Best known for her psychological thrillers, Sophie Hannah has created a murder mystery involving Hercule Poirot that would go down well with Agatha Christie herself. 

Hercule Poirot is given a fresh new outing that involves plenty of twists and although written by a contemporary author, still remains faithful to Agatha Christies original style.

The story begins as the world famous detective is having a quiet dinner when a young woman confides in him that she is about to be murdered – but she doesn’t want to be saved. Later on that same evening it is discovered that three murders have taken place at a fashionable hotel – with a cufflink in each of their mouths. But can Poirot prevent a fourth murder from taking place?

It is clear from the set up and style of the book that Hannah pays attention to the details of Agatha Christie’s original novels – from the way in which the story is told from the point of view of the character who works alongside Poirot to the way in which the clues are subtly given.

Hannah’s writing throughout is clear and concise in style, really drawing the reader into the psychological elements of the plot that allows us to come to our own conclusions as to what might have happened. As you would expect with any murder mystery, but particularly one involving Poirot, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing without giving anything away too early on.

The only thing about the novel is that there almost seems to be too many different characters involved that it can be difficult to navigate just how each of the characters relate to one another in places.

Yet it still has plenty of grace and charm about it that presents the story in a way that is relatively easy to follow – even with the twists that are revealed towards the end of the novel. It certainly feels as though it deserves a place among one of the best mysteries to involve the Belgian detective and would probably impress Christie herself with the level of detail that it goes into.

Fans of Hannah’s previous work and Christie fans will equally enjoy this engaging and thrilling novel that genuinely keeps you guessing right to the very end.

The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah is available to buy through Amazon now.