Sad Cypress (Hercule Poirot #19)

 

Sad Cypress

(Hercule Poirot #19)

Agatha Christie

Orig. Pub. date: Mar. 1, 1940

Genre: Mystery

Rating: 3 🍷🍷🍷

Elinor Carlisle and Roddy Welman are the model English couple, perfect companions set for a life of ease when they inherit Aunt Laura's considerable fortune. But a poison pen letter begins a chain of events which is to end in tragedy. Convinced that Mary Gerrard, a childhood playmate of Elinor's, is attempting to ingratiate herself with her aunt for financial gain, the pair travel to the family home to investigate. They find no evidence but Roddy falls desperately in love with the beautiful Mary, little realising that beneath Elinor's restrained and unemotional exterior lies an almost obsessive passion for him. Elinor obeys her aunt's deathbed wish despite her heartbreak, and gives Mary a large bequest from the estate. But when Mary is found poisoned, the evidence against Elinor is damning. It's up to Hercule Poirot to find out if the case is as simple as it seems...

My thoughts: Originally published in March 1940, Sad Cypress is #19 in the Hercule Poirot series. It was selected as the first book in the 2023 Agatha Christie reading challenge. Several of my #bookstagram peeps have been slowly plotting their way through Christie's works so I decided to give this challenge a try. I enjoyed listening to the audio. The story itself was intriguing enough to keep at it but didn't really hold a definitive sizzle for me. I have read one other Christie book before so am familiar with the character Poirot. I wonder though if I would enjoy the books more if I read them in order.