-muji diri sendiri itu. Ikatan dan kerja sama Poirot dan Hastings di buku ini amat menggetarkan jiwa, sungguh. "Aku tahu betul, kau tak suka kalau aku merangkulmu atau mempertontonkan perasaanku. Aku akan bersikap sebagai orang Inggris tulen. Aku tidak akan mengatakan apa-apa; sama sekali tidak! Hanya ini saja: bahwa dalam petualangan yang terakhir ini, semua penghargaan adalah untukmu. Beruntunglah orang yang punya sahabat seperti yang kumiliki!"