And Then There Were None
An eclectic group of strangers are invited to a dinner party on the remote, but starkly beautiful Soldier Island by the enigmatic couple, Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen. A mysterious disembodied voice begins to list why each individual there is guilty of murder, for one reason or another, from the invited guests on down to the staff. Surely this is a prank, but when the first guest dies a horrible death, it looks like the joke is on them. One by one, the people on the island begin dying, and it all seems to relate to a poem about 10 little soldiers found in every room, and a collection of jade figures that starts off as ten and depletes by one with every death. Who is playing this deadly game and who can be trusted? Everyone soon goes into a panic, desperate to stay alive, but they realize no help is coming and they are stranded on Soldier Island, awaiting their inevitable deaths. From the nanny who was derelict in her duties, to the dirty judge, to the reckless playboy whose careless driving causes tragedy, they are all guilty according to someone, but who?
This adaptation is stellar and has an amazing cast to support the excellent writing. Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Maeve Dermody (Serangoon Road), Burn Gorman (Forever), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Noah Taylor (Predestination, Powers, Deep Water), Anna Maxwell Martin (Midwinter of the Spirit), Toby Stephens (Black Sails, Die Another Day), Aidan Turner, Miranda Richardson, and Douglas Booth all play their parts to perfection and although I had seen other adaptations of this book over the years, this is my hands-down favorite. Thrilling, shocking, and a wee bit gory, this is can't-miss British mystery at its finest. Sadly, the special features present in the Blu-ray release aren't here, but that's okay since the movie is so fantastic.
Five Little Pigs
In Five Little Pigs, Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) is asked by young Lucy Crale (model and athlete Aimee Mullins who also appears in Stranger Things) to prove her mother's innocence in the murder of her father. What makes this case troublesome for Poirot is that the murder happened 14 years ago. Poirot soon realizes that the evidence that convicted Caroline Crale (Rachael Stirling, Detectorists) of Amyas' (Aidan Gillen, Game of Thrones, The Wire) death has some holes in it and Poirot starts to investigate five other suspects.
These five suspects are: a stockbroker, Philip Blake (also portrayed by Toby Stephens); his brother Meredith (Marc Warren, Band of Brothers); a socialite named Elsa Greer (Julie Cox, The Oxford Murders, Children of Dune); the house governess, Cecilia Williams (Gemma Jones, Bridget Jones's Diary, Sense and Sensibility); and an archaeologist named Angela Warren (Sophie Winkleman, Two and a Half Men). As Poirot digs into all of their pasts, he uncovers interesting tidbits that could easily make any one of them the actual murderer, but in the end, only one will be the killer.
Death on the Nile
This is another one of Agatha Christie's more famous mysteries, thanks in no small part to the 1978 film starring Peter Ustinov (Disney's Robin Hood and Spartacus), especially since this was Ustinov's first of six Poirot films. That being said, viewers that are only familiar with the feature film will notice some differences between that version and the one starring Suchet, as both deviate from the original story in their own ways.
In Death on the Nile, Poirot is in Cairo on holiday and finds himself taking a cruise. As is always the case with Poirot, his vacation is cut short when murder happens and he must spend his time investigating the people around him. This time, Poirot has an old friend at his side, Colonel Race (James Fox). Race is returning home from assignment and decides to join Poirot on the cruise instead of taking a more direct route back.
The first victim on ship is the young newly wedded bride, Linnet Doyle (Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow, The Devil Wears Prada, Looper). The obvious choice is easily Linnet's new husband's ex, Jacqueline (Emma Griffiths Malin, They Do It with Mirrors) who has made it clear she is tagging along behind Linnet and Simon Doyle (J.J. Feild, Captain America: The First Avenger, Turn), the new husband, to make their honeymoon a nightmare. But surely Jacqueline is too obvious a choice and considering her airtight alibi, Poirot must look to others for answers.
Unfortunately, Linnet's death isn't the only one to happen while on the river. Her maid, Louise (Felicite Du Jeu) also turns up dead, as well as Madame Salome Otterbourne (Frances de la Tour, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hugo,Book of Eli), both just when they were about to reveal something crucial to Poirot. The Belgian private investigator must turn over every stone and cross examine everyone, including Otterbourne's daughter, Rosalie (Zoe Telford, Greyhawk) and Linnet's assistant, Andrew Pennington (David Soul, the original Starsky & Hutch, Salem's Lot) if he is to determine exactly what is happening on the boat before more deaths occur.
And Then There Were None, Five Little Pigs and Death on the Nile are all great examples of Agatha Christie's ability to weave a compelling mystery with interesting twists, and all three adaptations of these stories are well done. Because of that, The Best of Agatha Christie: Volume 1 is a collection well worth considering for any fan of the writer and this would make an easily recommended gift for any Agatha Christie fan.
