After the Funeral by Agatha Christie

If you read my book reviews, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of Agatha Christie. I’ve enjoyed the Poirot series and looked forward to reading After the Funeral. While it’s an interesting murder mystery, it didn’t quite hit the high notes of the ones before.

The story started slowly as the main players and relationships were introduced. The cast was large, which made it difficult to remember who was who and how they were related. Most of the characters weren’t particularly likable either.

Richard Abernethie died, leaving his estate to be equally divided among the family. But after the funeral, his niece Cora suggested he was murdered. There’s no evidence to substantiate her claim, which is dismissed by all but Richard’s solicitor, John Entwistle.

Then Cora’s murdered in her home.

It’s time to call in Poirot. He seems to arrive rather late into the story. He does his usual investigation in a rather low key way, finally calling everyone together for the climax, where he unveils the killer.

While the story and Poirot seem to lack the usual flair, it’s still an interesting whodunit, filled with a range of suspects and red herrings to challenge any armchair detective.