Book Review: Five Little Pigs

Author: Agatha Christie

I finished The Last Don on Saturday and before I could start the heavy Dangerous Fortune [Ken Follet], I needed a filler. My last two Agatha Christie books didn’t impress me [Dumb Witness & A Murder Is Announced] and I put this in the same category.

A woman is accused of killing her artist husband and though she pleads not guilty in court, she puts up an unimpressive defence against the prosecution which doesn’t impress the jury and they give her penal servitude. Their 5 yr old daughter is taken away to Canada to grow up with her Uncle and Aunt but a year after the case, the mother writes her last letter to the daughter telling she is innocent before dying. Armed with this letter, Carla Lemarchant [aka Caroline Clare II] goes to Poirot believing her mother’s innocence 16 years after the case was concluded. Poirot ponders over the contents and agrees to help Carla in getting the truth out – whatever that might be. At the time of death, there were 5 other people present at the house who could have committed the murder:

Kid Carla [daughter of the deceased] – 5 yr old

Caroline Clare [wife of the deceased] – accused

Other five:

Angela Warren [half-sister of Caroline] – 15 yr old

Phillip Blake [best friend of the deceased]

Meredith Blake [brother of Phillip]

Cecile Williams [governess of Angela]

Elsa Greer [mistress of deceased]

After Poirot goes to meet the solicitors who worked on this case to understand who all were involved, he gets reminded of the nursery rhyme, Five Little Pigs

This pig went to the market

This pig stayed at home

This pig had roasted beef

This pig had none

And this pig went wee wee wee

[I might have forgotten the exact words]

The story was decent, it’s just 180 pages long but this would have suited Miss Marple much more than Monsieur Poirot in my opinion. The setting is in a nice country place and the end result is dependent on psychology of the people. Only thing which was a hindrance for Miss Marple to be involved was probably coz the investigation takes place 16 years after the death but I think Christie could have easily worked around that part. Last 3 books of Agatha Christie I read have left me unimpressed and I’m starting to wonder if I’ve outgrown [sorry Calvin] her stories. Give it a read if you’re undertaking a short 4-6 hr travel and don't have anything else to read. Or maybe as a filler while you move from one heavy book to another. Otherwise, it's not recommended.