Book review: Cat Among the Pigeons

Cat Among the Pigeons is a Christie. Wiki will tell you about it. It is, meh, OK I guess; fun enough to read but nothing more.

The story background - revolution in an unspecified middle eastern kingdom, and some missing jewels - is all a bit hackneyed but at least it isn't rich Americans. The setting of a country girl's school is nice although it does feel like a very small school.

Once the fundamental premise is accepted, British Intelligence does a rather poor job: three teachers are slaughtered, and a four badly wounded possibly fatally at the end, despite their having a man on the scene at all times.

I didn't guess the answer, at least in part because I wasn't trying very hard. But AS's succession of short jobs, and a conveniently sick mother, was arousing even my suspicions.

What was never explained was the implausible coincidence of someone just happening to be in the hotel room next door out in Ramat. I think something is needed there; it would have to be something around AS spying on Bob or the like... meh, I'm not sure. Quite what AS was supposed to be doing out there is never specified. Also, as a supposedly pro international hit woman, I'm a bit suspicious about single-shot-to-kill; wouldn't std.practice be a couple more shots: it is surely hard to be certain, especially in the dark.

The "Miss Blanche was killed when she attempted to blackmail the killer" red herring is a bit dodgy too: Miss B is extorting loadsamoney, and yet a hired killer isn't obviously rich - if you were, why would you stay in the job - but is obviously dangerous.

At the end, AS shoots Chaddy and as she lies possibly mortally wounded - but happily silent - on the floor Poirot goes into a long spiel explaining the situation. Once that important matter is over Chaddy can be attended to. We also learn that Chaddy killed Miss V by hitting her with a sandbag, an astonishing feat for an old woman which no-one remarks on. One thinks of the oh-so-many other novels when characters manage to merely knock out others with a sandbag, and yet here death occurs on the first blow. What's more, there's a convenient golf club nearby, the supposed murder weapon, and yet a complete absence of any pathologist's report into blood, or matted hair, on the golf club; or anything about the indentation in the head. So what this really is, is a badly done red herring.

The abduction of Shaista is a better red herring; I had S tagged as the killer, and still think it would have been better if she had been.