 Dust-jacket illustration of the US (true first) edition with alternative title. See Publication history (below) for UK first edition jacket image with original title. | |
| Author | Agatha Christie |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Not known |
| Language | English |
| Series | Hercule Poirot |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
Publication date | May 1942 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 234 (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-00-616372-6 |
| Preceded by | The Body in the Library |
| Followed by | The Moving Finger |
Five Little Pigs is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in May 1942 under the title Murder in Retrospect[1] and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in January 1943 (although some sources state that publication was in November 1942).[2] The UK first edition carries a copyright date of 1942 and retailed at eight shillings[2] while the US edition was priced at $2.00.[1]
In the book, detective Hercule Poirot investigates five people about a murder committed sixteen years earlier. Caroline Crale died in prison after being convicted of murdering her husband, Amyas Crale, by poisoning him. In her final letter from prison, she claims to be innocent of the murder. Her daughter Carla Lemarchant asks Poirot to investigate this cold case, based on the memories of the people closest to the couple.
- ^ a b Marcum, J S (May 2007). "American Tribute to Agatha Christie: The Classic Years: 1940 – 1944". Insight BB. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ a b Peers, Chris; Spurrier, Ralph; Sturgeon, Jamie (March 1999). Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions (Second ed.). Dragonby Press. p. 15.