The Pale Horse

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Hugh Fraser

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Soon to be a Prime original limited series!

In the classic mystery by Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie, an elderly priest is murdered, quite possibly doomed by a woman’s deathbed confession and by the secrets kept safely locked behind closed doors of a mysterious local pub. When an elderly priest is murdered, the killer searches the victim so roughly that his already ragged cassock is torn in the process. 

What was the killer looking for? And what had a dying woman confided to the priest on her deathbed only hours earlier? 

Mark Easterbrook and his sidekick Ginger Corrigan are determined to find out. Maybe the three women who run The Pale Horse public house, and who are rumored to practice the “Dark Arts,” can provide some answers? 

©1961 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

A tricky one, but very well delivered

One of the less accessible AC's in my opinion. No Marple or Poirot to help you through. And more importantly, no Captain Hastings to have it all explained slowly on your behalf. And unlike Sparkling Cyanide (also done very well in this series) where the characters and setting are quite tight and manageable, this sprawling epic is hard to keep track of in audiobook form. Especially if your attentions are on the cooking or the driving.

Hugh Fraser's performance is as excellent as always. He does women so well. Important for AC obviously.

Enjoy. Worth every penny.

A bit of the paranormal to muddy the waters

This is not a typical Agatha Christie, not just because it doesn't involve one Poirot, Hastings, or Marple, but because it involves some characters dabbling in the paranormal. Usually Christie is all about very human actions and emotions, but here several of the characters in the small English village believe and are involved in connecting with the other world, through mediums, seances, and animal sacrifices. Not that they really are paranormal, of course, and there's a very human solution to it all, but those characters play a major role (not just for minor amusement).

It was slow to get into, but in the end I enjoyed it very much. Hugh Fraser was, as always, wonderful.

awesome ending

Fraser's the best narrator forAgatha Christie books. I try never to buy one he doesn't perform.

Good Reading on a Good Book

The Pale Horse has always been one of my favorite Christie novels, partly because it differs a bit from the norm. Although I love Christie's detectives, it made a nice change of pace for her to write this novel with a historian as her "detective". The audio version did not disappoint at all -- I liked Hugh Fraser's deep voice and felt that it matched really nicely with the overall tone of the book. He's a great narrator to listen to at night: soothing enough to relax, but engages the material well enough that you don't drift off to sleep too quickly.

seemed to have potential

I enjoyed listening to this book, but I found the ending disappointing. It was a surprise, but not a very interesting one given what I think it could have been. Hugh Fraser is, of course, fabulous as always. I do like Mrs. Oliver, but she's not in it as much near the end.

I would recommend this book, but not over Christie's better ones. Once you've read all of her best, this one is OK.

Really enjoyed

Not Miss Marple or Like it -- quite a departure but very good 👍 and still had the Christie magic!! Hugh Frazer, as always made the characters come alive!
Great addition to my Christie collection!!!

Another fantastic work!

I had seen the TV movie adaptation of this years ago, and when I saw the new version wanted to see what was different. While both versions are good, I felt the book was better. I found myself asking, why didn't they just do that? Highly recommend this!

Not the best Christie book

Christie dabbles in the supernatural here and the story falls flat. I actually got bored mid-way through the audiobook. It felt like there was a lot of filler and not enough mystery. Narration by Hugh Fraser was excellent, as always.

Entertaining to the ear and imagination!

The story draws you in immediately and the sound of Hugh Fraser's voice and his skill with delivery transports you into this tale like a visitor on holiday, eavesdropping on the locals. I loved every moment and didn't want to "go home".

Where's Mrs Oliver

I got this book because it was listed as part of Mrs Oliver series
She's hardly in it at all.Wish Christie would have used put her in more books. She's such a delightful person. However this one is great. Of course Hugh Frasier does his usual wonderful job with great characters and story