I purchased this book for my own collection.
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Published: February 24, 2026 (first published 1975)
Summary:
Arthritic and immobilized, Poirot calls on his old friend Captain Hastings to join him at Styles to be the eyes and ears that will feed observations to Poirot’s still razor sharp mind. Though aware of the criminal’s identity, Poirot will not reveal it to the frustrated Hastings, and dubs the nameless personage ‘X’. Already responsible for several murders, X, Poirot warns, is ready to strike again, and the partners must work swiftly to prevent imminent murder.
Poirot’s final case, a mystery which brings him and Hastings back to Styles where they first solved a crime together. The story was both anticipated and dreaded by Agatha Christie fans worldwide, many of whom still refuse to read it, as it is known to contain Poirot’s death.
Agatha Christie wrote it during World War II, as a gift for her daughter should she not survive the bombings, and it was kept in a safe for over thirty years. It was agreed among the family that Curtain would be published finally in 1975 by Collins, her long-standing publishers, and that Sleeping Murder (the Marple story written during the war for her husband, Max) would follow.
The reception of Poirot’s death was international, even earning him an obituary in The New York Times; he is still the only fictional character to have received such an honour. The first actor to take on the role of portraying Poirot in his final hours was David Suchet, as the final episode of the series Agatha Christie’s Poirot for which he’d been playing the role for twenty-five years. The episode was adapted in 2013.
My thoughts:
July’s theme for #ReadChristie2026 is Best Kept Secret and I went with one of the alternative picks, Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case.
This book has been on my list to read for a while, but I’ve been hesitant to pick it up because as the title states, it is Hercule Poirot’s last case and I was not expecting it to affect me as much as it did…especially that ending! Of course I’m not going to spoil anything here, but oh my heart 💔
To back up a bit, at the beginning of the book, we find Poirot at the end of his days, riddled with arthritis and in a wheelchair but his mind is as sharp as ever–those little grey cells are still working–and he’s quite eager to take on one more case with his old friend Captain Hastings.
I loved this book…it kept me guessing all the way through, as these books usually do. It’s so clever and there was a unique spin here that I definitely didn’t pick up on. While it is not necessary to read any of the Agatha Christie books in order, this one really does work well having read The Mysterious Affair at Styles prior, which is the 1st Poirot book. I have read that one, though it’s been a while, and think at some point I’m going to reread it and then reread this one.
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