Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folley by Agatha Christie is the Harper Collins, UK publication of 2014 and is #47.5 in the series about Hercule Poirot.
Poirot is summoned by detective novelist Ariadne Oliver, to Greenshore House in Lapton to assist her. Ariadne is arranging a «murder hunt» as part of the entertainment at the planned fête. Guests are encouraged to follow clues around the estate to solve a pretend murder. It goes terribly wrong and someone really ends up dead. Poirot helps the police investigate the real murder of a young girl.

True to form Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folley is set at an estate in the English countryside in the 1950s. Main characters are rich people of leisure arranging entertainment and games to pass the time and have fun. I enjoy the lifestyle descriptions a lot and would guess inspiration was taken from Agatha Christie’s own life. I am a great fan of fictional historical settings in Britain, so my favorite part of the story was descriptions of the fête. I also thoroughly enjoyed the surprise ending. So thrilling and complicated I could not possibly have seen it coming.

Main character Hercule Poirot is per usual using his skills to gather information. I find it funny how he tries not to express his lack of regard for Ariadne Oliver’s less than methodical investigative skills, while he himself is all about method. He is my absolute favorite in this and every other story about him as he seems so quirky and funny.

Secondary character Mrs. Folliat is the previous owner of Greenshore House. She acts as kind of a gardener and hostess around the house, while she lives in a small cottage on the estate because the family has fallen on hard times. Having been demoted from lady of the manor, I found it strange how she seemed so at peace with the situation. She seemed a strange and suspicious character who appeared everywhere and knew everybody.

I really loved the old fashioned vibe I got from the writing. It was like going back in time to a beautiful place where you could not really imagine something terrible happening, and yet a murder occurred. There is something about the contrasts between the beautiful scenery and the brutal murder that made this story come alive for me. The writing style is simplistic which helps carry the message through so brilliantly.

Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folley is a thoroughly exciting, quick read with a great twist and a surprise ending, so thrilling and complicated I could not possibly have seen it coming. As I am a great fan of Hercule Poirot, I am always on the lookout for stories I have not yet read or seen TV adaptations of. They work like a charm as standalones, so I don’t feel I need to follow any particular order.

Fans of Agatha Christie will love Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folley. Anyone who enjoys crime fiction will probably already have The Queen of Mystery on their radar and thoroughly enjoy her work too.
Similar authors to explore might be Arthur Conan Doyle.
All opinions in this review are completely my own.

My rating: 5 stars / 5
Main reasons: great plot, excellent characters, surprise ending