Reading Five Little Pigs

At the behest of a young woman, Hercule Poirot investigates the sixteen-year-old murder of her father by her mother’s hand. Almost everyone associated with the murder proclaims the case closed. But should it be?

The Story In Five Little Pigs

Hercule Poirot meets Carla Lemarchant, who quickly fesses up to using that name because her real name, Caroline Crale, is linked to the poisoning death of her father, allegedly by her mother. Carla has just come of age and is ready to be married. She hires Poirot to investigate her father’s murder and her mother’s conviction.

After speaking with the various prosecutors, investigators and defense attorneys connected to the case, Poirot focus his attention on five persons of interets he nicknames hhe Five Little Pigs. These include:

Meredith Blake, who was once in love with the alleged murderess and from whom she admitted stealing the hemlock extract used to kill Amyas Crale.
Philip Blake, who was Amyas Crale’s best friend since childhood and Meredith’s younger brother.
Elsa Greer, who was Amyas Crale’s mistress but became Lady Dittisham through marriage.
Cecilia Williams, who was governess to Caroline Crales’ pre-teen sister.
Angela Warren, who was disfigured by the alleged murderess years ago in a childhood tantrum.

My Thoughts On Five Little Pigs

Once again, Agatha Christie demonstrates just how very much she deserves the many accolades bestowed upon her and her work over the decades. Her choice to have the five primary persons of interest tell their own versions of that horrid day, in their own way and without any prompting, was genius. It opened a window of fresh air on a genre that can quickly fall into predictable silliness in the hands of a less adept wordsmith.

Christie is a master of the red herring. Was it murder? Was it suicide? Was it a case of mistaken identity? What’s with all the Juliet references? Almost to the very moment of the real big reveal, I waffled between two potential scenarios–both of which seemed entirely credible but turned out to be completely and utterly wrong.

I also really appreciated the smaller pool of suspects here. Because I mainly consume these stories via audiobooks, and often while I’m on my exercise bike or doing household chores, a novel with a dozen potential suspects, three or four investigators and a handful of minor characters to keep track of, can be difficult to follow. But I trusted Christie to deliver the solution from among Poirot’s Five Little Pigs and she rewarded me.

Critics of the day heaped praise upon Five Little Pigs, calling the story “brilliant” and “rich and satisfying”. And I agree. Of all the Poirot novels I’ve read so far in my Year With Agatha Christie Reading Challenge, Five Little Pigs is one of the best.

My copy of Five Little Pigs was an original 1942 UK version with the Somerset Maugham reference. My audiobook version was performed by Hugh Fraser, who was a brilliant as ever.