REVIEW: The ABC Murders

 The ABC Murders
Author: Agatha Christie

Out of the large number of Agatha Christie novels I have on my bookshelves (nearly all of them), this is one that I don't have. I recently re-organized my bookshelves and put all my Agatha books in publication order since that is how I am reading them. And I was caught by surprise that I didn't have this one. It is one of the more well-known Poirot stories. I guess I never came across an old paperback version of this one over the years, or I owned it at one time and it was lost or borrowed and not returned. Who knows? But, luckily in the digital age this was a much easier problem to correct than it was when I started collecting Christie paperbacks back in the 80s! 

Within seconds -- thanks to my lovely public library system -- I accessed a digital print copy and an audio book to do my usual read-listen combo. I chose an old hardback edition of this book that actually includes two other Christie novels: Murder Go Round: Thirteen at Dinner, The ABC Murders, and Funerals are Fatal published by Dodd, Mead & Company in 1972. The audio book is from HarperAudio, released in 2012. I like to compare older print versions to the newer audio books to see if there are any changes. I only read The ABC Murders from the physical book. I have already read and reviewed 13 at Dinner. And, Funerals are Fatal (After the Funeral) was published in 1953, so it's a bit further ahead in my publication order reading. The audio book features Hugh Fraser as narrator. He played Hastings in the long-running BBC Poirot television show. He always does an outstanding job as narrator. The audio is 6 hours long.

The ABC Murders was originally published in the UK on January 6, 1936. US publication followed on February 14, 1936, under the same title. 

 This story was excellent! As I read, I was more and more confident that I hadn't read this book before. Definitely classic Christie! I did not see the ending coming! I enjoyed every minute. 

There were very few differences between the printed book and the audio book. The biggest one was the addition of a story recap at one point -- it was in the audio book and not in the printed book. I don't feel the addition was necessary.

This story is so clever. ABC not only refers to the names of some of the murder victims, but also an old

Railway Guide that was readily available in the UK at the time. I liked how Christie wrote the story. Portions of it were written as a narrative of events from Hastings, Poirot's sidekick, and other sections are specifically identified as not being part of Hastings' memories of events. Normally, I don't like point of view changes like that, but Christie pulls it off wonderfully.

There have been several adaptations of this story over the years. In 1948, the radio drama Suspense had an episode based on the book. In 1965, Tony Randall starred in a film, The Alphabet Murders. In 1992, the show Agatha Christie's Poirot aired an episode. BBC radio did an adaptation in 2002.  A French series, Les Petits Muertres d'Agatha Christie, featured this story in 2009. And in 2018, the BBC did a miniseries starring John Malkovich and Rupert Grint. 

Suspense: I easily found this episode searching on Apple Podcasts (Yay for OTR podcasts! I love them!) It is also available on YouTube. This version stars actor Charles Laughton. The story is condensed into about 30 minutes, so there are a lot of changes/omissions. In fact, Hercule Poirot doesn't make an appearance in the episode at all. The episode is still enjoyable and some parts of Christie's story are there. I was a bit disappointed that they took Poirot out, but I think it was so that the episode could be trimmed down for time. 

The Alphabet Murders (1965): This movie stars Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot. It takes (steals and ruins, rather) small bits of Agatha's plot, but that's where the resemblance stops. The writers tried to make this a comedy, but it's cringe-worthy. First off, Tony Randall is not the correct casting for Hercule Poirot. He was a wonderful actor -- but what were they thinking? Agatha Christie did not watch this movie and wrote in 1965 that her friends and publishers told her "the agony would be too great."  And they were right. I suffered through 1 hr and 26 minutes of this drivel. They took a wonderful, complex story by Christie and turned it into.....whatever the hell I just watched. Miscasting. Terrible script. Bad all the way around. But, I am not above letting others suffer with me. So here is a link to this terrible movie. Should I say enjoy? :) It's on YouTube --  https://youtu.be/zwrT0GvdWAk?si=8jqwPGjnj15PC2xn      I am so glad that Christie never watched this steaming pile of poo. It is by far the worst screen adaptation of Christie I have ever seen.

Agatha Christie's Poirot (S4, ep 1):  This episode was first broadcast on January 5, 1992. There are some minor changes to the story to shorten and adapt it for the show, but the main plot is intact. To me, the casting for this episode was perfect! And, David Suchet was wonderful as Poirot, as usual. Hugh Fraser is excellent as Hastings, as well. Loved it!

The ABC Murders (2018): I was not sure what to expect from this 3-episode miniseries. John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot? And, I was excited to see Rupert Grint (Inspector Crome) in something other than Harry Potter movies. I went into it with a totally open mind, without reading any reviews or commentaries beforehand. This movie is available to stream on Amazon Prime. I did notice immediately that the actress playing Rose.Marbury is the same one that played Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter movies. The voice was unmistakable. There were some unnecessary sexual and violent additions to the plot, which were just completely ridiculous. The aging of Poirot and Malkovich's appearance is all wrong for the part. Poirot was fastidious about his appearance, especially his hair and mustache. And Malkovich's look is unkempt and his mustache is all wrong -- messy and bedraggled looking in his person and his dress.On top of that, his attempt at the accent is frightful. So NOT Poirot. Wrong, wrong, wrong! After I had a fit about that....I calmed, made a cup of tea, and came back to see how the plot held up. And had to see Rupert Grint, of course. :) The plot engaged me after I calmed from the initial shock. The tone is very dark, and the murders are made much more gruesome for effect.  They changed Hercule's character and added a backstory that Agatha Christie never intended. The movie was interesting, compelling and dark....I enjoyed watching it. But it was not Agatha's story. Too many changes. [Rupert Grint was great! Very well acted on his part!] 

BBC Radio Adaptation: I am really enjoying these radio versions. BBC did 70 of them! I found a list of them here: https://fourble.co.uk/podcast/bbcradio7. The adaptation of The ABC Murders condenses the story down to a 90-minute episode.It sticks pretty closely to Christie's plot, with the changes being made obviously for time. I really enjoyed it! 

On to the next! Murder in Mesopotamia! This is another Poirot story I haven't read before! And, one I didn't have in my personal library. But my local library came to the rescue once again with a digital and audio copy! Woot!