Anyone could be the manipulator, anyone could be the manipulated, anyone could be the victim – and they’re all in one building. There’s also a slight tinge of “And Then There Were None,” which Christie wrote shortly before this. Poirot and Hastings call him or her “X.” The concept is reminiscent of one segment of “The ABC Murders” (which Christie had written not long before this), but extrapolated further. This person has somehow pushed others to kill through the years. The top 20 ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’ books A master manipulator is among the residents of Styles, which is now a boarding house. Smart armchair psychologyīut before the big reveal, Christie engages in a smart armchair-psychology study of manipulation – even beyond what Poirot himself is doing.

This feels right for the character.īecause of how it ends – capped off with several pages of posthumous Poirot explanation via a letter to Hastings – “Curtain” is unlike anything Christie had written before.

Hastings worries over her and tries (and fails) to micromanage her life. Making this even more of a personal and cozy book for fans, Hastings’ 21-year-old daughter Judith is among the dramatis personae. So sharp, in fact, that Poirot is keeping big-time tricks from both Hastings and the reader. Poirot is confined to a wheelchair and prone to heart attacks – he has nitro capsules nearby – but his brain is as sharp as ever. Hastings again narrates, for the first time since 1937’s “Dumb Witness.” Poirot, more than ever, uses his friend’s trusting nature as part of his crime-solving tool kit.

“Curtain” is nostalgic, returning to the site of Christie’s first novel, yet fresh. (Christie passed away the year after its publication.) This is because she actually wrote “Curtain” in her prime, in the 1940s, but set it aside in order to be published as Poirot’s final case. Many would say it’s her first great novel since 1967’s “Endless Night” (although I personally think 1968’s “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” is great too). Setting: Styles boarding house, English countryside, 1975Īnd in 1975, it was one of the better novels readers had gotten from Christie in some time.

Christie curtain