Peril at End House: B2

Written by Agatha Christie

Narrated by Roger May

Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners.

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully abridged versions are shorter with the language targeted at learners of English.

Hercule Poirot, the famous detective, is on holiday in the south of England when he meets a lady called Nick Buckley. Nick has had a lot of mysterious ‘accidents’. First, her car brakes failed. Then, a large rock just missed her when she was walking, and later, a painting almost fell on her while she was asleep. Finally, Poirot finds a bullet hole in her hat!

Nick is in danger and needs Poirot’s help. Can he find the guilty person before Nick is harmed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Oct 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9780008267414

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English author of mystery fiction whose status in the genre is unparalleled. A prolific and dedicated creator, she wrote short stories, plays and poems, but her fame is due primarily to her mystery novels, especially those featuring two of the most celebrated sleuths in crime fiction, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Ms. Christie’s novels have sold in excess of two billion copies, making her the best-selling author of fiction in the world, with total sales comparable only to those of William Shakespeare or The Bible. Despite the fact that she did not enjoy cinema, almost 40 films have been produced based on her work.

Reviews for Peril at End House

[jamestomasino · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Twice I thought I had this one solved, but I was wrong on both accounts and by a wide margin. The characters in this mystery are lively and made for an unusual tale. It is my favorite Poirot to date.

[quinton.baran · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fine Hercule Poirot novel, with the story being narrated by Hastings. Even though this is the 8th novel (with many more to come), the career of Poirot is portrayed to be at the twilight, which I thought was interesting.

I found the story to be engaging, but most of the characters were not fully developed in my opinion. I didn't have much empathy for the cast, except for Poirot and Hastings, but they are developed in all the books.

Nevertheless, the mystery is satisfying to follow and sleuth out.

[missbrangwen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is not the very best Poirot novel there is, but definitely one I enjoyed more than some others. I liked the setting very much - a hotel and an old country house in Cornwall - on the one hand because it's such a classic setting, and on the other hand because right now, what could be better than a seaside holiday in a place as beautiful as Cornwall.The story intrigued me from the beginning and although I guessed a few parts of the solution, I did not guess the culprit. I feel like the characters are a little flat in this one, and Poirot was boasting about himself a little too much, but the story and the case captivated me and it was just the kind of comfort read I was looking for.

[lara335 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hercule involves himself when a light-hearted young woman discounts the possibility that there have been a number of murder attempts on her.Typical Christie mystery set in a country house in Cornwall, and as usual Poirot collects together all the characters involved at a final meeting and dramatic reveal.4* because I couldn’t guess the ‘why done it’.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nice, relatively early Poirot. Hastings, back from the Argentine, and Poirot are on holidays in the south of England and celebrating Poirot's retirement. After turning down an urgent plea for assistance from the Home Secretary Poirot is drawn into the mystery of the attempts on the life of a reckless, poor, upper class young woman. This is more the Jeeves-ish end of the Christie oeuvre, with rather stereotyped characterisation but it's an enjoyable quick read. (I picked this up after a picture fell from the wall onto a family member's bed and my sister said "that's what happened in Peril at End House! - life imitated art!).

[beckakw · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5/5 stars

While on holiday famous detective, Hercule Poirot, meets a young woman whose life has been in danger and has escaped death on several different occasions, including directly in front of Poirot. Wanting to protect this girl from a fatal event, Poirot examines the evidence and psychology in order to solve the case.

Mystery novels are not my go-to for reading. However, Agatha Christie's writing is interesting and keeps the reader's attention. I definitely did not expect that ending, which to me is the sign of a great mystery. I liked this novel a bit less because it was slower in the beginning and didn't grab me as fast as other Christie novels.

[jimgysin_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was another Poirot book that I don't recall having read before. (I've read some of Christie's titles many times, while others are a first as I make my way through her entire list from start to finish.) In this one, Poirot and Hastings befriend a woman who has had several attempts made on her life in recent days, and yet another attempt is made in the presence of our two pals, who are vacationing along the English Channel coast. It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on, and when the key action sequence transpired, it was very obvious to me what was taking place. I did miss out on a few minor things involving a couple of B-plots, but, as is often the case, it was because Christie didn't offer up the needed information until she did so in retrospect. Still, it was a fun read in the typical Christie fashion, and a solid outing for Hercule and his little grey cells.

[rosalita_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The seventh novel-length adventure of Hercule Poirot finds him and Hastings in Cornwall, in the unusual position of trying to prevent a murder rather than solve one that's already been committed. This one features loads of suspects and Poirot is forced to eat an unusual amount of humble pie, though of course he spits it all back up in the end like the sleek, self-satisfied cat he really is. As usual with Dame Christie, I gleaned bits and pieces of the eventual dénouement as the story progressed but there enough surprises left in the end to make it enjoyable.

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

What a way to begin the year.... with a loser!

M. Poirot & Hastings are on holiday, staying at a beach side hotel..... Enter a young woman, Nick, who has been shot at and has had a few other near attempts on her life in the past 3 days....

M. Poirot takes these attempts very seriously, but Nick merely laughs them off. M. Poirot not one to allow murder to pass undetected assigns himself to Nick & her house party, so that he might protect her.

During the fireworks, both Nick & her cousin go back in the house for their coats. The cousin is found shot to death wearing Nick's the shawl, proof that Nick is in danger.

I didn't like this book, I didn't like the characters...... I also didn't like the constant barrage of forced dialog between Poirot & Hastings. Hastings was his usual inept self, and Poirot was all conjecture, exclamations, & prattle.

[bbbart-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another good entry in the Poirot series by la Christie. I found this a remarkable one, since for the first time I figured out who committed the murder before Poirot did himself (at least, in the story). :-)

It strikes me however how very much her storylines rely on the particularities of society so typical to the era they are written in. The position of women, the reliability of promises, the pose one needs to hold in public, etc... To me, this adds an interesting layer into Christie's books as it kind of allows me to immerse myself into the world my grandparents grew up in.

