Mrs. McGinty's Dead: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Who could be better reading this recording of Christie's 1952 classic than Hugh Fraser, who not only has done several audio versions of her novels but who also plays Captain Hastings in those lovely TV adaptations starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot? Fraser uses his own British accent to narrate, then switches impressively to a perfect Belgian tinge as he lets the master detective ramble on about French food, suspicious deaths and how hard it is to handle both in the cities and villages of his adopted England. When Mrs. McGinty, a sweet-natured widow, is found bludgeoned to death, suspicion falls on James Bentley, her somewhat dodgy lodger. Bentley's trial looks like a guaranteed guilty verdict, but a leading policeman is suspicious enough to ask for Poirot's help. As the story begins to explode into a complex web of lies and hidden identities, novelist Ariadne Oliver (much more like the real Christie than the cute Miss Marple) joins the hunt to find the real murderer. Even fans familiar with the novel will enjoy this classic Christie audio. (Mar.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From AudioFile Poor Hercule Poirot. Now that hes retired, theres only food to look forward to--too bad there are only three meals in a day. Poirot is rejuvenated when Superintendent Spence approaches him about Mrs. McGintys murder. It SEEMS straightforward, but Spence, and then Poirot, have doubts. Narrator Hugh Fraser is particularly compelling as author Ariadne Oliver, who is said to be Christies alter ego in her mysteries. The wide range of suspects includes a most convenient one, Mrs. McGintys lodger. There are some funny moments while Poirot boards with one of the worst cooks in England. The story closes with Poirot teaching her to make a proper omelet. S.G.B. AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright AudioFile, Portland, Maine

mrs. Mcginty Is Dead And Everyone Suspects James Bentley, Her Slightly Shifty Lodger. In Fact, James Is Facing A Trial For An Almost Certain Open-and-shut Case. But Superintendent Spence Is Suspicious Enough To Ask For Hercule Poirot’s Assistance. Soon, The Seemingly Simple Situation Turns Into A Complex Web Of Lies And Hidden Identities. Novelist Ariadne Oliver (agatha Christie’s Alter Ego) Joins The Hunt To Find The Real Murderer In This Irresistible Whodunit Brought To Life By Popular Christie Reader Hugh Fraser.

san Francisco Chronicle

the Plot Is Perfect And The Characters Are Wonderful.

In Mrs. McGintys Dead, one of Agatha Christies most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady. Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victims blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesnt seem like a murderer. Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . . . Poirot, disillusioned by the "senseless cruel brutality" of modern crime, pays no attention to the sad case of Mrs McGinty, an old woman apparently struck dead by her lodger for thirty pounds that she kept under a floorboard. When, however, he is asked by the investigating officer to take another look at the case to stop an innocent man going to the gallows, he realises that things may not be as simple as they first appear to be.