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    The Big Four
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    The Big Four
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    The Big Four
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Big Four

    Written by Agatha Christie

    Narrated by Hugh Fraser

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Framed in the doorway of Poirot’s bedroom stood an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man’s gaunt face stared for a moment, then he swayed and fell.

    Who was he? Was he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what was the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper? Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life to uncover the truth about ‘Number Four’.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 12, 2006
    ISBN9780007248834
    Author

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six decades.

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    Reviews for The Big Four

    4/5

    121 ratings30 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Good trade-length novel that shows Hercule Poirot in a constant fight against a crime ring that seeks to take over the world. There is a twist with every chapter, but the result comes out as expected--with Poirot saving the day and, in fact, the world.
    • 5/5
      Hugh Fraser’s reading gave some perfect character portrayals. Page turner!
    • 4/5
      Part of my mission to read all the Christie-books, this is a Poirot mystery. Here Hercule takes on a case which turns out to be of global importance. This makes this book somewhat different in style to the standard "a guy has been killed by poison in his hot chocolate" kind of story. Not one of my favourites by Christie, but still a worthwhile read.
    • 5/5
      Great story in the Sherlock Holmes tradition with the detective dying and later resurrected, an identity swap with his ‚brother‘ and an affair that threatens the existence of the world. Again very enjoyable also thanks to the marvellous reading of Hugh Fraser!
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite Poirot mysteries ever! Probably second to his last mystery, Curtain.Poirot and Hastings are on the trail of a criminal organization, and it really seems as though they are in over their heads. It's also a very active plot. Instead of Poirot spending most his time exercising his "little grey cells" in an armchair, he and Hastings do a lot of traveling.My favorite character in all fiction is Sherlock Holmes, and this book reminds me of Doyle's Holmes mysteries in many ways. I think there are even a few deliberate references written in by Christie. Some might complain and call it derivative, but I loved it!
    • 4/5
      So many conspiracy theories, plus shades of Sherlock Holmes, good Poirot fun.
    • 4/5
      A thriller rather than a whodunnit, this adventure sets Poirot and Hastings up against a mysterious group plotting to control the world. An enjoyable read if slightly episodic in places, and an abrupt resolution which doesn't quite match the feel of the rest of the book.
    • 3/5
      I love the Grand Dame of mystery, and Hercule Poirot is one of my favorites. His adventures can be quite different from each other, but this is the first Poirot book I've read where Christie indulged in her secret criminal conspiracy plot device. She clearly had a fondness for spy intrigue and shady evil organizations, and I've read some of her other books that develop this theme, but never with Poirot before. While I find her books in this vein entertaining, I do prefer her more pure mysteries. The evil masterminds strike me as cartoony and unbelievable. I am being harsh - I like Noir style mysteries, and the Thin Man series, and they have many traits in common, but I suppose I am happier when Christie is spinning out a web of lies and deceit in an intimate setting of family and friends, rather than crafting spy capers. To leave meandering, and address this particular book, I did enjoy it, and read through it in only two days. The story reunites Poirot with his old friend Hastings, who serves as a wonderful foil to his sleuthing. Hastings rightly points out Poirot's arrogance and finicky ways, but consistently overestimates his own talents and intelligence, and is righteously indignant when anyone points out his flaws (especially in comparison with Poirot). Nonetheless, the two men are close friends, and the story begins with Hastings embarked on a surprise visit. He lives in South America, but is in England for business. However, when he arrives at Poirot's flat, the Belgian is about to embark on a business trip to South America! Poirot is reluctant to go - he has been occupied with a mysterious organization called the Big Four, who he suspects are mastermind criminals. Poirot made a promise, though, and he intends to keep it. Until an unexpected visitor joins them, walking into the sitting room from Poirot's bedroom.The man is covered in mud and nearly catatonic. He keeps repeating the same phrases over and over. More unusual, of course, is the fact that he arrived from the bedroom of a flat on an upper story, where the only entry is a window, and that he is rambling about the Big Four. Poroit eventually realizes that his trip to South America was arranged by the mysterious 