Discover a new way to read classics with Quick Read.
This Quick Read edition includes both the full text and a summary for each chapter.
- Reading time of the complete text: about 5 hours
- Reading time of the summarized text: 22 minutes

"The Big Four" by Agatha Christie is a departure from her typical Poirot stories, as it is structured from twelve short stories that were compiled into a full-length novel. The novel revolves around Hercule Poirot's encounters with an international crime cartel known as "The Big Four," who are working towards world domination. The characters in the novel represent a supranational association of high-ranking personalities, and the story is a series of loosely connected episodes. The book has been critiqued for lacking the unity of a proper novel and for its atypical boredom compared to Christie's other works. The characters in the novel, particularly the villains, have been described as lacking traits that make them engaging or interesting. The novel has been associated with the literature of the interwar period, reflecting concerns about foreign threats and international challenges. Additionally, the character Li Chang Yen has been linked to the concept of Orientalism and compared to Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer. Despite mixed reviews, the novel was adapted for television, featuring David Suchet as Poirot.