When visiting Lady Angkatell, an aquaintance, for tea, Hercule Poirot comes upon the strangest thing. A dying man lies bleeding on the side of Lady Angkatells’ pool, and his wife is holding the gun above him. Poirot is given the sense that this a scene set up for his benefit and is annoyed because even a great detective such as himself should be allowed a peaceful tea. But then he realizes that it isn’t a joke. The man has truly been murdered.
And as Poirot rushes forward to help, he hears the dying man’s last word. “Henrietta.” Poirot is told the dead man, John Christow, was a doctor and a man of great complexity. His wife, the assumed murderess, is named Greda. Henrietta is an artist who was, amongst a few others, also visiting the Hollow. She was also Christow’s mistress. When the gun is ‘accidentally’ slipped into the pool and Poirot starts to investigate, he realizes something else is going on. Is the oblivious and dim-witted wife really the murderer? Or is she just a pawn in a more cunning plot?
Agatha Christie is an undisputed genius, and Hercule Poirot is her brainchild. This novel, more than any other of hers that I’ve read, delves into the emotions of each character. We are told of their past, their goals, their passions, and their loves… because every character in this novel is motivated by love. The Hollow, by Agatha Christie, is also special in that it grieves John Christow’s death instead of just solving it. I can’t go too in detail (because spoilers) but I did feel like crying at a couple of scenes. (which is almost unheard of in a murder mystery!)
Because of what I mentioned above, this book isn’t the light-hearted read I expected. Which isn’t at all to say it wasn’t brilliant. I almost did guess the ending but then went back on my theory and chose someone else. As absurd as the ending is, it’s the only one that makes sense and I wanted to scream because it was WONDERFUL.
So please, if you like murder mysteries and don’t mind a few mature/ emotionally complex plotlines, read The Hollow. You won’t regret it.
