Publishers Weekly
★ 08/07/2023
Hannah’s stellar fifth whodunit featuring Agatha Christie’s iconic sleuth (after 2020’s The Killings at Kingfisher Hall) extends her reign as a master of mystery pastiche. In early December 1931, Poirot is preparing for a quiet Christmas alone when Cynthia Catchpool, the mother of Scotland Yard inspector Edward Catchpool, summons both men to solve one murder and prevent another in the small Norfolk town of Munby-on-Sea. Someone has bashed in the head of universally beloved postmaster Stanley Niven during his recent hospital stay. Vivienne Laurier, a friend of Cynthia’s, is convinced that her husband, Arnold, has put a target on his own back by dedicating himself to tracking down Stanley’s killer, and her anxiety spikes when Arthur prepares to go to the same hospital where Stanley was killed. Cynthia insists that Poirot stay with her and Edward through the holiday, and the pair launches a winding investigation that eventually puts their own lives at risk. Hannah does a superior job of presenting Poirot’s quirky brilliance without overdoing it, and in making Catchpool a fully fleshed sidekick with psychological depth. Golden age mystery fans will be hungry for more.(Oct.)
From the Publisher
Clever, amusing, complicated . . . a psychological thriller with a characteristically intricate and humorous puzzle of a plot.” — New York Times Book Review, Gifts for Book Lovers, on The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
“Sophie Hannah does an egoless, silky job of reviving Agatha Christie's beloved Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. . . . Enough so to hope that Hannah turns to Miss Marple next.” — USA Today
“Classic Christie . . . Captures the essence of the originals without being a slavish imitation . . . Christie aficionados will delight.” — Washington Post on Closed Casket
“[A] masterful and multi-layered puzzle . . . adding a new dimension to a much-loved series.” — NPR on The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
“I was thrilled to see Poirot in such very, very good hands.” — Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl
“Sophie Hannah’s The Monogram Murders does Christie proud. Our favorite detective is back and in impeccable form!” — Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of An Unwilling Accomplice
“Hannah does a superb job of channeling Agatha Christie . . . with dazzling deductions, subtle cluing, false endings, and superb prose . . . Lovers of classic whodunits can only hope Hannah continues to offer her take on the great Belgian detective.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An intelligent blend of obeisance and originality, The Killings at Kingfisher Hill merits high praise for the work of Christie and Hannah alike.” — The Free Lance-Star on The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
"Among the many posthumously-continued mystery series, is any in better hands than Poirot is in Sophie Hannah’s? The poet and crime scribe has managed to keep the spirit of Agatha Christie’s novels alive while always introducing new touches and flourishes to keep readers guessing and delighted. . . . Insidious motivations and secret pasts converge in high Christie fashion, as the puzzle plays out in highly satisfying fashion." — CrimeReads on The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
"Readers will feel steeped in the environs of upper-middle-class England of days past, the chill emanating from a dysfunctional family, and the torture of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons as they enjoy Catchpool’s exasperation and Poirot’s genius-at-work sensibilities. . . . Recommend this to board-game aficionados as well as to fans of Christie and Hannah." — Booklist on The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
"It is no small undertaking to follow in the footsteps of Christie, but Hannah nails it in her latest, The Killings at Kingfisher Hill. The tone is pitch-perfect, the mystery aspect is as convoluted as anything ever crafted by Hannah’s predecessor, there are more red herrings than you would find at a Swedish breakfast buffet, and the diminutive mustachioed Belgian detective has never been cannier . . . Hannah’s work is first-rate. Poirot lives." — Bookpage
“Brilliant . . . a masterfully plotted, mind-bending crime thriller that harkens back to the days when Agatha Christie ruled the genre, The Killings at Kingfisher Hill is hands down the best mystery novel of 2020 so far.” — The Real Book Spy on The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
"Bestseller Hannah displays her superior ability to devise mind-blowing setups . . . Fans of classic fair-play puzzle mysteries will clamor for more." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
Library Journal
09/15/2023
Hercule Poirot and Inspector Catchpool are looking forward to their Christmas plans together when all is overturned by Catchpool's mother hectoring them off to Norfolk. There they find an estate about to fall into the sea, a family at odds, and several murders—all of which intrigues Poirot's little gray cells. This fifth in Hannah's authorized new series of Poirot cases (after The Killings at Kingfisher Hill) offers fans of the detective and of Agatha Christie's Golden Age crime novels the pleasures of a slowly unfolding case, a large cast of classic characters (including a bumbling local inspector), red herrings, and out-of-the-blue developments, plus plenty of chances to guess the culprit. Hannah has had plenty of time to craft the Poirot of her series and hits a good balance between Christie's take, the David Suchet TV adaptation, and her own sensibility. Catchpool shines in this outing, pulling forward the action and dealing with his own past and present. VERDICT The Christmas details are light, memorably centering on Catchpool decorating multiple trees while simultaneously interviewing suspects, but the case is heavy and offers much to consider. Fans will devour this novel, but it is also a nice place to jump into Hannah's series.—Neal Wyatt
Kirkus Reviews
2023-07-26
Belgium’s enduring gift to the annals of detection travels to Norfolk to solve a murder case that grows more and more vexing.
Arnold Laurier, the math teacher who’s inherited Frellingsloe House, is dying. But before he goes, his wife, Vivienne, has two wishes she conveys to her best friend, Cynthia Catchpool: She’d like Poirot to visit Arnold, who’s long idolized him, for Christmas week 1931, and she’d like him to figure out who killed inoffensive Stanley Niven, a patient in St. Walstan’s Cottage Hospital, before Arnold takes up residence in the hospital room next door. Poirot agrees to make the trip, and his amanuensis, Scotland Yard Inspector Edward Catchpool, is so devoted to him that he tags along even though it means spending a week with his long-estranged mother, by far the most amusing character here. The timing of Niven’s fatal bashing identifies the principal suspects as Arnold’s closest relatives: his wife; his sons, Douglas and Jonathan; and their wives, Madeline and Janet. The main reason that Arnold doesn’t want Poirot to solve the mystery, however, is not that he’s unwilling to implicate his loved ones but that he wants the glory of solving it himself, even if the cost is his own life. Hannah paints such a suffocating picture of Christmas at Frellingsloe House that Poirot’s inquiries among the staff at St. Walstan’s come as a relief. When the inevitable second murder takes place on Poirot’s watch, he applies the principle of “now that it’s there” that Catchpool has proposed in a quite different context to unpack the well-nigh undetectable motive for both murders.
A fiendishly inventive serving of humble pie, or Christmas pudding, for puzzle-solvers who think they’re clever.
