Mystery

The Big Four

The Big Four

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-24 10:22:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Agatha Christie
  • ISBN：0008164908
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A ruthless international cartel seeks world domination。。。


Framed in the doorway of Poirot's bedroom stood an uninvited guest， coated from head to foot in dust。 The man's gaunt face stared for a moment， then he swayed and fell。


Who was he？ Was he suffering from shock or just exhaustion？ Above all， what was the significance of the figure 4， scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper？ Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue， risking his life to uncover the truth about `Number Four'。

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Reviews

Katy Koivastik ，

A great， over-the-top spy thriller with nothing less than world order hanging in the balance。The best part of listening to this book is the narrator， actor Hugh Fraser。 He effortlessly toggles between the characters， with his skill as a mimic on full display。 His years of playing Captain Hastings opposite actor David Suchet as Hercule Poirot have stood him in good stead， as he brilliantly voices the Belgian detective here。 Bravo！！！

nicky ，

Surprisingly， I quite enjoyed this Poirot novel even though it was quite unusual to all the other ones I have so far read。 I usually adore the closed space mysteries （the pinnacle of it all being Murder on the Orient， of course）， but this one with its twists and turns was still rather entertaining。 All in all; another enjoyable Poirot; no more or less than I expected。

Larry Hostetler ，

Interesting。 The clue given early keeps intrigue active while not revealing much （to me， at least）。 And with several plot twists at the end it has a satisfying conclusion。While the murder takes place in another grand mansion the story takes one to several locales， though not in the descriptive way that I vicariously appreciate。As usual， good characters， good plot lines， and though there are the normal dozen or more characters it was easier for me to follow than other Christie mysteries。 （No one Interesting。 The clue given early keeps intrigue active while not revealing much （to me， at least）。 And with several plot twists at the end it has a satisfying conclusion。While the murder takes place in another grand mansion the story takes one to several locales， though not in the descriptive way that I vicariously appreciate。As usual， good characters， good plot lines， and though there are the normal dozen or more characters it was easier for me to follow than other Christie mysteries。 （No one calls them Christieries？）A good read。 。。。more

Ishmam Ahmed ，

Albeit the story being quite far-fetched and exaggerated; hercule poirot mysteries are always animating to read。 Quite enjoyable on a fine Saturday morning with a cup of coffee。 A classic example of fiction。

Gil Benjano ，

Light read， fun， and entertaining。 Not everything make sense or some stuff are predictable but there is a lot of charm to each character。 It just flows quickly， something to read for a few days when you get tired of some thick book。

Sebastian ，

This is probably the worst of the Poirot series so far。 The mystery is poorly plotted， foreseeable and based upon a centuries old conspiracy theory where there is a secret group of people ruling the world。 Only here it is not so secret as it was a child's play for Poirot to discover the identities。 And the ending is disappointing to put it mildly。 Almost like it was not written by Mrs Christie at all。Watched also the TV version with David Suchet and this one is much better created where it actua This is probably the worst of the Poirot series so far。 The mystery is poorly plotted， foreseeable and based upon a centuries old conspiracy theory where there is a secret group of people ruling the world。 Only here it is not so secret as it was a child's play for Poirot to discover the identities。 And the ending is disappointing to put it mildly。 Almost like it was not written by Mrs Christie at all。Watched also the TV version with David Suchet and this one is much better created where it actually makes sense。Will continue with the book series anyway :） 。。。more

Jordan White ，

I really enjoy how thick Hastings is。 It’s quite funny。

Tame ，

Poirot como sempre continua soberbo mas as poucas demonstrações de afeto por Hastings amenizaram um pouco a irritação que eu sentia quando ele soltava coisas como "meus métodos e o melhor cérebro do mundo"。 Hastings graças aos deuses （e a Cinderela） está menos propicio a babar por mulheres neste volume。Acho que a Gata Triste foi pelo caminho fácil ao fim do livro （ou será que não？） mas gostei muito do teor conspiracional que essa história teve， ao contrário dos outros que li até então que mostra Poirot como sempre continua soberbo mas as poucas demonstrações de afeto por Hastings amenizaram um pouco a irritação que eu sentia quando ele soltava coisas como "meus métodos e o melhor cérebro do mundo"。 Hastings graças aos deuses （e a Cinderela） está menos propicio a babar por mulheres neste volume。Acho que a Gata Triste foi pelo caminho fácil ao fim do livro （ou será que não？） mas gostei muito do teor conspiracional que essa história teve， ao contrário dos outros que li até então que mostravam o crime e tínhamos que descobrir o suspeito， o que intriga aqui é como e onde os suspeitos serão desmascarados， o que faz a leitura correr。 。。。more

