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    Dead Man's Folly: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition
    Dead Man's Folly: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition
    Dead Man's Folly: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition
    Audiobook6 hours

    Dead Man's Folly: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition

    Written by Agatha Christie

    Narrated by David Suchet

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    When a mock murder game staged for charity threatens to turn into the real thing, the intrepid Hercule Poirot is called in to take part in this Dead Man’s Folly, a classic from the queen of suspense, Agatha Christie.

    Sir George and Lady Stubbs, the hosts of a village fete, hit upon the novel idea of staging a mock murder mystery. In good faith, Ariadne Oliver, the well-known crime writer, agrees to organize their murder hunt.

    Despite weeks of meticulous planning, at the last minute Ariadne calls her friend Hercule Poirot for his expert assistance. Instinctively, she senses that’s something sinister is about to happen….

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 3, 2012
    ISBN9780062229656
    Author

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six decades.

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    Reviews for Dead Man's Folly

    4/5

    753 ratings27 reviews

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    • 3/5
      A rather nice mystery is spoiled, for me, by a certain truly incredible circumstance as part of the solution.Mrs. Oliver asks Poirot’s help when she senses some terribly wrong at (where else?) a country house. Mrs. O has agreed to put together a Murder Hunt game for a fete, but thinks she’s being subtly directed by a person unknown.Of course there’s a murder, and the disappearance of someone. Police are baffled, etc. Christie’s usual plotting just falls off a cliff in this one.Skip unless you’re a Christie completist.
    • 4/5
      Hercule Poirot receives a frantic phone call from his friend Ariadne Oliver, a writer of murder mysteries. She has created a live murder game for a fête to be held in the grounds of Nasse House which is the home of Lord and Lady Stubbs but she believes there is real danger lurking at the House and she begs Poirot to come immediately. Oliver gives Poirot little to go on but her feelings and, perhaps because of this, he fails to prevent the murder of the young girl who was only supposed to be playing the role of victim in the murder game. He subsequently participates in a stop-start investigation before finally solving the crime.

      The person who recommended this to me highlighted the humour of the book and as that is an element of crime fiction I enjoy and hadn’t really associated with Christie before I thought it would be an interesting choice for me. I wasn’t disappointed. The Ariadne Oliver character really does make a nice contrast to the somewhat prissy and proper Poirot with her ability to laugh at herself and it does seem like Christie was having a bit of fun with her genre by using the ‘mystery within a mystery’ twist.

      This twist is also a perfect device for Christie’s favourite ploy: misdirection of her readers. Even though I know that her plots are always complex and that the obvious clues are red herrings to be ignored I still didn’t come close to picking up on the key hints that led to the solution. As almost always with Christie’s books, the uncovering of the murderer follows a wonderfully convoluted and unexpected journey. One of the things I liked about this book is that Poirot didn’t seem quite so cocky as he is in earlier stories. He doesn’t inveigle himself into every single interrogation and for some time it seems as if he might not even solve the mystery at all. I found this slightly more humble Poirot more likable than I have in the past.

      I notice that some people mention struggling to keep track of all the people who appear in this book and I think this is where listening to the audio book had me at an advantage. David Suchet is a superb narrator and manages to provide all the characters a distinctive voice which is very helpful in such a dialogue-rich story. I must admit I am becoming quite addicted to Suchet’s narrations of Christie’s works.
    • 4/5
      Ariadne Oliver’s intuition sets Poirot on a course for village murder.

      One of Christie’s few classics from her later years, “Dead Man’s Folly” is a book that she clearly enjoyed writing. Ariadne Oliver sparkles, Poirot is written with a mix of satire and genuine affection, and the murder mystery – as with many of the best Golden Age writers – turns the bucolic atmosphere of a country fete into a bloodbath. Good fun, and a welcome respite for readers during Christie’s patchy later years.

      Poirot ranking: 12th out of 38.
    • 4/5
      More of my favorite eggheaded Belgian detective! Love the setup for this one. Hercule Poirot's old friend, mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver, is coordinating a murder mystery party at an estate. She suspects she is being manipulated to set up the mystery for a real murder, and calls in her pal Poirot to thwart the killer.

