I'm reading these new Poirot books out of order, but fortunately it doesn't matter much. The Monogram Murders , summing up, is a great read. I was struck by two things. 
   First, Poirot doesn't seem quite as on the ball as we have come to expect him to be. But that might just be me. I certainly wasn't thinking that as I read the book, only cogitating about it afterwards. 
   And second, in some ways you could almost call this a horror book, not just a murder mystery. That's because... hum, hum, how to say this without spoilers?... there's a lot of talk about people killing themselves or killing other people, possibly with their permission... You know how if you write or read one word over and over again, it starts to become a meaningless jumble of letters? Well, all the talk of 'killing' sort of did the same thing... the reader becomes inured to the horror of what Sophie Hannah is writing about. I don't know if she meant it, but it was a forceful part of the reading experience. For me., anyway.
   But the mystery is neat; the solution is neat; Poirot and Catchpole are beautifully drawn with a touch of dry humour. Poirot reincarnated so well? Who could wish for more?