The Big Four by Agatha Christie is the fifth book in her Hercule Poirot series. Poirot's friend Hastings has come from South America for a surprise visit. Shortly after his arrival, a man climbs through Poirot's window and collapses. The man briefly awakes and tells them about the Big Four: number one, a Chinese man named Li Chang Yen (the mastermind); number two, a rich American (the money man); number three, a Frenchwoman (the scientist), and number four, the destroyer. The claims seem strange until the man, who turns out to be secret service, is murdered. Another murder related to the name the Big Four soon follows. Event follows event as Poirot slowly determined the identities of numbers two through four and tries to reason out their master plan while keeping himself and Hastings alive.
A departure from the previous books, this one has several crimes solved quickly by Poirot that then together and lead up to the final showdown. I didn't like this one as much because the shadow conspiracy seemed a bit far fetched, but it still made for an enjoyable afternoon of reading. 4 stars.
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