What is the first thought that comes to the mind of a famous detective as he walks in for a luncheon and finds that a man is dying of a gun shot wound and someone is standing next to him with a gun?

Agatha Christie is a name that needs no introduction. She is arguably one of the best crime writers of all time and Hercule Poirot a formidable detective. A group of relatives and close friends have gathered to spend a weekend together at The Hollow and one of them is killed just when Hercule Poirot arrives for a lunch party at the house of the Angkatells. The wife stands over the dead body with a gun in her hands and everything seems simple enough about the case until it isn’t.

There are many twists in the plot and police’s and Poirot’s suspicion moves from one member of the party to another. Some family secrets are revealed during the investigation and everytime Poirot seems to be getting close to the answer, the facts bring a dead-end. The simplicity of scene of the murder confuses Poirot and this simple murder creates the biggest twist in the story.

Agatha Christie’s characters are as always perfect and meant to be there. She creates the perfect suspects and all of them have a motive for murder. Hercule Poirot is as always dynamic in his presence but this time he doesn’t have much investigation to carry out. Compared to her other works with Poirot at the helm, this has lesser presence of him and most of the story revolved around the Angkatells and their guests at The Hollow. The Hollow is more of a victim’s and suspects’ story rather than a story of Poirot’s investigative prowess. But, it is a good and enjoyable murder mystery.

My rating: 4.1/5