      This is classic Christie at her best--twists and turns, and just when you think you know who the killer is, she throws you another curve ball. All is resolved by the satisfying ending. Give it a read.
    • 3/5
      As always, Christie delivers a very entertaining novel with her very curious Hercule Poirot.
    • 3/5
      This was not one of my favourite Agatha Christie books. I found it difficult in the beginning to keep going and there were so many characters that really played a very small role in the plot, that it made it difficult at times to keep track of all of them.
    • 5/5
      Excellent! I prefer the Poirot’s where he is the story from the beginning, rather than arriving much later in the book. Mrs Oliver is a favorite minor character and I love it when she is included.

      The mystery has such a great set up and no motive for the crime. Until another disappearance and an “unfortunate accident” ….three crimes that connect an reveal the elusive motive. Great clues peppered in the beginning, hidden in plain sight.
    • 5/5
      A great book, of course; but Suchet’s narration is a masterpiece! There are a couple of scenes which were so brilliantly performed that I had to rewind and listen again— hilarious. If you only know him as Poirot, you’ll be astonished to hear him as every character.
    • 4/5
      Ariadne Oliver, the well-known crime novelist, is staying with Sir and Lady Stubbs at their home in Nassecombe, Devon, engaged to organise a murder hunt for the summer fete. Feeling that something isn't quite right and that someone is subtly manipulating her, she rings up Hercule Poirot and asks him to join her under the pretext of handing out the prizes. On the day of the fete the murder hunt takes a tragic turn when the young village girl who was playing the murder victim is found strangled to death, and the lady of the house vanishes without a trace, presumed dead. Hercule Poirot asks questions and inevitably is the only person to see the connections.This is a highly enjoyable and rather complex murder mystery, where Hercule Poirot, rather unusually, doesn't immediately have the answer to the puzzle to hand. While the solution makes sense within the confines of the novel, it is – like the solutions in a lot of Christie's novels – rather far-fetched. There are plenty of red herrings, while the few clues are expertly placed. The atmosphere at the house is well executed, even if the characterisation is occasionally painted with somewhat broad brush strokes.Some readers may find the liberal and casual use of terms such as 'subnormal', 'mentally undeveloped' and 'feeble minded' for characters of lower intelligence offensive, a clear sign that the novel has dated (originally published in 1956) and these are no longer acceptable.
    • 3/5
      The solution to this came after a period of weeks during which Poirot and the police were stumped, which somewhat destroyed the momentum. It was quite abrupt and while elements of the 'how' were in retrospect clued, there were other elements which could not possibly have been guessed by the reader, so I'm deducting a star for those.
    • 3/5
      A rather nice mystery is spoiled, for me, by a certain truly incredible circumstance as part of the solution.Mrs. Oliver asks Poirot’s help when she senses some terribly wrong at (where else?) a country house. Mrs. O has agreed to put together a Murder Hunt game for a fete, but thinks she’s being subtly directed by a person unknown.Of course there’s a murder, and the disappearance of someone. Police are baffled, etc. Christie’s usual plotting just falls off a cliff in this one.Skip unless you’re a Christie completist.
    • 2/5


      The book began w/ Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, the famous crime novelist, who is throwing a "Murder Fete" in which the original "victim" has been changed by circuitous request of an unknown person, calling M. Poirot asking for his help in preventing a murder.... Her intuition has told her that there will be a murder at the Fete she has planned, but she can't say whom or when or why.

      A young girl (who is playing the victim at the fete) is really murdered it is found that she knew something she should not have... there are in succession the disappearance of the estate owner's wife and the murder of the ferryman (who also knew too much).

      The former owner of the estate (who now lives in the front lodge), knows exactly what is going on, but feigns ignorance......

      Let's see..... I didn't like the characters, they were flat & uninteresting, one never got to know most of them.... I didn't/couldn't really follow the clues... but I did know immediately where the body was buried, although I didn't know whose body it was.