Danielle ，

Es un libro diferente de los que normalmente estoy acostumbrada a leer de Ágatha， ya que trata meramente de ver a Hastings y Poirot siendo detectives。Están en busca de unos criminales que se hacen llamar los Cuatro Grandes。 Estuvo rápido de leer， y me gustó que Ágatha logró engañarme vilmente con algo súper importante。Ahora que he terminado， solo puedo reírme de haberlo creído！

Sally ，

Hercule Poirot， no sense of self-preservation， stopping random people on the street: Excuse me， do you have a moment to talk about the international crime organization The Big Four？

Chloe ，

The story was reasonably entertaining， but the treatment/discussion of Asian characters， and use of borderline slurs， was incredibly orientalist and downright racist。

Jessica Hogbin ，

Agatha Christie once described The Big Four as a "rotten book，" and who am I to argue with the Queen of Mystery？This book was originally published as a series of short stories in a literary magazine。 At one of the lowest moments in Christie's life and career， she realized that she needed to put together a new book， despite not having the stamina to write another。 Instead， at the advice of a family member， she compiled some previously published short stories and created The Big Four。 Given that t Agatha Christie once described The Big Four as a "rotten book，" and who am I to argue with the Queen of Mystery？This book was originally published as a series of short stories in a literary magazine。 At one of the lowest moments in Christie's life and career， she realized that she needed to put together a new book， despite not having the stamina to write another。 Instead， at the advice of a family member， she compiled some previously published short stories and created The Big Four。 Given that the short stories were written and published before The Murder of Roger Ackroyd， but the book The Big Four was published afterward， the timeline between the two books are reversed， as Poirot retires at the end of The Big Four but is already retired in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd， the book that was published directly before this one。This story was a weak version of spy fiction。 Because it is， in reality， a collection of short stories， each chapter has a series of new characters， making the story almost impossible to follow。 As a reader， you are introduced to one character right after another， only for that character to end up as insignificant。 Honestly， as a person who finds spy fiction to be thoroughly disinteresting， I found this book to be a peak version of that。 There was no real mystery for Poirot to solve， except how to capture the Big Four。 Poirot is frustratingly dumb in this story。 Hastings' intelligence， on the other hand， appears to be abnormally high。 As Poirot and Hastings are caricatures of Sherlock and Holmes， I have some amount of respect for when Poirot and Hastings mirror the other famous detective pair。 However， this was， at times， just a repeat of themes found in the Sherlock versus Professor Moriarty works。 Honestly， Christie was correct in deeming this book to be rotten。 The two stars of this book are attributed because Christie is a talented writer。 Her work is breezy to read。 In addition， Hastings is in the story， and I love his repertoire with Poirot。 This book is also a product of its time， including the European fears of global espionage， and I appreciated the window into that fear。 Overall， this has been a low of my Poirot reading， and it is the first book I have read by Christie not to be five star worthy。 。。。more

Maria Flaherty ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 'The Big Four' is the fifth of the Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie。 I always look forward to reading an Agatha Christie story， and Poirot is undoubtedly my favourite。 In'The Big Four' Hercule and Hastings are on the trail of four diabolical individuals who are working together to distabilise the world and eventually take over， establishing a new world order - if the plot sounds like a James Bond novel then， Christie has certainly ventures away from her usually territory and towards the 'The Big Four' is the fifth of the Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie。 I always look forward to reading an Agatha Christie story， and Poirot is undoubtedly my favourite。 In'The Big Four' Hercule and Hastings are on the trail of four diabolical individuals who are working together to distabilise the world and eventually take over， establishing a new world order - if the plot sounds like a James Bond novel then， Christie has certainly ventures away from her usually territory and towards the action thriller genre。 Each chapter acts as a short story， with Poirot and Hastings solving a crime that is eventually connected to the overarching plot of the Big Four。 Much as I hate to admit it， the best part of this book was probably the first 200 of so pages， which acted as a series of stories。 Once we reached the arena of Poirot's death， then the story moved into the realm of action thriller and I found myself struggling to continue paying attention。 Indeed， I definitely skimmed over the pages until the arrival of Achille。 And the supposed reveal of Achille/Hercule was easily fortold by any fan of Chrstie's - or the simple fact that are another 35 or so books featuring Hercule Poirot！ Ah well， onto the next book and hopefully a return to the usually， reliable， high standard of Ms。 Christie。 。。。more

Nina ，

https://www。instagram。com/p/CMXxfRxnC。。。 https://www。instagram。com/p/CMXxfRxnC。。。 。。。more

Alma_bookss ，

Me gusta todo lo que escribe esta mujer。Es el libro mas distinto al resto que lei de ella y eso me gustó bastante eso y por supuesto mi querido Poirot que siempre es tan brillante。No creo que me llegue a decepcionar nunca un libro de Agatha Christie