4, and he promptly heads back to his flat, but not in time to stop the bad guys from killing his visitor, who turns out to be a part of British secret intelligence. Now that Poirot's suspicions are confirmed, the hunt is on, and he will stop at nothing to track down and destroy the Big Four. Although the book is a novel, it often feels like a collection of short stories. In order to fight the Big Four, Poirot and Hastings follow every lead they find that is connected to the group. These nebulous connections lead into mini mysteries of their own, like the old man with his throat slit in his own house when no strangers visited the town, and the scientist who went missing in France. Some of the smaller episodes are more spy adventure, such as when Hastings goes undercover in the rich American's house to find out if he is one of the infamous four. Eventually, Poirot learns how to anticipate his opponents' moves, and puts all the random clues and leads together, planning a way to completely outmaneuver the Big Four and end their tyranny.While not my favorite Poirot adventure, this novel is still highly entertaining and readable. The relationship between Poirot and Hastings is precious. Several times I laughed aloud at things one of them said. The small mysteries are satisfying, and the ending is appropriately grand and melodramatic. I know not everyone likes Christie mysteries, but I don't understand why, because she is such fun. This is not one of her finest works, but it's still a good time.
    • 5/5
      An excellent Christie work. There are many small mysteries solved by the little grey-celled Belgian that all stack together to lead to the Big Four themselves and their crimes.
    • 5/5
      One of my favourite Christie books. It is shaped somewhat differently than your run-of-the-mill murder mystery, I but I believe she did try to challenge herself (and her readers) by breaking with tradtional formulae. The introduction of Poirot's "brother" is a nice touch, too.
    • 2/5
      Just as Poirot is about to leave for South America (and Hastings arrives from South America,) a man wanders into Poirot's office/apartment deliriously muttering something about "The Big Four"... International intrigue and homicides notwithstanding, absolutely ridiculous plot and characters. It's hard to believe that this came from the same author who gave is, 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'!
    • 1/5
      A great disappointment after the skillful and inventive The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The Big Four barely holds together as a book. Indeed it may not be said to have a plot at all. Instead it is a series of vignettes that are tied together with the loosest of bindings. I presume what Christie was aiming for was a romp such as she had provided in several of her earlier books but this time with Poirot and Hastings at the center of the story. But instead of a romp she delivered a book that lacks both insight and joy with cardboard cutouts rather than characters.In many ways the most interesting thing about this book is the insight it gives into how precarious the world of the privileged middle-class seemed in the late 20s even before the stock market crash. Without doubt this book has no pretensions to realism yet at the same time it wouldn't have worked had it not played on the barely unconscious fears of the relatively monied that their world was tottering on the edge of something very frightening. All around they looked and they saw labour unrest and the overthrow of governments and they cannot believe that such things could hapen without some mastermind behind the scenes. Not, I think, because they thought that the workers had no reason to complain about anything but more because they really didn't believe that ordinary workers were capable of organizing themselves. And this book reflects the dream that if only the heads of those dread organizations could be cut off then the workers would subside back into their previous state of continual but safe discontent.
    • 4/5
      Captain Hastings and Hercule Poirot investigate several quite varied crimes only to find a common thread running through them. Before long, Poirot believes that they are up against an international cabal that calls itself "The Big Four." It is made up of a brilliant Chinese strategist, a female French scientist, a very wealthy American, and a master of disguise who calls himself, simply, Number Four. Close calls and near catastrophes abound, and even though it has taken the better part of a year, Poirot's obsession with destroying The Big Four will either be realized or will be the death of him. Literally.This book took a slightly different track to the finish than Christie's other Poirot novels. It was great fun to read, though.
    • 5/5
      Probably the best Poirot novel I’ve read yet. Very action packed from the begging. Love it :)
    • 3/5
      A decent book that owes a lot to Arthur Conan Doyle. A lot. I prefer more character development than this, which is mainly a loose collection of short stories based around a central theme. Still, the relationship between Poirot and Hastings is well displayed.
    • 3/5
      Stealing a bit of a page from Doyle/Sherlock, perhaps? The detective's faked death, the dim-witted friend who can't be let in on the secret. (Hastings is an idiot)

