CLOSED CASKET

by Sophie Hannah, HarperCollins.

Closed Casket has everything a reader could desire in an Agatha Christie novel. That’s because, on the 100th anniversary of the creation of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, he has been resurrected for the second time by British crime writer Sophie Hannah. And so, in a country house, we have a dramatic declaration, a murder and a house full of suspects. Stepping into the shoes of the queen of crime writing, Agatha Christie, is a bold undertaking, but Hannah manages it with flair. Poirot is as egotistical and insightful as ever – if anything, there’s not enough of him in Closed Casket. The plot is as impenetrable as anything Christie dreamed up. Imitation will never match the original, but like the murderer, Hannah gives it a good bash.