Produced in 2025, this is an Audible version of the book by Agatha Christie (originally published in 1936). Dramatized by Anna Lea, it follows in the footsteps of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Once again, we have Peter Dinklage as Hercule Poirot, and Himesh Patel as the trusty Captain 'Astings, the great man's occasional side-kick.

Christie’s book regularly features in lists of her best (including the one compiled by her grandson, Mathew Prichard). All the list-makers agree that it presents one of her trickiest and most ingenious puzzles.

I'm probably the only person in the world who didn't know the plot. But in case I'm not the only one, I won't give anything away, and will limit myself to explaining that Poirot is receiving taunting letters from someone who signs himself "ABC", and uses the correspondence to announce imminent murders in specified places. As the killings do indeed start to happen, it becomes clear they're following an alphabetical pattern: The Andover murder wipes out Alice Ascher, the one in Bexhill targets Betty Barnard, and so on. Suspicion coalesces around a mysterious figure whose initials are in fact ABC... But is that all a bit too simple?

Coming in cold, I found the adaptation riveting. Perfect for whiling away boat journeys and sleepless nights with a cough...

As Nasrullah Mambrol points out, Christie's "use of a suspenseful second narrator with a carefully controlled point of view" keeps our attention focused in the wrong place for a very long time, and the adaptation captures this dual perspective very effectively.



The atmosphere of the 1930s also comes across very powerfully in the story, and we're particularly made aware of the economics of the day. Down-at-heel, mentally disturbed, and still plagued by a World War I head injury, the enigmatic Mr Cust is obviously living from hand to mouth. But even Hastings is in trouble: Having lost money working his South American estates, he's struggling to find willing investors.

The book is also one of the earliest to explore the world of the serial killer (a phrase that didn't even exist when Christie wrote this story).

In short, I found this a great listening experience. I'll leave a more technical reviewer to add a few more specifics: "Dinklage's Poirot has always worked because it resists the temptation to play the Belgian detective as quaint. His Poirot is precise, intellectually ruthless, and quietly proud, and those qualities serve this particular story exceptionally well because the ABC case is as much a battle of egos as it is a detective puzzle... The Dolby Atmos production is the argument that tips this adaptation above a strong reading and into something genuinely distinct as an audio experience. Johnny Flynn's original score supports the period atmosphere without overcrowding the dialogue, and the spatial audio mix creates a sense of presence in the English countryside and seaside settings that a single narrator cannot replicate."

These are very enjoyable productions. I'll look forward to more.