Written by Agatha Christie
SUMMARY:
First published in 1969, this 198-page Berkeley Books reprint was issued in 1991. In London’s quiet, middle-class suburb of Woodleigh Common, bossy Rowena Drake hosts a Halloween party for the neighborhood’s older kids at her home, Apple Trees. During the party’s afternoon preparations, thirteen-year old Joyce Reynolds boasts that she had once witnessed a homicide long ego, hinting too few details.
Mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver is among the adult guests present later that night when Joyce is found murdered in the library. Joyce’s killer has ruthlessly drowned her in the same metal bucket from which children had earlier bobbed for apples. In London, a distressed Mrs. Oliver calls upon her old friend, Hercule Poirot, to sleuth the girl’s apparently vindictive homicide.
With help from ex-Scotland Yard Superintendent Spence’s family now retired to the area, the Belgian detective probes the village’s wary residents for answers. One wild card is the self-involved landscape artist, Michael Garfield, who possibly knows more about some of his neighbors than he lets on. Poirot must also search the recent past re: what unknown murder, if there really was one, that quickly necessitated Joyce’s demise. In the night lurks a shadowy culprit, whose wrath will strike anyone else threatening Woodleigh Common’s chilling secret.
REVIEW:
It’s ironic that Dead Man’s Folly, Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, and Cat Among the Pigeons are all alluded to during Hallowe’en Party. In terms of Poirot novels, these three mysteries are arguably middle-of-the-pack caliber by Agatha Christie’s golden standards, but they’re still satisfying reads. The ghoulish Hallowe’en Party fails to surpass any of them.
Though certain elements of Hallowe’en Party are derivative of Dead Man’s Folly (i.e. Ariadne Oliver’s role), the novel oozes sufficient originality for readers expecting some macabre twists befitting its title. However, enjoyability is hampered, as Christie pursues what is arguably the nastiest Poirot storyline ever. There’s not even a worthwhile climax (it’s left frustratingly vague) to mitigate some of her dubious creative choices. Frankly, the less said about one villainous motive the better, as its grandiosity crosses the line into the absurd.
Like her repugnant Marple whodunnit, Nemesis, what’s most unsettling about Hallowe’en Party is Christie’s use of children/young teenagers as murder victims. Is there everyday realism involved, yes, but, all too grimly, it’s more like exploitative realism. Similar criticism applies to her bleak Crooked House, but one can argue that Christie’s superior plotting logically justifies that novel’s shock value finish. Hallowe’en Party, in contrast, comes off as a formulaic Poirot where Christie’s bag of tricks contains nothing special.
This novel may entice ardent Poirot fans, but a single read should prove sufficient for most adults.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
Christie dedicates this novel to fellow author P.G. Wodehouse.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3½ Stars
