Who is your favourite Murderer from any Poirot story?

Zeddie

Mine would have to be Nick from Peril at End House. I love that even when she gets caught, she is still unrepentant. She is such a cool character and truly believed that she would get away with it. I absolutely love the ITV adaptation of this novel as well and the actress who played Nick was perfect for the role. 

anne.clough.3

Mrs Hubbard from Murder on the Orient Express.  She took justice into her own hands after the law failed her and  her family!

MissQuin

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!  Death On The Nile- Jacqueline de Bellefort. Because her character is fascinating. It's unusual to emphasize with a murderer, but I did. She killed not for pleasure or money for herself but for love. Which is quite romaantic and tragic at the same time.

Tommy_A_Jones

The Murderer in Death In The Clouds probably but only because that is the only book I tried to solve and got I wrong or the one in After The Funeral

Christopher_Wren

For pure evilness, the killer in the ABC murders. And the killer in "A Murde ris announced" is in spite of everything somewhat sympathetic and tragic.

keeru rockzz

Franklin Clarke- the series killer in ABC murders

(selfish killer!!!)

Frank

Christopher_Wrenkeeru rockzz. The murder in The ABC Murders is my favorite. 

shifra.shomron

SPOILER
I liked the murderer of Three Act Tragedy - he was so unusual, in as much as it was such an "actor's murder" - with a dress rehearsal first, to make sure it all went properly, and costumes, speeches, etc. He threw himself into the part and gave a wonderful performance! And yes, one could sympathise with him; he didn't wish to be locked up in an asylum. Very understandable. AC seemed fond of having actors and actresses appear to be beautiful but stupid - only for them to prove that they do have brains, of a sort. He's no exception, and if it weren't for H. Poirot. . .  

Tommy_A_Jones

Isn't that funny, He is one of my least favourite Murderers in Poirot books but that might be because The Book is one of my least favourite Poirot Books but in this case it is probably my fault as I am not keen at all in books which are in Parts and Poirot appears relatively late and the other Characters don't keep me entertained enough to be able to cope with the fact that he appears late in the way that the Characters in Cat Among The Pigeons does

shifra.shomron

@Tommy_A_Jones, I used to dislike books in parts also. However, after taking a course on Shakespeare, and another on modern drama, I discovered an appreciation of plays. So, I cope better now with plays. What's great about books divided into parts is that I can read a bit each night, and it has a natural place for me to stop.
Poirot appearing late is upsetting, but he always has at least one really good line. From Three Act Tragedy I particularily remember two lines of his. The one, when he's on vacation. He's bored, he watches a child who's also bored, and he reacts to the child complaining to his mother "now what?" I love that he's so aware of everyone around him. And of course, his line at the end, when he's furious that he could have been killed by sheer randomness, by the murderer simply practising the murder.

Tommy_A_Jones

Oh Shifra you are Lucky one of my Happiest Memories from School is reading Plays in the English Lessons, we read a few Murder Mysteries they must have come from a Book of Murder Mystery Plays, I loved being The Senior Policeman, as They weren't Christies but The Sleuth was a Battle type person which thinking about it might be why Battle is one of my Favourite Sleuths in the Canon, we also read Hobson's Choice and Toad of Toad Hall, I also love watching Plays at The Theatre but sadly I haven't dome that for ages the last one I saw was Murder At The Vicarage. I love the 2 bits you referred to in Three-Act Tragedy even though I have decided I am fed up oif the book and not read it anymore. 

shifra.shomron

Sounds like you had a great school literature class... I didn't enjoy my school lit. experience - I hated the selection. We read poetry from the Middle Ages, and lots of depressing stuff - Chekov, and modern poetry mostly about partings and loneliness. Actually, the one play we read was very well-written, but the subject matter was dead-depressing. In University I learned that the Romans felt you had to have characters who were larger than life. That way you can admire the hero - and be horrified by his fall from greatness. 
To apply to Christie... Poirot is genius, he's better than the regular police, more successful than Scotland Yard. That's why his failings are so amusing - or tragic - because we're going from extreme to the other. One moment he's the last hope of some helpless client, the next he's ludicrous in his self-admiration, or puposely foriegn, or makes an error in judgement and gets very upset. Are the murderers ever larger than life? I don't think so. I think her point is to show how easy it is for anyone to sink to that level.

