The monogram murders by Sophie Hannah

"The monogram murders" by Sophie Hannah. This book is published by HarperCollins in 2014 and has 384 pages. This is the first time some one other than Agatha Christie has written Hercule Poirot mystery.

Poirot has taken a vacation, but stays in London anonymously and shares an apartment with Inspector Edward Catchpool. Three murders are discovered in Hotel Bloxham. Richard Negus, Ida Gransburry, Harriet Sipple are murdered exactly in same fashion. Each dead body has a monogrammed cuff link in its mouth. A note is left on the hotel counter that says 'May they never rest in peace'.

Prime murder suspect is Nancy Ducane, a famous portrait painter. Poirot and Catchpull start the investigation and it takes them into the past and in a village.

Who is the murderer? Is this a revenge? Will Catchpool find the murderer or will it be Poirot? How many love affairs are there? Can the readers guess the murderer?

It's a classic whodunit. There are a number of suspects. Everyone seems to be innocent. No body seems to have a solid motive. Clues are strategically placed all over the book. Largely speaking Sophie Hanna has written the book in Agatha Christie style, thus the readers do not feel alienated.

However since this is a Hercule Poirot mystery, one can not but compare finer details of author's writing to that of the original author, Agatha Christie. All Agatha books are immaculately organized and are very orderly. This book appears a bit scattered or in slight disarray. It's minute, but noticeable. Hercule Poirot is politeness personified in Agatha novels. Here he appears to be a bit harsh. It is not clear why Catchpool refuses to see what the readers can see easily. He is shown to be thick. A bit overdone. Is it done only to show him in contrast to Poirot? If so it should have been done more subtly.

I would have preferred if the book was a bit shorter. Then it would have been more enjoyable. All in all, Sophie Hannah was a good choice to write Agatha Christi novel.

It's a  good book. Recommend reading if you are an Agatha Christie fan.