#129 The ABC Murders

 The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

Ive very recently gotten into Agatha Christie's books and ive heard a lot about this book in particular so it was one of the highest on my list to check out. Ive since made a list of both the Poirot and Miss Marple novels and im trying to pick them up and read them in order now. Since reading this one i have also picked up The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot #1) and Murder at the Vicarage (Marple #1), the only other AC books ive read are And then there were none and Murder on the Orient Express so im developing quite a taste for her books to say the least!

The ABC Murders is a Poirot novel written in the 1930's and is the 13th book in the series and from what ive seen on Goodreads, Booktube and Bookstagram this is one of the most beloved AC novels. The book starts off with Poirot receiving an anonymous letter from someone who only refers to themself as 'ABC' and he claims that he will commit a series of murders that both Poirot and the police will not be able to solve. The main plot of the book is that the murderer kills a person with a name beginning with A, the victim also lives in a place beginning with the same letter. The second victims name begins with a B and so on. Poirot is immediatley at a loss of how he will solve these murders and apprehend the murderer. 

Ive heard that this book is very different and unique from the main series that AC has written. Having only read a few Poirot novels i havemt fully got a sense of the style just yet but what i do know is that Poirot is a good detective, very observant and a little bit of a know it all, of all the other Poirot books ive read there is a basic investigation which Poirot tends to keep his cards to his chest and then there will be a chapter towards the end where Poirot reveals the murderer and explains how he worked it out. The ABC Murders is a little different in the sense that Poirot seems stumped for the majority of the book. The killings in this book are very random whereas in the other books there also seems to be a motive and one person that benefits from the victims death more so than the others. There are also very minimal clues to go on which is another unusual aspect of the book. The other thing that sets this book apart is that it is following a serial killer whereas most of the other books revolve around a singular murder. All in all these elements made for a really good read. 

I found this book to be fast paced, interesting and an all round good read. It was a different read from her usual novels. I always love guessing the ending but the ending always has me stumped. I think this would be a good starting place for people wanting to check out AC! I cant wait to continue reading more by her.