      I found the out/escape a little "too easy", and other than Hastings presence, the book was an enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      A Hurcule Poirot mystery. This was not one of his better ones. I think it was written later and was an attempt to give Poirot a more challengeing foe as well as write an international spy novel. It was an enjoyable read but is not nearly as believable as most of the other Poirot novels.
    • 4/5
      This book is great for conspiracy theorists as Poirot battles the Big Four, whose goal is world domination. its also interesting as Poirot shows his romantic side.
    • 3/5
      I haven't read a lot of Agatha Christie but this was certainly the most clichéd mystery novel I have read. Hastings comes across as more dim-witted than usual and all the villains are stereotypes of 20s racial views. The story is certainly of its time but not the best of Christie from what I've read so far.
    • 3/5
      Plot is a bit far-fetched, but good fun as I remember, though modern readers may be taken aback by some of Christie's obvious prejudices.
    • 5/5
      Phenomenal so many twists and turns- you feel like you’re following them!!
    • 2/5
      This is, up to now, my least favourite in the Poirot series. Of course, it's fun to read as the writing style of Christie as such is as good as ever. However, The Big Four is more of a thriller story than a real detective narrative. Afterwards, I read that it was composed of separately published short stories and that Christie herself noted ``I have been, once, in a position where I wanted to write just for the sake of money coming in and when I felt I couldn't – it is a nerve wracking feeling. [...] That was the time I had to produce that rotten book The Big Four [...]''. One can tell. :-(
    • 4/5
      I read a few of Christie's detective series featuring Hercule Poirot in my wayward youth, but now I'm working my way through them in order. This entry finds the funny little Belgian with the "little gray cells" up against a vast international conspiracy called The Big Four. It takes all of Poirot's ingenuity and even a little help from the dim-witted Hastings (back in London for a visit, having left the wife he met and married in [Murder on the Links] back in Argentina). As usual, Christie's plotting is first-rate. I was intrigued by the structure of the book, which is almost a series of interconnected stories (more accurately nearly standalone chapters) leading up to the big denouement.
    • 3/5
      Poirot is brought up against an international conspiracy headed by the melodramatically-named Big Four: four individuals from America, France, China, and England. Poirot faces each in a series of extremely contrived adventures. The story is extremely cheesy, but lots of fun. Not a story to be taken seriously, but an enjoyable romp.
    • 5/5
      Poirot is up against a group of four expert criminals who attempt to lead him into a trap in their determination to cause international upheaval. Very well written and suspenseful.
    • 1/5
      Like most of Christie's political suspense mysteries, The Big Four falls flat. The string of coincidences and lucky breaks would shame even Dickens, while the tricks and twists are so contrived that they're almost laughable. At one point Poirot and Hastings are captured and the criminal mastermind asks Poirot if he has any last requests. He asks to smoke a cigarette, which their captor places in Poirot's mouth. What do you know — the cigarette is actually a blowgun tipped with curare, allowing them to escape. And that's just one of the many impossibly silly moments in this story. Oy. The only redeeming feature of this novel is the humor. Poirot, as described by his friend Hastings, is quite funny. So is Hastings' own lack of self perception. Another comic bit comes in with the revelation that Poirot has a twin brother, Achille Poirot. "Do you not know that all celebrated detectives have brothers who would be even more celebrated than they are were it not for constitutional indolence?" Poirot asks the astonished Hastings. Hehe. I'm a Christie fan and enjoy most of her work, but I can't warm up to her efforts at international conspiracy stuff. Give me her country house, cozy mysteries any day — that's where she earns her reputation as one of the best-loved authors in the mystery genre.
    • 3/5
      My least favorite Agatha Christie book...it just didn't work having Poirot take on "The Big Four". Poirot works better in a tradional mystery setting (someone dies, there are clues, people get questioned, mystery gets solved).
      Characters are still amazing. The Plot just wasn't up to her usual quality.
    • 2/5
