The Hollow

Agatha Christie wrote The Hollow shortly after WWII. That was her most productive period, and she generally receive good reviews.  She was also tiring of Hercule Poirot and began to experiment with ways of including him without highlighting him. He bores me a bit too, but the problem here is one I've complained about with other authors - too many poorly integrated subplots.

The Hollow takes place in a stereotypical Christie setting, a country house party given by Lady Angkatell, and the party includes the property's heir, a doctor and his wife, the doctor's lover Henrietta, an impoverished relative, and another young man with ties to several guests.  One evening, a new neighbor stops by to borrow matches. She's a movie star who the doctor was in love with before she left for Hollywood. The next morning, when no member of the party has an alibi, the doctor's wife Gerda shoots him to death by the pool.

Or did she?  This, after all, is a Christie novel and things are not necessarily as they seem. Garda may have been framed, and the inquest is inconclusive.  Since Hercule Poirot was on the scene (he's taken a nearby cottage as a country retreat and had been invited to lunch on the day of the murder), Henrietta asks him to investigate. He reluctantly takes on the case, and the result isn't totally satisfying for anyone involved. Christie constructed a good puzzle, but the book is weak, with unrequited loves, conflicting careers, and an unexpected and not quite believable breakdown.