Dave's Book Blog: "The Killings at Kingfisher Hill" by Sophie Hannah

Wednesday, 10 December 2025

"The Killings at Kingfisher Hill" by Sophie Hannah

On a motor coach to Kingfisher Hill, one woman is scared that she will be murdered if she sits in a certain seat; another woman confesses to Hercule Poirot that she has committed a murder. The story is narrated by Scotland Yard Inspector Edward Catchpool who, with his friend Poirot, is heading to a family home where another murder has been committed by a woman presently under sentence of hanging; they are to discover whether a miscarriage of justice is about to take place. Of course all the murders are linked and of course Poirot reveals the convoluted solution to the assembled guests at the end of the novel.

Selected quotes:

“It was the sort of winter day that is light-starved at dawn and remains so deprived for its duration.” (Ch 1)
“Her features had all the same look to them: as if someone had stopped short of adding the final touches that would have given her a more conventional visual appeal.” (Ch 1)
“She was one of those women who put plates loaded with all sorts of baked treats in front of you and then cajoles until all present have eaten enough to rupture their stomachs.” (Ch 8)
“Romeo and Juliet. ... I had studied it at school and its lessons had stayed with me: pursue your romantic urges with no thoughts for what society will allow and there is a good chance that you will end up in a disadvantageous situation.” (Ch 8)
“The strangest thing about being inside a prison is that one expects to meet evil face to face ... What one encounters instead ... is hopelessness and regret: the traces of stale betrayals, tempers fatally lost and horrible compromises in impossible situations.” (Ch 9)