      Early thriller-style Poirot with Poirot and Hastings tracking down an international gang of four bent on world domination. Not as good as her character based murder mysteries but not an unpleasant diversion. All the Queens of crime try the thriller genre and they are generally their weakest works.
    • 5/5
      Some time has elapsed since Hastings last saw his old friend Hercule Poirot. Hastings has been living in the Argentine on a ranch for the last 18 months, a happily married man. Poirot has set himself up in London as a consulting detective and apparently doing very well. Business complications have necessitated Hastings coming to spend some months in London and he is rather hoping to stay in his old lodgings with Poirot, although he has given him no warning of his impending arrival.Hastings arrives to find Poirot about to leave within the hour for Rio de Janeiro to carry out an investigation for Abe Ryland, an American millionaire, the richest man in the world. Poirot confesses that his new life has not satisfied him: he is beginning to weary of the unending procession of petty problems and has in fact been very lonely, missing the company of Hastings.Poirot has recently come across references to "The Big Four", a gang of international criminals banded together to destroy the existing social order, and to replace it with an anarchy in which they would reign as dictators. Just as Poirot is about to leave the door swings open to reveal a thin and emaciated man coated from head to foot with dust and mud. He has something to tell Poirot about the Big Four and within hours he will be dead.THE BIG FOUR is not so much a novel as a series of short stories generated by Poirot's quest to unmask and bring the Big Four to justice. Over the next ten months he and Hastings will progressively discover the identity of the Chinese man, American billionaire, French woman and the "destroyer" who comprise the gang. Poor old Hastings will be knocked out, kidnapped, blown up and gassed several times, and Hercule Poirot's life will be constantly under threat. This a book that stands up well in a modern context though. The scenarios are at times a little far fetched, but it is tightly plotted and a fairly quick read.I've read THE BIG FOUR as part of my self-created Agatha Christie Reading Challenge, in which I am trying to read Agatha Christie's novels in the order in which they were written. Just prior to THE BIG FOUR I read the short story collection POIROT INVESTIGATES published in 1925. Where THE BIG FOUR differs from the earlier collection is that the episodes in THE BIG FOUR are sequential and all connected by the quest to uncover the criminal gang. They could never be published separately whereas those from POIROT INVESTIGATES could and were.In pursuing my challenge I think I am seeing the writings of Agatha Christie in a new light.I am developing a sense of their continuity, able to see the Poirot novels for example as a series in which the main characters of Poirot and Hastings, and even minor ones like Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard, are expanded and developed. Previously I have read the Christie novels in a pretty random order. An older teacher librarian whom I once worked with was a teenager in the 1920s and she told me of the excitement of waiting for the next Christie novel to arrive. I am beginning to understand that excitement.There are connecting themes between all the novels too. THE BIG FOUR's central theme of a master criminal or a gang of organised criminals responsible for a variety of international catastrophes mistakenly attributed to other causes, has been present in earlier novels. The novel also highlights the problems of international collaboration when Poirot fails in his attempt to persuade the French Prime Minister of the identity of the woman whom he has identified has being a member of the gang of Four.There are signs at the end of THE BIG FOUR that Agatha Christie is ready for another protagonist. Perhaps the structure of this novel and the fact that the earlier Poirot was actually a set of short stories is a sign that Christie was finding it difficult to develop a proper full length novel around Poirot. Am I right I wonder?
    • 3/5
      I am a huge Agatha Christie fan and I absolutely adore Hercule Poirot, but this book fell flat for me. It seemed that Dame Agatha tried too much with this one. There were so many conspiracies going on and so many plot twists, that Hastings wasn't the only clueless person around. Plus all of the times that Poirot foiled the plots of the Big Four, but did not manage to capture them, made the story appear to drag on forever. However, it IS Agatha Christie and it IS Hercule Poirot, so I still enjoyed it nonetheless.