Hallowe'en Party: Inspiration for the 20th Century Studios Major Motion Picture A Haunting in Venice (Hercule Poirot Mysteries, 35)

I read this book with excitement and in anticipation before going to see the movie "A Haunting in Venice". I look forward to seeing how much of this book they take from to create the movie.I grew up reading Agatha Christie and watching the BBC movies of Hercule Peroit and Miss Marple with my mom. I am a huge fan and I look forward to many more books turned into movies with the current Piroit.This book is classic Christie! Definitely a must read!

I am not a big reader of mysteries in general nor Christie in particular; however, I must say that whenever I pick up a Christie novel I tend to enjoy it. Some of her mysteries are truly clever and magnificent—And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile being some of my favorites. When I heard Kenneth Branagh was about to release another Poirot movie based on this novel, I decided to read it.I have to say, I can’t quite see what attracted Branagh to this story which, though solid, doesn’t seem to rise to the standards of some of her others. The murders here are quite gruesome, the entire story being started off with a tween girl being drowned in a bucket of water at a Halloween party. However, much of the action here is a bit thrown off by the reactionary feelings about the 1960’s Ms. Christie can’t seem to hide. (This was published in 1969.) I was also a bit put off by the portrayal of our young murder victim as a habitual liar, which almost gives the feeling that she kind of deserved what she got.Poirot’s unravelling of the mystery is done in his typical efficient fashion, once he has spent a number of days interviewing everyone involved, his usual tack. It is a solid conclusion if not as shocking as some of her better novels. Still, I am interested to see how all this plays out in the movies.

Wonderful stories by Agatha Christie! Great to read in October!Or use as a book group choice.

I thought it would be fun to read a book about Halloween during the Halloween season. So I selected Hallowe’en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie. I was always more of a fan of the Hercule Poirot television series with David Suchet than I was of Christie’s books. After reading Hallowe’en Party, my opinion hasn’t changed. In fact, Christie seems to be losing her edge by the time she wrote this novel, number 36 in her Poirot series.Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver is staying with a friend in Woodleigh Common, where preparations are in the works for a Halloween party for pre-teens. Once the party begins, one of the party-goers, in an effort to impress the author, brags that she has seen someone murdered. Nobody believes the girl as she has a tendency to lie and embellish. But when she is found drowned in the apple-bobbing tub, the possibility is raised that perhaps she really did witness a crime and someone killed her to cover up a murder. Oliver asks her private investigator friend, Hercule Poirot, to come to Woodleigh Common and assist with the investigation. On the off chance that maybe the girl did see a murder, Poirot must go back and look at a variety of suspicious deaths and disappearances in Woodleigh Common over the past several years. There are enough persons of interest in Woodleigh Common, but the secret to solving the crime seems to reside in Quarry Wood, an old quarry that was turned into a garden. Although beautiful, it seems to contain an element of evil.I found the plot of Hallowe’en Party to be rather convoluted and I felt that the characters weren’t well-developed or likeable. But what was really off-putting about this novel is that Christie seems to be in a preaching-mode. It is the 1960s, after all. Youth aren’t respectful, they don’t follow rules, they run wild, their parents don’t supervise them, etc. Yet, there is some good writing from time to time. About Quarry Wood, Poirot observes “this was not an English garden in which he was sitting. There was an atmosphere here. He tried to pin it down. It had qualities of magic, of enchantment, certainly of beauty, bashful beauty, yet wild. Here, if you were staging a scene in the theatre, you would have your nymphs, your fauns, you would have Greek beauty, you would have fear too. Yes, he thought, in this sunk garden there is fear.”Despite some issues with Hallowe’en Party, I did enjoy reading it at Halloween. But in the future, I think I’ll stick to the television series when I want a dose of Hercule Poirot.

First of all, I love Agatha Christie and the majority of her books. I picked this one since they ran a Halloween special on it and it was worth every penny, even if it would've been a regular price. A murder of a child in a small town outside of London puts Perot on the scent. He must weed through a town full of characters and a shady past to put together the mystery. Is this as good as her better-known novels, no. But is it still fantastic? Yes! It was a great book to read around Halloween and if you love Agatha, you will not be disappointed.