[daniel.salazar-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Poirot is on holiday in Cornwall, he is talking to Captain Hastings and then he meets Nick Buckley who tells of her close situations with death, and Poirot thinks someone is trying to kill her. Nick treats it all as a joke but Poirot is convinced that she is in danger,so he founds that it is true, when Nick lends her shawl to her cousin Maggie. She is shot when she is wearing Nick´s shawl.He then starts to find clues, to investigate people, just for helping Nick.Unknown words:Shawl: a piece of wool or other material worn, especially by women, about the shoulders, or the head and shoulders, in place of a coat or hat outdoorsHilt:the handle of a sword or dagger.Baffle:to frustrate or confoundDictum:an authoritative pronouncement; judicial assertion.

[rubyscarlett-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed that, the end is astonishing. One of the better Poirot novels, methinks. The plot is easy and yet the solution takes some guts.

[daniel5estes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Peril at End House is a worthy entry in Christie's Hercule Poirot portfolio. The story contains plenty of murder, intrigue and deception to satisfy any lover of mysteries.At the start Poirot is retired and intends to stay that way. His endearing conceit lets slip that England won't have their finest detective to help them solve crimes anymore, but it's time to move aside for a younger generation. Naturally, a murder eventually finds Poirot and his sense of duty pulls him back into the fold. No doubt his innate curiosity had something to do with it too.I appreciate the charm of Poirot being slightly off his game in this book as he is occasionally caught unaware by events. Seeing the famed detective flustered from time to time is a welcomed departure.

[mmyoung_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

All in all a rather unspectacular outing for Poirot and Hastings. Hastings seems to enjoy marriage mainly by not being on the same continent as his wife and he becomes, book by book, less an active part of the investigation. Poirot seems to be a caricature of himself and indeed only “solves” the case after all the facts are basically dropped in his lap and after he has clearly mis-solved it. Once again we see that there are at least two sets of laws in England; one for the rich/members of the gentry and the other for the poor. Japp appears on the scene for no reason and Poirot wanders around speaking in riddles for no purpose. Not one of Christie’s stronger efforts.

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Originally published in the US in 1932, and then in the UK later in the same year. I listened to an unabridged audio book read by Hugh Fraser. It features Hercule Poirot, Captain Hastings, and, towards the end, Inspector Japp.It is Poirot's 6th novel, and there's a couple of gentle references in the novel to his previous case THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN published in 1928.Hastings and Poirot are having a week's holiday at St. Loo in Cornwall. Hastings has recently returned from Argentina, seemingly having left his wife behind. Poirot has retired and turns down a request from the Home Secretary to go up to London to take on a most urgent case. However he reserves the right to take on a new case if it interests him.As always Poirot is attracted to a pretty young thing, Miss Nick Buckley, who appears to have recently been shot at. When he hears that she has had several near encounters with death just recently Poirot decides to make her protection his business. Nick Buckley is a young flapper living well beyond her means at End House. She is surrounded by a coterie of similar care-free young things who party a lot and experiment with drugs like cocaine. Any one of them could be a danger to Miss Nick, but why would any of them want to kill her?Despite his own confidence in his own abilities, PERIL AT END HOUSE clearly demonstrates that even the great Hercule Poirot is fallible. Poirot says that Hastings always leaps to the wrong conclusions, and so we have come to expect Hastings to be led astray by sentiment, but not Hercule Poirot who prides himself on his deductive methods and his use of "the little grey cells". Agatha Christie's behind-the-hand smirking at her own pompous creation is almost palpable.Without doubt, the beautiful narration of Hugh Fraser, who has appeared in a number of the TV episodes as Hastings, contributed to my enjoyment.But let's take nothing away from the cleverness of the plot, nor from the controversial ending in which, to Hastings' horror, Poirot allows the murderer to cheat the gallows.

[horacewimsey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The thing about a Hercule Poirot Mystery is that he's always in the picture; quite unlike a Miss Marple Mystery wherein the supposed sleuth only appears at or near the end to provide the summing up. This was a good one. I'm intrigued by detective writers' Christie and Sayers's use of the resort as a venue for crime.

[mrtall_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This early Poirot/Hastings novel is good fun. Our duo are holidaying on the Cornish coast, and meet the adorable Nick, a lovely young thing who's inherited the eponymous Victorian pile. Oh, and someone's trying to kill her. Poirot strives to head off tragedy, but his vigilance is not enough . . . .Although Christie's early work includes some of her best, in this one she still seems to be finding her way. Poirot's character is a bit jumpy here, and the solution to the plot seemed pretty obvious to me from a ways off. Still, I'd recommend this one for its lively writing, good period detail, and general Christie-esque charm.

[riverwillow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this book the plot has so many twists and turns to that you never quite know where you are, as well a few red herrings as well. Oh yes and the denoument makes sense.

[cmbohn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Poirot has retired. Really. He means it. Even an appeal from the Home Secretary won't change his mind. But when he nearly witnesses a murder attempt, he begins to rethink things. Pretty Nick Buckley has had four near misses in three days. The first three weren't much, but the latest one involved a bullet that narrowly missed her. But as Poirot begins his investigation, he finds no motive for her death. There are plenty of suspects - her stuffy cousin, her would-be suitor, a close friend and her mysterious lover, the new Australian neighbors - but no real reason any of them would want her dead. But despite all his precautions, the murderer strikes. Poirot will have to act fast if he's not to let a killer get away.I enjoyed this one. There was a plot twist that reminded me a bit of The ABC Murders, one of my favorite of her books. Poirot is in top form in this one and it was a fun read.CMB