The Big Four

Name: The Big Four
Rating: 4.1 (8397 reviews)

by Agatha Christie Book 5 in the Hercule Poirot series.

First published 1927

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4.1(8,397)

Captain Hastings returns from South America and finds Poirot engaged with a dying stranger who has left cryptic warnings about four powerful conspirators. The trail leads through assassinations, scientific secrets, impersonation and political intrigue as Poirot confronts an organisation whose members operate across national borders.

More international thriller than country-house puzzle, the novel reflects post-war fears of hidden networks, revolutionary violence and technologies that could destabilise governments. Hastings supplies the action and loyalty, while Poirot relies on theatrical deception and his understanding of the conspirators’ ambitions to challenge an enemy deliberately fashioned as his intellectual equal.