Agatha Christie Reviews

This is not one of Christie's better works. The action takes place almost entirely in the exclusive girls' school called Meadowbank, and is centered around a fortune in jewels.

A revolution occurs in the fictitious Middle East country of Ramat. Prince Ali Yusuf hands Bob Rawlings the gems and asks him to get them safely out of the country. Rawlings hides them in the handle of his niece Jennifer's tennis racquet, just before British citizens are evacuated. Then, while trying to escape, Rawlings and the prince are killed in a plane crash.

Later, Jennifer arrives for the summer term at Meadowbank, and it isn't long before several different parties are on the scene, all on the lookout for the jewels.

For much of the book, there is little or no detection done. Police show up after the first murder, but accomplish very little. In fact, very little is done until nearly the end.

By this time, no doubt, Christie was heartily sick of Poirot, but readers expected him. And so, with reluctance, the Belgian detective is dragged in to provide the solution.

Poirot doesn't do much, either. A bit of work with the "little grey cells" is about all he manages. Perhaps that's not surprising, as he doesn't appear until page 183 in my paperback copy. With a little work, Poirot could have been left out, another person could have provided the solution, and there'd really be no difference at all.

You do get an interesting look at a first-class school for girls, but of course, it's in turmoil because of the murders, so the view is a bit skewed.

Overall, Cat Among The Pigeons is a minor Christie at best. Not bad, but not up to her usual standard, and the lack of action by Poirot is disappointing.

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