Tommy_A_Jones

I have never done Checkov, but didn't he write Uncle Vanya which is mentioned briefly in the Non-Christe I am reading.

I also like The Professional Policemen aswell as Poirot, I am a big fan of Battle and Narracott but I also like Craddock, Japp and Spence and the Policeman in The Clocks.

shifra.shomron

Spence and Battle, yes. I'm not very fond of Japp; he's energetic but he's not self-deprecating. If you go to a person for help, you shouldn't mock them. Poirot seemed okay with their relationship, but I'm more on Hasting's side. My favorite has to be Inspector Slack played by David Horovitch. I loved that antagonism to Miss Marple. You could just feel his impatience, that rolling of the eyes, everytime he had to suffer in polite silence as she fluttered on and on. Absolutely brilliant.
But this is getting off-target - we're supposed to be talking about favorite murderers.
Remember that article in Mrs. McGintry - where they are today... What do you guys think about murderers/ suspected murderers who are let off? Would you feel comfortable around them, or think like Poirot that once someone has killed once, the restraint is off?  

Tommy_A_Jones

I don't like Craddock so much, I prefer Craddock, Japp not being self-deprecating is fine for me because Poirot and Hastings are so conceited.

I wouldn't feel comfortable around someone who had been let off, t might have been out of Character tem killing but surely if they are in danger of having their secret exposed surely they wouldn't think twice about killing again.

kaisunraj

I'm going to go with Dr.Sheppard or Major Knighton

vazin

for me( even i didn't read all agatha christie's novles yet) my favourite murderer is Magd from the novel "peril at the end house", and she did a very intellegence crime that even poirot didnt find the truth after a  long time and he never thaught that she was the real murderer and keep saving her...

Michiel

SPOILER

Probably the murderer from Ackroyd. It is hard to say why, maybe because of how it ends. In most novels, the murderer is just arrested and taken away, but here he writes an epilogue that does not exactly instill sympathy, but still makes him seem more human somehow.

Dean

!SPOILER! I don't really know my favourite murderer but I do know my worst murderer is Steve Norton on Curtain for pushing Poirot to actually kill him and even though he is not really a murderer he pushs people into killing people.

Daphne

Dr. Sheppard, until the denouement.
I found him a very engaging character with a dry wit and a courteous, helpful manner. I loved his interactions with his sister, and his concern for the other characters under suspicion. I had no idea that he was the actual murderer, and when I found out, I felt that he had disappointed me severely. I think sometimes I get too caught up in fictional characters.

GKCfan

***SPOILERS***

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I always liked the female killer in Death on the Nile  I was a little disappointed when it turned out to be her at the end.

PrashanttNair

That man...I don't recall his name...   [had read it in 1996]...that crossword story... he killed his own brother or friend...that one. The story was brilliant....

AgathaSparrow

All the murder inside the orient express, that would have taken a lot of careful plannig!

luismk

Dr Sheppard and the murderer of Curtain

Bhagi M

Dr James Sheppard from The murder of Roger Ackroyd & Mr and Mrs Redfern from Evil under the sun!!

Maryam

For me Murder On the Orient Express had a way different plot which i guess dazzled us all...And the way murderer or to be precise Murderers were reveled was just so amazing.... 

ginestra

I like Dr  Eric Leidner from  Murder in Mesopotamia. A cleaver and fascinating man even if a bit too cruel ...

Frank

I agree with@Maryam. The collective murders who carried out the murder on the Orient Express certainly tops my list when it comes to my favourite murderer from a Poirot story. 

LeopoldoAtila

I also agree. It's fascinating how they commit the murder. 

Gnin

I like the murderers of the Orient Express! The way they execute the murder, brilliant.

TuppenceBeresford

Murder on the Orient Express - it could have been a cheat but it worked.

The ABC Murders - intriguing arrogance.

Death on the Nile - sympathetic, vulnerable and engaging.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas - unexpectedness.

Five Little Pigs - I really wanted it to be this person as I really took a dislike to them.

Curtain - I really like two of them a lot.