Cat Among the Pigeons, Agatha Christie, 1959
My favorite quote: “No sign, so far, of anything sinister—but I live in hope.” Ha! I’ve always loved Agatha Christie’s dark sense of humor …
Notable characters: Hercule Poirot, the detective; Inspector Kelsey, and investigating officer; Honoria Bulstrode, headmistress of Meadowbank School for Girls
Most memorable scene: When Julia finds smuggled jewels in the handle of a racket. Good times were had by all. Well, not ALL, of course — but you know what I mean
Greatest strengths: The deception in this one is particularly sly. I’ve always said that if anyone could actually get away with murder, it would be Agatha Christie — and Cat Among the Pigeons is a great example of what I mean by that. She’s just … extremely smart
Standout achievements: While Agatha Christie writes a good whodunit (Not just Cat Among the Pigeons, but pretty much all of her whodunits) she also excels at international intrigue, which is the jumping off point for the plot of Cat Among the Pigeons. Reading it, I couldn’t help thinking of all the great spy thrillers Agatha Christie could have written if she’d wanted to
Fun Facts: While Cat Among the Pigeons is technically considered a Hercule Poirot book, he doesn’t actually appear until the final act. Some reviewers have taken issue with this for some reason. Personally, I didn’t mind. I found Cat Among the Pigeons a great read with or without Hercule Poirot
Other media: There are lots of Agatha Christie movies and films out there but I haven’t heard of this one
What it taught me: Agatha Christie doesn’t waste words – ever. I try always to follow her example in my own work, regardless of what I’m writing
How it inspired me: I utilized a couple of this book’s deception and concealment tricks in my murder-mystery, Sleep Savannah Sleep. I figure if you’re going to write a mystery, you ought to learn from the best — and Agatha Christie is definitely the best
Additional thoughts: Weird story: I bought a used copy of Cat Among the Pigeons and as soon as I brought it home, I started having really horrifying nightmares involving giant house cats LOL! Then my dogs started barking at something only they could see at the top of the stairs. When I started finding the book in places that I SWEAR I never set it, I made the connection and threw the book out. Things improved immediately. I got a new copy of the book and have had no such troubles since. My takeaway: I got nothing. I still have no idea what to think. A haunted book? Naw. But something. Anyway, that’s my weird “Agatha Christie’s Cat Among the Pigeons” experience. Do with it what you will …
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Alistair Cross 