Funerals Are Fatal by Agatha Christie

Funerals Are Fatal by Agatha Christie ISBN-13: 9780553350166 Hardcover: 226 pages Publisher: Bantam Released: 1953; May 1984

Source: Borrowed from the library.

Book Description from Goodreads:
When Richard Abernethie, the master of Enderby Hall, dies, his heirs assemble at the vast Victorian mansion to hear the reading of the will. It is then that Cora, Abernethie's sister, comes out with an alarming proposal: "But he was murdered, wasn't he?" The next day Cora is found brutally bludgeoned to death in her home.

None other than Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot is summoned to Enderby in pursuit of the murderer. Suspects abound including a wayward nephew unlucky with women and horses, a favorite and seemingly blameless sister-in-law, two feuding nieces, a nosey housekeeper, and a disingenuous art collector.


My Review:
Funerals Are Fatal is a historical mystery (though it was a contemporary at the time it was written) set in England at about 1952. This story can also be found under the title, "After the Funeral."

Poirot was asked to solve if Richard had been murdered, and of course he solves the whole sequence to discover whodunit. While Poirot knows whodunit for some pages before the reveal, I also figured out whodunit at the same time. It helped that I had a day to think all the clues over. I was tickled that I got the whole sequence right, including motives. I love it when the clues are all there, but the answer isn't immediately obvious.

We didn't get to know any of the characters very well, but they were interesting and had varied personalities. The details about the setting and time period were minimal but interesting. There was a very minor amount of bad language. There was no sex or gore. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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