The Killings at Kingfisher Hill - Sophie Hannah

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."

Could this new murder and the peculiar incident on the coach be clues to solving the mystery of who killed Frank Devonport? And can Poirot find the real murderer in time to save an innocent woman from the gallows?

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I've been a huge fan of Agatha Christie for as long as I can remember, and so when Sophie Hannah released her first, fully approved, brand-spanking-new Poirot story, I was so excited. And I was even happier when I read the first, The Monogram Murders, and absolutely loved it. Closed Casket followed and was even better, and I loved The Mystery of Three Quarters even more (if you're interested, you can read my review of The Mystery of Three Quarters here).  I was really hoping they would continue to only get better.

As I was reading, I felt at home. Hannah's style is very easy to read and with a great flow, which is hard to do with detailed detective stories. I thought the characterisation and attention to detail were excellent, and I love the way Hannah focuses on the psychology of a case, which is in keeping with Agatha Christie's style. However, I don't think The Killings at Kingfisher Hill was as good as the last Poirot novel. 

Nonetheless, it was still massively enjoyable, incredibly satisfying, and full of nostalgia for me, and I would still always recommend it.

Rating: ✫✫✫✫✫

The Story

What I think is absolutely key in Hannah's reinvention of Hercule Poirot is the way she keeps the integrity of Agatha Christie's style. As soon as you open the book, it feels welcoming, and I felt so at home in the way I can only feel in a real Poirot story. I think it's so important that the author is so in tune with Christie's tone of writing, because it immediately elevates the story to that level.

The characterisation is also impeccable, and it warms my heart to read. Hercule Poirot is one of my favourite characters in any book, and is certainly my favourite detective. One of my main concerns when The Monogram Murders was released was that he wouldn't be that detective that I love so much. Thankfully, throughout all of these books, the detective is just as I remember, and The Killings at Kingfisher Hill is no different. The interactions between he and his sidekick-substitute Inspector Edward Catchpool showcase him wonderfully as that all-knowing and slightly twinkly detective, and he comes across as mildly arrogant, but not insufferable. That's exactly how I've always seen him, and I loved seeing him represented again in this way. 

Another element that was present and correct was the emphasis on psychology in the case. I think it's fantastic the way Hannah actively builds a plot around psychology, and the way the suspects are acting. In Agatha Christie's novels, and in the Poirot stories in particular, psychology plays an essential part in his figuring out who the culprit is, and it's nice to see that come back into play. 

This is particularly prominent in the conversations between Poirot and Catchpool in the novel, and it really reminded me how essential that detective-sidekick dynamic is. Catchpool's oblivious observations lead Poirot to realisations he wouldn't have had otherwise, but more importantly, they make the story really accessible for a reader. Catchpool is our representative in the story, indicating all of the areas we need to remember that seem to make no sense. It's as if we have somebody on our side. Catchpool is actually a really great sidekick character. I'm glad Hannah chose not to try and resurrect Hastings or Inspector Japp as well, as that would have been too close to Christie's work, but it was also a risk to try and create a new character to fill this gap. Catchpool does it wonderfully. He's not uninteligent, and he has his own role for a lot of the story. Poirot relies on him to take witness statements and get key details, but he's very relatable for us.

Sadly, the actual plot, in my opinion, was a little bit disappointing. It had a lot of twists and turns but it bordered on being overcomplicated. I found this as well with The Monogram Murders, where I felt the author was trying a little too hard. Closed Casket was stripped back and was a step in the right direction, in keeping with the simplicity of a lot of Christie's plots. The Mystery of Three Quarters was perfect; a real triumph. This one seemed like a step back, in my opinion. I still absolutely loved it, but it was a little too try-hard for my liking. There are two different cases which obviously tie together eventually, but it felt a little forced. If I'm honest, I felt the reveal was a bit of a disappointment.

The real problem? I don't think the Poirot in my head would ever travel on a coach!

The Verdict

This is a tough one for me, because I absolutely loved reading it. I enjoyed it, laughed, was suitably shocked. It had everything there. However, the reason I liked it was more for Sophie Hannah's writing than for the actual story. She knows how to balance a really detailed plot in a way that makes it easy to read. She knows how to write her characters to make them real and relatable. And she definitely knows how to bring this wonderful detective back to life in her work. The plot wasn't my favourite, but everything else was there for me. Combined with my nostalgia, I still couldn't have given this book anything less than five stars.