Peter Tkačenko ，

Uf， asi prvá vyložene zlá kniha od Agáty。 Vidno， že je to polepené z množstva poviedok， minipríbehy aj trochu fungujú， ale dohromady je to za vlasy pritiahnutý nesúrodý mišmaš s až bondovskou zápletkou （štyria zloduchovia nechcú nič menšie ako ovládnuť svet， v čom im musí zabrániť hrdinský Poirot）。 Viem si predstaviť， že sa to môže páčiť začínajúcemu čitateľovi ako prechod od Troch pátračov k detektívkam， ale dospelých ľudí by som s tým netrápil。

Malou Freimann ，

I think this was a really good and entertaining plot， despite the massive critic it has received。 I liked that all of the minor plots from her short stories were brought together to form one big plot。 Although most of this book felt like a ripoff of Arthur Conan Doyle， where a lot of the writing often felt too familiar。

Lisa Hall ，

Poirot does espionage。 Not my favorite。 In this book， he promises to retire and grow vegetable marrows。 What story comes next？ Oh， my。 Steady on。

Karen ，

Me gustó el libro y como se desarrolló toda la trama de los cuatro grandes， me tuvo bastante enganchada desde el principio y solo quería saber ya como iba a terminar el libro， como siempre disfrute mucho de Poirot y en este libro no me cayó tan mal Hastings。

Sam Phripp ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Glad to see that other reviews of this particular Poirot instalment are lukewarm。 This story doesn’t have the same balance， plotting or satisfaction of many of the other stories。 It reads like a series of short stories tied together in a way that isn’t very enjoyable for the reader。 Unlike most other Poirot novels， this one took me some time to read because I couldn’t easily find my stride。 It seemed disjointed and haphazard。 I also disliked the villains and how far fetched and Bond-like the pre Glad to see that other reviews of this particular Poirot instalment are lukewarm。 This story doesn’t have the same balance， plotting or satisfaction of many of the other stories。 It reads like a series of short stories tied together in a way that isn’t very enjoyable for the reader。 Unlike most other Poirot novels， this one took me some time to read because I couldn’t easily find my stride。 It seemed disjointed and haphazard。 I also disliked the villains and how far fetched and Bond-like the premise was。 。。。more

Mateus Barreto ，

2。5/5 ⭐️

Hella ，

Ontzettend vergezocht verhaal dat heel erg leunt op Sherlock Holmes （dat trouwens ook bewust， getuige dit citaat: "Do you not know that all celebrated detectives have brothers who would be even more celebrated than they are were it not for constitutional indolence？"）。 Ontzettend vergezocht verhaal dat heel erg leunt op Sherlock Holmes （dat trouwens ook bewust， getuige dit citaat: "Do you not know that all celebrated detectives have brothers who would be even more celebrated than they are were it not for constitutional indolence？"）。 。。。more

Paula Wing ，

2。5 stars for good characters。 Terrible plots though， very fantastic and neither credible nor cohesive。

Luiz Santiago ，

4

Lily~ ，

Bukan selera ku :（ so。。

Milwiththeena ，

This was definitely one of the weirdest Poirot novels， and probably had the most events happen， but I think it might be the shortest Poirot on my shelf。 It was very silly at times， especially closer to the end， but it was also really amusing and fun to read。 There was some great lines， and some mysteries I was proud to have figured out myself earlier on！ Definitely not the best， especially after how much the last one shook me （I am reading them all in order）， but I was able to suspend my disbeli This was definitely one of the weirdest Poirot novels， and probably had the most events happen， but I think it might be the shortest Poirot on my shelf。 It was very silly at times， especially closer to the end， but it was also really amusing and fun to read。 There was some great lines， and some mysteries I was proud to have figured out myself earlier on！ Definitely not the best， especially after how much the last one shook me （I am reading them all in order）， but I was able to suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy it。I'm very confused about where Poirot and Hastings will go now， I assume the next books happen chronologically in the past but I've constantly been surprised at the differences between the series with David Suchet and the books themselves。 I'm excited to read on， although I hope the next ones are a little bit more humble， and we don't see Poirot facing real action all the time but instead using his little grey cells。 。。。more

Fátima Andreia ，

Custou mas consegui！Poirot tem uma organização criminosa na mira， e quer a todo o custo derrotar los。Depois de muitas derrotas ele continua a insistir em derrotados por que meio seja。É um livro bom mas talvez não para eu ler neste momento。 📌 concluído ufa📌

MH ，

What。。。 The heck。。。 Did I just。。。 Read？

Missy Newman ，

Not one of our favorite of the Poirot books。

ania ♫ ，

3。5

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Big Four

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Big Four&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Big Four&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0