The Big Four, Agatha Christie
In a rare slip from genius, Agatha Christie seemed to be carried away by her own imagination or some sort of self-induced hysteria about evil villains, dictators and despots plotting to take over the world. The Big Four, is widely regarded as the least successful of the Poirot series of mysteries and is, at the very least, not true to the spirit of the characters.
Although its publication date of 1927 predates Ian Fleming's James Bond books, the silliness of this book's plot makes you think that outrageous fictional villains like Goldfinger or Dr. No must be lurking around the corner.
The title of this mystery stems from a quartet of villains who want to take over the world: an American millionaire, a brilliant French female scientist, an Asian intellectual, and a 'mystery' villain who is a master of disguises.
Snatched from the familiar formula of solving puzzles at English country houses, Poirot seems out of his element as he travels to the Continent to catch these despicable murderers. Even the arrival of his old comrade, Captain Hastings, can't rescue this book from it's heavy-handed plot which spends too much time fantasizing over a crew of unbelievable super-villians.
Read our biography of Agatha Christie.