      I also didn't like was all the self-talk & supposition of theories by M. Poirot & the police, I found it (to use one of Christie's favorite words) dull, dry, and most assuredly boring.
    • 3/5
      Poirot is asked to present the prize to the winner of a Murder Hunt, but the young woman who was supposed to play the corpse turns out to be truly dead.
    • 5/5
      Poirot solves the mystery, of course, eventually, but he also gives some pretty sound marital advice. Good job Poirot.
    • 4/5
      What a missed opportunity! There was so much to do with such a premise! Ariadne Oliver, easily one of my favourite female characters in the Poirot universe murder mystery party Girls Scouts, COME ON! God I wish she'd done more - something fun with lots of eccentric characters and an ingenuous, far-fetched conspiracy involving girls' guiding. *sigh* I'm giving it four stars for the promise of a wonderful book but the execution is bland and the finale far from amazing and really quite common. Damn you, Agatha.
    • 4/5
      This is an interesting novel because the solution to the murder eludes Hercule Poirot until he realises while doing a jigsaw puzzle that he has been looking at some information he has had all along the wrong way around.It is one of those stories where you keep thinking of the title because the obvious murder victim is female, so who or what is the "dead mans folly"? There is a folly, a building placed on the estate by Sir George Stubbs soon after he arrived, or is Lady Stubbs, supposedly a little intellectually wanting, the folly?Ariadne Oliver's mock murder mystery backfires when the Girl Guide who was to pose as the murder victim is actually strangled. Hercule Poirot is on the spot because Mrs Oliver was already uncomfortable with how things were going. She had the feeling of being manouvred and called her friend on the day before the fete to see what he thought.There is not a lot of social or historical comment in DEAD MAN'S FOLLY. We know it is set post World War Two, because the original owners of the house, the Folliats, lost both their sons in the war.Sir George Stubbs came along at the right time as the buyer of the house as old Mrs Folliat found herself unable to pay the death duties incurred by the death of her husband and two sons. The villagers had assumed it was destined to become a school or a hotel.Sir George Stubbs appears to have "new money" which he is spending extravagantly on ventures like the folly and a tennis pavilion.The house is next door to a back packer's hostel, with European young people staying there. And another of the characters is an "atom scientist".All of these items serve to place the novel in the early 1950s,I found the final explanation a bit extravagant but it worked well enough.There are certainly clues along the way that the reader tends to gloss over.
    • 4/5
      The ‘folly’ of the title is actually an architectural term defined as “an eccentric, generally non-functional structure erected to enhance a romantic landscape.” Of course, the play on words using the more commonly understood meaning of the word is intentional. In this classic Christie, Adriadne Oliver arranges a mock Murder Hunt for charity and calls in her friend Hercule Poirot when a real body is discovered. Although this was published in 1956, it has the feel of one of Christie’s slightly older stories: the classic country estate, the Lord & Lady, the house guests, and so on.In addition to the word play of the title, there is the gentle mockery of Christie herself, on whom Ariadne Oliver is said to be based. So she sets up a murder and doesn’t know who the murderer is. Very well-done, excellently clued but still perplexing mystery.Read this if: you’re looking for a classic English country whodunit set in the mid-twentieth century. 4 stars
    • 4/5
      The setup is a beautiful old estate, where an assortment of characters have assembled to take part in a weekend mock murder/mystery game, only someone thinks things might actually turn deadly and they have invited Poirot in to help. The cast includes Sir George Stubbs, he of the newly rich class and owner of the mansion; his air-headed wife; the deposed daughter of the original owners of the estate; the successful crime writer, Ariadne Oliver; the womanizing architect; a couple falling out of love; and the simple teenager playing the "dead body." And, of course, Hercule Poirot.This is usual Christie fare. You just gotta love Poirot! A quick read, and I must admit, I was blindsided by the twist at the end. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      Intriguing idea: a murder takes place during a murder-mystery event. I didn't guess 'who dunnit' but did rather feel that Poirot was in the dark then knew everything rather suddenly and in a way the reader couldn't have reasoned.
    • 5/5
