Jamie's Reviews > Five Little Pigs

I can't believe that I finally finished this book, you guys! I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a solid read – probably one of my favorite Poirot novels so far, really – but I have been horrible about listening to audiobooks lately so reaching the end of this one was a long, slow process.

But anyway, Five Little Pigs is another fantastic mystery by Dame Agatha. Poirot is as brilliant as ever, and it has all of the twists and turns (and rich people behaving badly) that you'd expect from a Christie novel. I particularly enjoyed the epistolary bits in the second half, and I found all of the characters to be interesting and well-written (although not particularly likeable). Caroline Crale was convicted of her husband's murder sixteen years prior, and Poirot is hired by her daughter in order to clear the family name. Of course, suspects abound and everything is not as it initially seems.

Hugh Fraser does a wonderful job as the narrator, as always. Although he played Arthur Hastings in the television series, his Poirot accent is really on point.

Also, I just have to tell everyone that I actually guessed the culprit of this one before the big reveal. Well, technically I had two guesses and one of them was right and one of them was right-adjacent, but it's the closest I've ever come to figuring out the murderer of a Poirot novel before his final monologue* so I'll take it as a win.

4.55 stars, rounded up. Five Little Pigs is a particularly outstanding installment of an already delightful series.


*Not including The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which was spoiled for me by an over-enthusiastic intro writer – I actually guessed that one before I read it. Seriously, Louise Penny, WTF??