‘Hallowe’en Party’, published in 1969, is amongst the best of Agatha Christie’s works. Apart from the legendary Hercule Poirot, this book features crime fiction writer Mrs Ariadne Oliver, the author’s attempt to caricature herself!“Preparations for a children’s party usually give far more trouble to the organisers than an entertainment devised for those of adult years.” While preparations are being made for a Hallowe’en party hosted by the domineering Mrs Drake, 12-year-old Joyce claims that she has witnessed a murder, possibly to attract Mrs Oliver’s attention. She is not taken seriously as she has the reputation of being a compulsive liar – but while the party is in full swing someone kills Joyce by holding down her head in a bucket of water meant for a party game. Hercule Poirot enters the scene and discovers that several unnatural deaths had taken place in and around the village in recent years. Before the present case can be investigated, Poirot would need to look into the earlier cases…Hercule Poirot made his first appearance during the First World War and most of Poirot’s novels are set in the 1930s and 1940s. This book, by contrast, is set in the late 1960s, when British society was grappling with problems like broken homes and drug abuse. There are several children in this book and they seem unusually precocious, both physically and emotionally.While the plot is excellent, this book appears to be riddled with stereotypes and prejudices. A character who claims to have enjoyed a vacation in India talks about “a Maharajah and a tiger shoot and elephants” even though the plot is set in the post-Colonial era. A missing ‘au pair’ girl provokes much xenophobia. “She came from some country in the middle of Europe. Some long name,” says Mrs McKay soon after she had declared “These foreign girls are all the same.”Even the British characters are not immune to class prejudices. When Poirot hears that Harriet Leaman, who was employed as a cleaner, had been asked to witness her employer’s will, he enquires “She can read and write?” No doubt, it can be argued that such condescending attitudes are shown by the characters in the book, not by the author herself, but such examples provide insights into British society well after the sun had set on the Empire.This book will be enjoyed by Agatha Christie’s fans on account of its complex plot with many twists in the end, not to mention Poirot’s vanity and his insistence on wearing tight patent leather shoes while walking around the countryside!

This story is not set in Venice and has nothing to do with the movie. Very disappointing. Christie’s original story was not very interesting either, in my opinion.

Hallowe'en Party stands as a testament to Agatha Christie's enduring legacy, and this dual experience of reading the book and watching the movie offers a delightful immersion into the world of mystery, beauty, and human complexity. Don't miss the opportunity to unravel the secrets of this exceptional story through both mediumsI highly recommend both the novel and its cinematic counterpart. After enjoying the intricacies of Christie's storytelling in Hallowe'en Party, watching the movie directed by Kenneth Branagh is a must. It provides a fresh perspective on the classic tale, allowing audiences to experience the mystery in a new and visually engaging way.What adds to the excitement is the recent film adaptation of Hallowe'en Party, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. This cinematic rendition brings Christie's vivid characters and atmospheric setting to life on the screen. The movie captures the essence of the book, offering a visual feast for fans of the genreSet amidst a Hallowe'en party, the story takes a sinister turn when Joyce Reynolds, a young girl, boasts of witnessing a murder and later turns up drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. The tale unfolds with an eerie ambiance, drawing readers into a world of deception and self-reflection encapsulated in the haunting quote: "He hummed softly. ‘Regarde, Narcisse Regarde dans l’eau Regarde, Narcisse, que tu es beau Il n’y a au monde Que la Beauté.'" These words resonate, emphasizing the pursuit of beauty and introspection, enhancing the story's depthI'm thrilled to share my enthusiastic review of Hallowe'en Party by the brilliant Agatha Christie. This gripping mystery, woven with layers of intrigue and poetic beauty, left me utterly captivated

Trovo che la lettura della Christie nell'originale inglese sia assimilabile ad una full immersion nella lingua parlata che può aiutare le conversation skills. Si impara bene ad esempio a coniugare correttamente i verbi. E poi si apprendono vocaboli nuovi dell'everyday english. Un amabile compendio alla lettura di un dizionario o di un quotidiano. Una lingua si impara anche così: leggendo.

La edición en Kindle, impecable. Mi crítica no tiene que ver con la calidad del producto de Amazon, sino con la calidad del libro. No era lo que esperaba! El título por lo menos en inglés resulta engañoso ya que es sobre Halloween, y no tiene nada que ver con esto! Este libro es de los escritos por Agatha Christie casi al final por lo cual carece ese elemento de misterio... Si tienes entre otras opciones de títulos de Agatha, ve por ellos y no gastes en éste.