Peril at End House (Poirot)

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You have an extraordinary effect on me, Hastings. You have so strongly the flair in the wrong direction that I am almost tempted to go by it! You are that wholly admirable type of man, honest, credulous, honourable, who is invariably taken in by any scoundrel. You are the type of man who invests in doubtful oil fields, and non-existent gold mines. From hundreds like you, the swindler makes his daily bread. Ah, well—I shall study this Commander Challenger. You have awakened my doubts.’” The dedication of the book goes some way to explaining Agatha Christie’s slight detour from her earlier style, and the inclusion of quite so much conversation. It reads:

Two references (in chapters 1 and 5) are made to the events told in The Mystery of the Blue Train and it is clearly stated in chapter 1 that Peril at End House takes place the August following Poirot's trip to the French Riviera described in that book. Poirot does not go to see Mr Whitfield with Hastings. Hastings is sent to London on the errand on his own. He does not carry a letter of introduction from the Chief Constable and from Scotland Yard. Here he has to rely on his old boy's network--he was at school with Mr Whitfield's son. To Eden Phillpotts. To whom I shall always be grateful for his friendship and the encouragement he gave me many years ago.”

That’s it, sir,’ said Ellen, eagerly. ‘Evil. Bad thoughts and bad deeds too. It’s like dry rot in a house, sir, you can’t get it out. It’s a sort of feeling in the air. I always knew something bad would happen in this house, someday.’”

Eden Phillpotts critiqued both the book and other examples of Agatha Christie’s writing, with helpful advice to the young author:In chapter 9, there is an remark in passing, on the cleverest type of crime, which later became the theme of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, which ends with his death. Do you suppose I’d have made a success of my ranch out in the Argentine if I were the kind of credulous fool you make out?’ The book features Christie's famous character Hercule Poirot, as well as Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp. He sighed. I knew of what he was thinking—that strange affair at Fernley Park. How I regretted that I had been far away at that time.” Peril at End House is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by the Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1932 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the same year.

In 1908, recovering from influenza and bored, Agatha Christie began to write a story at the suggestion of her mother, Clara Miller. Most of her early efforts at this stage were short stories, but a little later in the year she attempted her first novel, and sent it to various publishers. All of them rejected the work, but her mother suggested that she asked Eden Phillpotts, a neighbour in Torquay, and friend of the family to read it.

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I have become addicted to the many stories Agatha Christie offers up in this easy flowing series. A well-developed plot finds itself within a strong narrative. Poirot’s encounter with many characters keeps the reader entertained, while forcing them to wonder what awaits them around the next corner. Even though there is a great deal left in the series, I am eager to forge onwards to see how things progress with the stories, the characters, and what clues I might gather as I piece together the larger Hercule Poirot character.