What makes Endless Night so unique is that it’s not really a murder mystery novel. It’s a piece of gothic fiction. This is Agatha Christie going full gothic, and it’s incredible. The murder was that of Carla’s father, and it happened on a day when several people were gathered at his home. Fortunately, the retired Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot, has just moved in next door and takes an interest in this murder mystery. This particular Tommy and Tuppence novel puts the spotlight on Tuppence, which is great to see since she’s the more interesting of the two protagonists. The premise, as with all of the best Agatha Christie novels, is tight and simple: at a dinner party, a woman drops dead from poisoning.

On the same day, Mike meets a young American girl; the rich heiress to a great American business and fortune.To say any more would be to spoil it but Endless Night is a fantastic gothic novel. It’s still Christie, which means it remains mysterious and trusting people is a bad idea. Hastings’ perspective also adds some comedy to the narrative, as his banter with Poirot is always welcome. He hires an actress to play his late wife, but during this second party he himself drops dead, also from cyanide poisoning. Ten mostly unrelated people have been lured to an island off the coast of Devon — Soldier Island — by letters or telegrams.

This is the fourth Tommy and Tuppence novel (a pair of protagonists who feature in five Agatha Christie novels). A killer is planning a series of murders, and there is an obvious pattern: each death will occur in a town beginning with a letter of the alphabet, and the victim’s name will begin with that same letter. While it’s not one of the best Agatha Christie books, it remains a worthwhile read, especially for its ingeniously simple and engaging initial setup. This is a dark, gothic-inspired tale of past and present colliding, of whispers and rumours and paranoia.The newton-metre or newton-meter (also non-hyphenated, newton metre or newton meter; symbol N⋅m [1] or Nm [1]) [a] is the unit of torque (also called moment) in the International System of Units (SI). One newton-metre is equal to the torque resulting from a force of one newton applied perpendicularly to the end of a moment arm that is one metre long. Fortunately, Charles’ father is an inspector, and so the two of them spend time at the titular crooked house, investigating the death and interviewing members of Sophia’s family. The title And Then There Were Nonecomes from a nursery rhyme that hangs above the mantel, and the deaths in the rhyme match up with the deaths in the book. When Carla turned twenty-one, she was given a note from her mother, who died in prison, declaring her innocence (despite the fact that she confessed to the crime in court all those years ago).

Despite not being written to be likeable, this is Poirot at his most compelling and admirable as a protagonist. He gets tested and stretched here, which is very fun to read. After Ada passes away, they return to the home to find that Mrs Lancaster has been taken away by a relative. Peril at End Houseis one of those Christie novels that is more famous than most but not quite as celebrated as it should be (especially for so high on this list of Agatha Christie books ranked).Despite its popularity, it is not her very best novel, but it’s also not overrated. Murder on the Orient Express really is just that good, and most of this is down to the incredible twist. One thing that’s missing from this one, however, is the expected wit and humour. This is a slightly blander Marple novel, in that sense.