Reading Peril At End House

While on a seaside vacation in Cornwall, Hercule Poirot meets a beautiful, if somewhat clueless, young woman who lives in her ancestral home nearby. But something sinister lurks in this coastal paradise–and it threatens the young woman’s very life.

The Story In Peril At End House

Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings are on vacation at the coast when they meet a young woman named Magdala “Nick” Buckley. Immediately it becomes obvious that her safety–and perhaps her life–is in danger. There’s a mysterious rockslide that barely misses her, a problem with her car’s brakes, a large painting that falls onto her pillow, and, with Poirot watching, a bullet that passes through Nick’s hat.

But who would want to murder this beautiful young woman? The attorney/cousin who handles her legal affairs? The best friend with her head in the clouds?

And why? Nick’s rickety old house isn’t worth the money it would take to fix and, speaking of money, there’s precious little of that coming in.

Poirot’s interest is peaked but when a murder actually does occur, with him having already sworn to protect Nick, he will stop at nothing to find the truth.

My Thoughts on Peril At End House

Though I hadn’t read Peril At End House prior to beginning my Year With Agatha Christie reading challenge, I had seen the adaptation for Agatha Christie’s Poirot and was familiar with the story. Even so, I was not prepared for just how truly and deeply evil the actual murderer was when the novel’s climax arrived.

Arthur Hastings and James Japp both appear in the novel, though Japp’s investigative work is done mostly off-screen. And while Miss Lemon plays a pivotal role in the television adaptation, she does not appear in the novel.

I half-expected to be disappointed in the novel, having seen the made-for-television version first, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this read. Critics of the day were mostly positive in their reviews and I understand why. I don’t think this was Christie’s best mystery–and I’m still not sure anyone could really mistake even a small caliber bullet for a wasp–but my gripes are minor.

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