Hello again everyone. It is time for the day of pumpkins, spooks, scares and trick or treaters! And how else do I contribute to this month of horror but with a classic from the queen of crime herself!

Anyone and everyone knows who Agatha Christie is. Between Poirot, Marple, The Mousetrap and several one-off short stories plus an almost limitless parade of film and TV adaptations, she is one of the most prolific and ubiquitous writers of all time. But today, my topic is one of her less beloved or at the very least less well-known books.

Hallowe’en Party – yes it is actually spelt like that in most editions – is a 1969 Hercule Poirot adventure from towards the end of his many cases and Agatha’s illustrious career as well as the inspiration for elements of the film A Haunting In Venice in 2023. The plot is relatively simple – at least by Agatha Christie standards – and can be summarised thusly:

Ariadne Oliver, mystery novelist extraordinaire and friend of Hercule Poirot from some prior cases, is aiding some friends to organise and set up a Halloween party for a group of small children. During the proceedings, a boastful child named Joyce claims to have seen a murder committed. Despite no one believing she is telling the truth, she is later found dead at the end of the party having been drowned in the bucket that was used for the bobbing of apples. 

Understandably distraught at this news, Ariadne calls upon Poirot to solve the case. In recent years there have been a few mysterious events in the area along with other oddities which catch Poirot’s attention. The question is can the Belgian detective solve this case or has the world moved on without him?

The book is an enjoyable listen and read. It practically flies by with characters introducing themselves, implicating others and leaving real clues and red herrings all over the place complete with a somewhat grim atmosphere. The mystery is an interesting one with quite a few revelations and sneaky surprises. Unlike some others – including The ABC Murders which I reviewed a good number of years ago – it has not joined the likes of Murder On The Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair At Styles or Evil Under The Sun as one of Agatha’s classics.

One element I find rather interesting especially given the reputation of Agatha herself and Poirot the character is that the book has a lot of small asides discussing the way the world has been changing around them: Be it the types of deaths and murders you heard about on the radio or in the newspapers having been changing, the fashions and attitudes of young people becoming much more alien and odd or disrespectful or the slow disappearance of the old country house. This isn’t the 1930s anymore and the characters themselves can feel the winds of change. 

Hugh Fraser once again provides the narration of the audiobook edition. His soft confident voice transports you to the world of small English country villages, upperclass busybodies and reliably self assured – but invariably wrong – first impressions. His impression of David Suchet’s Poirot from the ITV days is as close as you can get while he is also able to twist his voice to be anything needed, be it an amiable policeman, a distraught mother, or in the case of Ariadne, Agatha’s self aware little jab at her own public perception. 

Regardless of how many times you have read the original novels or watched or listened to TV and radio adaptations, it is always worth making the time to journey back in time with Hercule Poirot and in this case, solve a case with a little sprinkling of Halloween flavour. Myself?

I find the audiobooks (in most cases) the easiest way to sit back and relax with the stories and I wonder who might be coming to Woodleigh Common this Halloween alongside the man with the ‘little grey cells.’ I hope I won’t have been the only one to have made the trip! 

Sayonara!

Nephrite