Hickory Dickory Dock

When Hercule Poirot found his life a bit boring he often gave way to taking on a more frivolous case... but such diminutive problems in crime regularly expanded into morasses of deceit and murder. Poirot's secretary, Miss Lemon, has a sister (Mrs. Hubbard) who manages an international hostel where numerous small personal items of the youthful residents have gone missing. Some have subsequently been found vandalized. Since the hostel's Greek owner, prickly old Mrs. Nicoletis, desires that her boarding house maintain its good name, Mrs. Hubbard bypasses the police and, through her very efficient sister, interests Poirot in the case of the pilfered and damaged items. The esteemed private detective at once senses something very dark behind these deceptively innocuous petty thefts and after spending a pleasant evening with these mostly amiable college students and local workers, his firm advice is to call in the police without delay. Poirot's counsel is taken all too lightly as a mouse of a girl is presently slain in her room at the hostel. Inspector Sharpe works hand in glove with Poirot to solve this odious murder along with subsequent other high crimes. What primarily established the typical Agatha Christie yarn as a hallmark of the British mystery was the remarkable depth of her respective whodunits -- they are, for the most part, multi-dimensional in scope. One can add to that essential fact that her characters are colorful, her atmospheres are both cozy and palatable, and the intriguing cases of her various detectives are typically plausible, albeit often improbable. All these captivating nuances are firmly in place in this particular instance. This story is a classic example of how Christie apparently loved to tenon her murder cases with episodes of international intrigue. Of course her most famous of such works were those stories which involved the renowned husband and wife team of Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, ergo: N or M? (Tommy and Tuppence). And Christie often ditched the cozy murder scheme altogether to focus specifically upon the spy thriller as she did in Passenger to Frankfort. Even Miss Marple stuck her itchy old nose into an internationally syndicated crime ring from time to time: At Bertram's Hotel: A Miss Marple Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection). But it seems to me that the mystery under review is sprinkled with just the right amount of the conspiracy component. It's still a cozy murder but one with broader implications. And that is about as far as I can go without unearthing a spoiler. In summary, the quality of this latter-period (1955) Christie mystery easily falls into the top twenty percent of her eighty or so mysteries and whodunit plays. This work is marketed under the "Nursery Rhyme Murder" series title of "Hickory Dickory Dock" but it's also sold as Hickory Dickory Death (Red Badge Detective Mystery). I can highly recommend this terrific story to any fan of the Golden-age British mystery.

Wow! I loved this book. It's my favorite Christie yet! It's great because it's about college level kids. You should definitly take the time to read this!

I think that this book was very good! It's the only Agatha Christie book I have read so far, but from reading that book I want to read more of Agatha Christie's books. It had kind of a slow plot but all in all the ending is good! You have to be Poirot to figure this murder mystery out! It was a fun, yet slow book to read. Not the best book I've read but totally not the worst! I suggest you read it, you'll never forget it!

I absolutely loved this book! It was great! The only thing I didn't understand, and still don't understand is just WHY it's called Hickory Dickory Dock? The ending was so chilling I had to sleep with the light on! Poirot, as always, handled the case with the same patience and arrogance we have come to expect and love him for. This, along with Five Little Pigs, is Christie's best work as far as I'm concerned!

A good novel, a good plot, well written. Even though it isn't anything to remember for the rest of your life.