The Killings of Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah Narrator: Julian Rhind-Tutt
Series: New Hercules Poirot Mysteries #4
Published by HarperAudio on September 15, 2020
Genres: Historical Mystery
Length: 8 hours, 54 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
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Hercule Poirot is travelling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate. Richard Devonport has summoned him to prove that his fiancée, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his brother, Frank. There is one strange condition attached to this request: Poirot must conceal his true reason for being there from the rest of the Devonport family.
On the coach, a distressed woman leaps up, demanding to disembark. She insists that if she stays in her seat, she will be murdered. A seat-swap is arranged, and the rest of the journey passes without incident. But Poirot has a bad feeling about it, and his fears are later confirmed when a body is discovered in the Devonports' home with a note that refers to "the seat that you shouldn’t have sat in."
Poirot and Catchpool return for one of their bizarrest cases yet. They get one confession of murder and one confession that she thinks she’ll be murdered, all in one coach bus trip- and that’s before they reach the destination of their new case to investigate a murder and get the accused declared innocent.
I’ve said it before, but I relish the way Sophie Hannah sets up each mystery. They don’t slip up on one silently, but shock the reader for most of the book and only start to settle as the mystery is unraveled by Poirot with the able though reluctant investigative help of Inspector Catchpool.
The Killings at Kingfisher Hill is the fourth in the New Hercule Poirot Mysteries series, a series of standalone mysteries that carry one following Agatha Christie’s works and introducing Poirot’s new detecting partner in Sophie Hannah’s Inspector Catchpool.
As I said, Poirot drags Catchpool along to a coach tour bus and doesn’t explain a thing. While they wait to board, Catchpool manages to antagonize a sharp-tongued beautiful woman for no reason he can figure out and then he gets a look of horror when he checks up on another young woman who is acting odd and fearful. The mysteries of both swirl in his mind as they ride along to the Kingfisher Hill estate tour even as Poirot pulls out the rules to a board game- Catchpool hates board games- and informs him that their new client could only get them in the house for the investigation if they pretend to be avid fans and gamers of the board game the clients’ father and his friend invented and oh, they can’t actively investigate though they are expected to save a woman who claims to have murdered the client’s brother.
I had no idea how each bit of the mystery would come together though this became the case of each new question answered only led to more questions. The people of Kingsfisher Hill are all keeping secrets and behaving oddly over the murder plus there were those odd women and their mysteries on the bus that distract. I untangled some of the mystery, but still got a nice surprise when Poirot revealed all.
All in all, I find this latest Sophie Hannah showing how the series just grows stronger and has become a most anticipated one. I recommend it for those who enjoy historical cozy mystery set during Britain’s Golden Age of Murder Mystery and casts a famous Agatha Christie character.
Narration:
As I said in my previous review of the last book, Julian Rhind-Tutt has grown on me for voicing Poirot and I was delighted to listen in to his narration work of Poirot, Catchpool and the large cast of characters.
Listen to the clip: HERE
About Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of crime fiction, published in forty-nine languages and fifty-one territories. Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide. In 2014, with the blessing of Agatha Christie’s family and estate, Sophie published a new Poirot novel, The Monogram Murders, which was a bestseller in more than fifteen countries. She has since published three more Poirot novels: Closed Casket, The Mystery of Three Quarters and The Killings at Kingfisher Hill, all of which were instant Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers. Her next Poirot novel will be published in October 2023.
Sophie’s murder mystery musical, The Mystery of Mr E – co-written with her friend and composer Annette Armitage – is currently being filmed and will be released as a movie in 2023. The film is directed by Martyn Tott and produced/made by Landrigan Entertainment Ltd. In 2013, Sophie’s novel The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards. She has also published two short story collections and five collections of poetry – the fifth of which, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A Level and degree level across the UK. She has published a self-help book called How to Hold a Grudge: From Resentment to Contentment – The Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life.
Sophie has recently helped to create a Master’s Degree in Crime and Thriller Writing at the University of Cambridge, for which she is the main teacher and Course Director. She is also the founder of the DREAM AUTHOR coaching programme for writers. She lives with her husband, children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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Glad to hear this one was just as good for you as the rest in the series have been!
Thanks, Lisa! It sure was.
I need to read these, I love Agatha’s books!
These are not much like Agatha Christie in general (very different writing styles), but I thought Sophie Hannah did great at capturing the essence of Poirot as a character.
Sounds good Sophia!
Yes, a most satisfying follow up series. 🙂
That does sound like a good murder mystery.
It was a crazy one until they started working out the facts. 🙂
I really do need to try this series out! Sounds like Catchpool is the new Hastings.
Hehe! Yes, he is. 🙂
These sound really good.
They are a fun cozy mystery follow up series to the Poirots.
It’s so great that the author has successfully captured Poirot and continued his story.
I was so curious to see her Poirot when I first started the books. There is definitely a strong resemblance. 🙂