Curtain

This was the last novel in my quest to read all of Christie's mysteries—novels and short stories—in chronological order. (Of course, I realized after that Sleeping Murder, which I read first, was published after this one. And that they both were written in the 1940's and put in a vault. So I guess I went by publication date.) It felt like the perfect bookend to my Agatha Christie journey.

CURTAIN takes place at Styles, an old country house now turned lodge which happens to be where her first novel takes place. It feels fitting in many ways. There is definitely a certain nostalgia running through after reading fifty-something Poirot books, this being his last. And of course, Hasting is narrating again, making it as fun and frustrating as ever (he really is short-shortsighted). One plus is that, despite knowing Christie's tricks like the back of my hand by now, she still managed to surprise me over and over again.

For those questioning if this is the book they want to read next, my suggestion would be to be more familiar with her other work first. Read The Mysterious Affair at Styles and her other major works first, if not the rest of the Poirot canon. Then you will definitely appreciate it more. I admired her tenacity with this one.