Lisa Barger

When Ariadne Oliver attends a children’s party at which a child is murdered, she knows exactly who to call. Can Hercule Poirot work out the solution and bring little Joyce Reynold’s murderer to justice??

The Story In Hallowe’en Party

While helping a friend prepare for a teen and preteen Halloween party, Hercule Poirot’s friend, Ariadne Oliver meets 13-year old Joyce Reynolds. They begin discussing Ariadne’s books, with Joyce declaring she likes mystery novels with “murders to have lots of blood”. She goes on to boast that she witnessed a murder years ago.

Questioned by the others, including several skeptical adults, Joyce holds fast to her claim, explaining that she didn’t tell anyone about the crime at the time because she only recently understood that what she saw was actually a murder.

After the party, Joyce is discovered drowned in an apple bobbing bucket. Ariadne enlists Poirot’s help; he seeks assistance from his old friend Superintendent Spence, who is long-retired from crime solving and living now in the quiet little village.

My Thoughts On Hallowe’en Party

I’d seen adaptations of Hallowe’en Party prior to reading the novel so the revelation of the identity of Joyce’s murderer was, perhaps, a bit less impactful than it would have been otherwise. But my scant familiarity with the basic story failed to blunt my appreciation of Christie’s genius for murder mysteries. There’s no doubt in my mind that had I gone into the story with no prior knowledge of it, I’d have been just as clueless as usual about the real reason for the killing and the true identity of the murderer.

A few things bothered me, however. For example, I felt that the story ended a bit too abruptly, despite Christie employing two denouement scenes. Fans of “big reveal” moments in which Poirot unmasks the killer in front of the rest of the characters will be disappointed. Hallowe’en Party’s solution is only fully explained in a private meeting with law enforcement.

The second reveal scene involves Poirot explaining things to Ariadne. Here, we learn that Christie withheld a clue that might have given some readers a heads-up that partially explains part of the motive for one of the crimes.

There were also a number of loose ends I would have liked to have seen tidied up. The most notable involves a moment of heroism shared by two minor characters. This moment is absolutely essential to the story’s resolution but was not explored (or explained) to my satisfaction. It felt very much like a missed opportunity.

I also wanted to know more about the two deaths that occurred before the story began. Was the hit-and-run really an accident? Was Mrs.  Llewellyn-Smythe’s sudden death really natural? Or was it helped along by a greedy family member or a household servant? Could either of those cases be reopened in light of recent happenings?

Despite my various gripes, I enjoyed Hallowe’en Party.

My audiobook of Hallowe’en Party was performed by Hugh Fraser. I’m going to miss him when my Year With Agatha Christie reading challenge is over.

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