      Dead Man's Folly is another mystery featuring the infamous Hercule Poirot but what makes this book different is that a murder has not been committed...yet. Adriane Oliver, the crime novelist, has been asked to help create a murder mystery game and calls Poirot to come assist her as she believes that a real crime is about to be committed. She gives Poirot little to go on though as all of her suspicions are based on a "feeling" that something is off. And then a murder does happen and of course Poirot is there to investigate.This book had all of the elements that make up a classic Christie novel in my opinion. There were plenty of characters (or suspects if you like) which kept me looking at the list of characters in the front of the book from time to time. Of course there was the whodunnit element that kept me guessing throughout the novel. And the clues that don't seem to mean anything until the end of the novel when everything begins to add up. I found myself caught up as always in the mystery that Christie was creating even though this wasn't my favorite one that I've read. She just has a knack for keeping me in the dark until the end and I never am able to figure out the mystery on my own. That being said, this wasn't my favorite novel but I'm having a hard time figuring out why. I guess that it comes down to the fact that And Then There Were None still is my all time favorite novel by Agatha Christie (so far).All in all though, it was a good read and one that I would recommend :)
    • 3/5
      One of my own enjoyable later Poirots. All the clues are there but as usual we are taken for a ride. A good read and a good snapshot of a certain strata of changing, post-war English life.
    • 3/5
      A fun outing with Poirot. It’s much later in his career, 1950s, and we find him amongst the aristocracy clinging to their pre-war sensibilities like grim death. It feels like Christie was too. Poirot’s old-world fussiness is still front and center. He seems crabbier as well, questioning other people’s motives and having a short supply of patience. As far as the mystery itself goes, I knew from the outset that Lady Dimwit couldn’t possibly be as dimwitted as she was made out to be. Stank of ruse. But I didn’t really go much farther than that and had no idea of her real identity or status. Or that of her husband either. I knew something was up with the old dowager relegated to the gate house, but wasn’t sure what. As usual, Christie kept the solution a surprise. It wasn’t earth shattering in it’s cleverness, but it was satisfactory.
    • 4/5
      Mrs Oliver calls Poirot in when she feels something is not quite right on a murder hunt she is arranging for a local fete. When the girl playing the victim of the murder hunt is actually murdered Poirot uncovers a web of deceit and greed. An interesting plot and a good read.
    • 3/5
      Ariadne Oliver calls on Hercule Poirot when she suspects that an entertaining Murder Hunt may turn into the real thing.This was another fun mystery from the queen of detective fiction, but I find that I have little to say about it. It's an enjoyable read. Christie's semi-self-influenced portrayal of Mrs Oliver continues to delight me. Her twists and turns and clever phrasings are almost always a pleasure to read. The mystery is nicely plotted, though the denouement is perhaps a little complex given what came before.And that's really about it. This book adds nothing new to the mystery genre or to the two featured sleuths. It's simply a quick, entertaining book that I'd recommend to fans of Dame Agatha who are interested in some more of the same.
    • 4/5
      January 15, 2000Dead Man’s FollyAgatha ChristieI actually saw the t.v. version of this last weekend, and after watching it wanted to read the book, which I already had.It’s a Poirot mystery, in my favorite of Christie’s classic settings – an English country house. Anyway, this story also featured the writer Ariadne Oliver, who I remember from Halloween Party. Supposedly she’s something of a spoof on Christie herself, which is interesting. Ariadne is invited to organize a “Murder Hunt” game on the grounds of this mansion (Nasse House). The house is owned by George and Harriet Stubbs, who virtually snatched it out from beneath the feet of an aging widow who’s been left penniless by her formerly wealthy, gambling husband. It was a family estate going back generations , owned by the Folliats. Mrs. Folliat, the widow, now lives in a small cottage on the property, on the kindness of the Stubbs.Harriet Stubbs, despite the dumpy name, is young and gorgeous, but very odd. She has headaches all the time, and for some reason she won’t divulge, becomes very upset and fearful when a letter from her cousin arrives, which announces that he’ll be coming any day now for a visit.During the Murder Hunt, Harriet disappears, and her floppy hat is found drifting in the river. Then someone kills the poor girl who was slated to be the Hunt’s victim anyway – for real this time.I like this one. Christie is hit-or-miss with me at times, but this one held me. Not so complex that I couldn’t understand the solution, at least (unlike The Body in the Library!).
    • 4/5
      This Poirot novel takes our mustachioed hero out of the city to officiate at a village fete, on the request of Ariadne Oliver. The old country house at which it's held has been lost to the family that has occupied it for centuries, and now it's home to a vulgar businessman and his vacant-eyed but gorgeous wife. Things fall apart when the murder mystery game Mrs Oliver has set up goes horribly wrong, with the sham victim becoming a real one. I was all ready to award this one with four stars or more, but the denouement was far too complicated and implausible to hold up the deal. Still, it's good fun, and recommended.
    • 3/5
      Typical Christie fare. Dependable.