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The A.B.C. Murders
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Read The A.B.C. Murders
Hercule Poirot: Book 12

The A.B.C. Murders (1936) (edit title/settings)

by Agatha Christie (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Also published as The Alphabet Murders.

Alice Ascher, a shopkeeper in Andover, is bludgeoned to death at her place of work. Next to die is Miss Bernard in Bexhill, then Mr. Clarke in Churston. More disturbing than the alphabetic sequence of the killings or the ABC Railway guide that the... read more

Summary edit see section history

A serial killer is murdering apparently random people in order of their names: first Alice Ascher of Andover, second Betty Barnard of Bexhill-on-Sea, third Sir Carmichael Clarke of Churston (a small village). The killer sends a letter to Hercule Poirot before each murder, telling him where and... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

A serial killer is murdering apparently random people in order of their names: first Alice Ascher of Andover, second Betty Barnard of Bexhill-on-Sea, third Sir Carmichael Clarke of Churston (a small village). The killer sends a letter to Hercule Poirot before each murder, telling him where and when each murder will take place, but Poirot and the police always arrive too late. The killer signs himself 'ABC' and at the place of each murder, leaves an ABC Railway Guide next to the body.

Poirot and the police are baffled until a series of clues lead them to suspect the murderer is traveling as a stocking salesman. Then the 'D' murder in Doncaster goes awry - the wrong person is killed. Then, a stocking salesman called Alexander Bonaparte Cust walks into a police station and surrenders.

The case seems closed, but although Cust has confessed to the crimes, he claims not to have heard of Hercule Poirot and cannot explain the letters, although they were written on his typewriter. Cust suffers from epilepsy and is subject to blackouts. He claims he can not recall committing the murders, but he believes he committed them because he was in the vicinity of each crime scene. He also sees other clues, such as blood on his cuff and believes himself the culprit. Poirot is suspicious and is later able to prove that Cust is innocent of the crimes, particularly when a man is able to provide an alibi for Cust when he was meant to be murdering Betty.

In a twist ending Poirot reveals that the brother of Sir Carmichael Clarke, Franklin Clarke, who wanted Sir Carmichael's property and money, committed the crimes in order to draw attention away from the murder of his brother; simply killing his brother would have automatically drawn attention to himself, whereas creating the illusion that his brother was the victim of a serial killer would draw attention away from looking for an individual motive for the crime. Franklin had met Cust by chance and decided to use him as part of his plan. He arranged for Cust to be hired as a stocking salesman and gave him a travel itinerary that ensured he was at the scene of each murder. It is also revealed that Clarke had put the blood on Cust's cuff. He also sent Cust a box of ABC Railway Guides and a typewriter, on which he had already typed the 'ABC' letters.

Characters edit see section history

  • Hercule Poirot: A retired Belgian detective, displaced by the war to England. He is a friend of Lieutenant Hastings. A short man, no more than five feet four inches tall, he moved with "great dignity." His head is "egg-shaped" and "he always perched it a little on one side." He has a mustache that is "stiff and military." He is particularly fastidious in regards to his appearance and is a "dandy." He walks with a limp (presumably a war wound). He is one of the most "well-celebrated" members of the Belgian police force and is in retirement at the time of the story.
  • Captain Hastings: Poirot's earnest mascot and would-be mentor. He had a talent for pointing out the obvious. He narrates most of the book.
  • Alexander Bonaparte Cust: A tall, wan man with a lost-dog look. So unprepossessing as to be almost invisible.
  • Franz Ascher: Mrs. Ascher's dead-beat husband
  • Chief Inspector Japp: Of Scottland Yard. He was inclined to minimize the importance of the first A.B.C. letter.
  • Mrs. Ascher: She was too old -- and too poor -- to be a likely candidate for murder.
  • Mary Drower: Mrs. Ascher's niece. A pretty, dark-haired girl, with a pleasant bucolic simplicity.
  • Betty Barnard: A waitress at the Ginger Cat. A flirt, but not the weekending kind.
  • Inspector Crome: The official in charge of the case, he had an insular air of superiority that rubbed Hastings the wrong way.
  • Donald Fraser: A bottled-up young man. Quiet, sensitive, but capable of jealous fury.
  • Megan Barnard: Her fondness for her sister didn't blind her from seeing the kind of fool she was.
  • Hercule Poirot: A Belgian retired detective who investigated only the cream of crime.
  • Sir Carmichael Clarke: The eminent collector of Chinese art. He had an unfortunate habit of taking solitary walks.
  • Franklin Clarke: Not even the violence of murder could disturb his resolute competence.
  • Thora Grey: A decorative blonde -- by way of Sweden. As Sir Carmichael's secretary, she shared his love of the rare and beautiful.
  • Mrs. Marbury: Mr. Cust's landlady
  • Milly Higley: A waitress at the Ginger Cat with Elizabeth Barnard
  • Dr. Thompson: Add a description of this character.
  • Mr. Leadbetter
  • Lady Clarke: Wife of Sir Carmichael Clarke. Very weak and sick from cancer.
  • Mrs. Fowler
  • Mr. Downes
  • Colonel Anderson
  • Mr. Partridge
  • Tom Hartigan: Man dating Mr. Cust's landlady's daughter, Lily Marbury
  • Mr. Ball
  • Kelsey
  • Glen
  • Lily Marbury: Mr. Cust's land lady's daughter
  • Carter
Show all 30 characters
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First Sentence edit see section history

IT was in June of 1935 that I came home from my ranch in South America for a stay of about six months.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Cast of Characters
1. The Letter
2. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
3. Andover
4. Mrs. Ascher
5. Mary Drower
6. The Scene of the Crime
7. The Partridge and Mr. Riddell
8. The Second Letter
9. The Bexhill-on-Sea Murder
10. The Barnards
11. Megan Barnard
12. Donald Fraser
13. A Conference
14. The Third Letter
15. Sir Carmichael Clarke
16. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
17. Marking Time
18. Poirot Makes a Speech
19. By Way of Sweden
20. Lady Clarke
21. Description of a Murderer
22. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
23. September 11th, Doncaster
24. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
25. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
26. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
27. The Doncaster Murder
28. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
29. At Scotland Yard
30. (Not from Captain Hastings' Personal Narrative)
31. Hercule Poirot Asks Questions
32. And Catch a Fox
33. Alexander Bonaparte Cust
34. Poirot Explains
35. ----------

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 12 of 39 in Hercule Poirot. (standard series)

Preceded by Death in the Clouds, and followed by Cards on the Table.

This is book 58 of 74 in Agatha Christie - Luitingh-Sijthoff pockets. (edition-based publisher list)

Preceded by Mrs. McGinty's Dead, and followed by The Body in the Library.

This book is in Classic English Crime Novels. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Agatha Christie (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. E.D. Künzli-Boissevain (Translator) - Dutch translation of 'The ABC Murders'

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Collins Crime Club
Country: UK
Publication Date: 1936
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 256

Classification edit see section history

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

Movie Connections edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Misbegotten
  • Anatomy of Murder: Mystery, Detective, and Crime Fiction
  • The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Volume 2)
  • In the Absence of Honor
  • Iraqi Icicle

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Railway Children
  • Hercule Poirot
  • Black Swan (Harper Short Novel Series)

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • Everyman's Guide to the Mysteries of Agatha Christie
  • Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion
  • Theory and Practice of Classic Detective Fiction (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture)
  • Dog Tags Yapping: The World War II Letters of a Combat GI
  • Forever England: Femininity, Literature and Conservatism Between the Wars

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