THE ABC MURDERS (1936) is one of the earliest examples of the “serial killer” novel. Striking in alphabetical order, a killer challenges renowned detective Hercule Poirot to a battle of wits. With ingenious twists and red herrings, the book will keep you guessing until the end.
Special guest Kemper Donovan joins us to discuss Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery. Check out the conversation starters below. Weigh in, and you might just get an on-air shoutout and a fab sticker!
Check out our Tea, Tonic & Toxin conversation starters, and please share your thoughts below!
Serial Killer
The ABC Murdes is commonly considered the first serial killer book. In a sense, it wasn’t because the serial killing was a screen.
In another sense, were serial killers becoming more common? Jack the Ripper was referenced. several times. HP & the police seem to be drawing on a body of knowledge.
The Psychological Aspect
Similar to Gaudy Night, Agatha Christie in The ABC Murders spends time trying to analyze the psychological makeup of the killer as a key to solving the crimes.
Freud and Jung started to become more well known starting in 1910. Is this related? The rise in psychoanalytic thinking? This does turn out to be the key to solving the mystery. Poirot guesses the dual aspect presented of the killer. Hercule Poirot even dabbles in dream interpretation.
In contrast to Sayers, Christie books have less psychological elements to discuss. They are terrific and satisfying stories though.
The Vanishing and the Problem of Memory
In The ABC Murders, Cust is an epileptic World War I veteran who suffers from bouts of short-term blackouts due to a wartime head injury. He has been hired as a traveling stocking salesman and happens to be in the towns where the murders occur. Cust can’t recall his whereabouts during the last murder, and he was found with blood on his sleeve and a knife. He has no memory of writing letters to Poirot or of committing any of the murders, but he thinks he might have committed them because of his blackouts.
However, Cust is innocent. He’s being used, set up as a cover for the real murderer. Franklin Clarke has set up the whole scheme, including hiring Cust to be a salesman and the fall guy, in order to kill his brother so as to not be disinherited. The motive: money.
On 12/03/26, Agatha Christie vanished from her home in Berkshire. It was the perfect tabloid story, with all the elements of one of Christie’s own ‘whodunnit’ mysteries. So what was the truth behind her disappearance?
One winter evening, Christie disappeared herself. Her abandoned car was found miles away from the family home, and after a nationwide search Christie was discovered staying in a hotel under an assumed name. Examined for a concussion and suffering from amnesia, Christie didn’t know who she was, and she didn’t recognize her husband when he came to get her. She never spoke publicly about the incident — which preceded the end of her already-rocky marriage.
What’s interesting here is that Christie herself had a “blackout” period. Carolyn wonders if this experience influenced the character of Cust.
The Twist
Let’s talk twists and turns, something Agatha Christie excelled at.
Were you surprised with the conclusion of THE A.B.C. MURDERS? Did you have any suspicions about the murderer?
There’s one real murder, and the entire serial killer plot line is a misdirection/red herring.
It’s a good twist at the end. Sarah didn’t realize it until just the page before. Ingenious. Sort of a murderer hiding in plain sight (like a purloined letter hiding in plain sight).
Sarah really thought the murderer was toying with Poirot with his letters — that the motive behind the murders might be personal and, therefore, somehow linked to Poirot. I was absolutely shocked with the resolution of the case — not so much because of who the murderer was, but rather because I kept looking for the link to Poirot. Was it just me? Or did you have a similar reaction to the letters and the motive?
The Love Story/ The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Poirot himself hearkens back to The Mysterious Affair at Styles to recall how murder brings lovers together. This happens again between Donald Fraser & Megan Barnard.
Which reminds us of our Jennifer Kloester, our Georgette Heyer guest who noted every great story contains a love story.
Hastings
He’s sucker for a pretty face in The ABC Murders — and in most of the books he’s in. In the David Suchet version on ITV (Amazon Prime), Suchet and Hugh Fraser are so funny.
I found Poirot and Hastings’ relationship to be quite entertaining, but I was a little bit surprised by how Poirot treated him. (I found it to be a bit degrading, but maybe he was just teasing?) Did you find it ironic that Hastings was actually the one whose practicality helped Poirot solve the crime?
In The ABC Murders, Christie used both first and third-person narrative. The third-person narrative is reconstructed by Hastings, the first-person narrator. How did you feel about the two “different” narrators? Did this presentation style work for you?
The Legion
Carolyn loves a good legion. However, why does Clarke want the group to form the legion? Let’s talk about the legion’s function.
Random Questions
In The ABC Murders, why did Clarke send the letters to Poirot? Poirot gives a brief explanation that it was simply so he had time to commit the third murder, so he wanted to purposely send the letter astray to buy time. Why not send the letter and then commit the murder as before? And why Poirot?
Why did Lily (Cust’s landlady’s daughter) warn Cust about the policeman coming to question him? It’s never really explained why she warns Cust.
Surfing
According to a 2011 article in The Guardian, Agatha Christie may have been one of the first U.K. citizens to learn how to surf. Apparently she was also an avid rider of waves, surfing off the coasts of Cape Town and Honolulu.
We asked Craig Johnson if he knew this tidbit about Christie — and indeed he did! We just learned that Walt Longmire surfed as well!
Share your thoughts about the book (or about mysteries, detective stories, thrillers, or our podcast), and we may give you an on-air shoutout AND send you the world’s best sticker! (It is a pretty sweet sticker.)
Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for people who love mysteries, detective stories, thrillers, introspection, and good conversation. Each month, your hosts, Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters, will dive into the history of mystery to get a firsthand look at how the mystery genre evolved.
Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, doubts, and grudges, along with fabulous guests. And we hope to entertain you, dear friend. We want you to experience the joys of reading some of the best mysteries and thrillers ever written.
Teasers & Tidbits
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