The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

The Monogram Murders is a brand new novel featuring one of Agatha Christie’s most beloved characters, Hercule Poirot.

Hercule Poirot’s quiet supper in a London coffee house is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will be done.

I was first introduced to Sophie Hannah “The Monogram Murders” by a friend whilst visiting a bookstore in the UK. I thought why would anyone want to read an Hercule Poirot novel which has not been written by Dame Christie? So, at first I was ready to dislike the book, or to read the book but to spend the entire time comparing it to Agatha Christie style or to be disappointed that “this” Poirot was not the Poirot character I loved so much.

Well, what can I say? This book certainly took me for a spin. Sophie Hannah got it right, and she got it right in every aspect of the novel, the characters, the environment, the development of the story, the quirks of our favourite sleuth and how he puts his “little grey cells” into play. After a while, I was so engrossed in the story I completely forgot this novel was not written by Agatha Christie. This book was a real joy to read and a real joy to discover Sophie Hannah. I loved it so much that I bought two more “Poirot” novels written by Sophie Hannah. I’ll let you know what I thought of those quite soon.

Meanwhile, if you are a big Agatha Christie fan, like me, go and read “The Monogram Murders”, you are sure not to be disappointed!