Hickory Dickory Dock (Hercule Poirot, 34), Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780062073969) 2011 (first published in 1955).

Summary: Poirot’s secretary’s sister is warden at a student hostel subject to a baffling string of petty thefts.

Miss Lemon never makes mistakes. So when Poirot’s secretary makes three mistakes on a routine letter, Poirot deduces there is something wrong. It turns out Miss Lemon’s sister, Mrs. Hubbard is dealing with a troubling string of thefts. Mrs. Hubbard is the warden at a student boarding house. Men live on one side, the women on the other, and students from many countries as well as England live there. There seems no rhyme or reason to the thefts: a shoe, a stethoscope, a bracelet, a powder compact, a cookbook, some lightbulbs, some old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a rucksack, a silk scarf, some boracic powder, some green ink, and a diamond ring.

As it turns out, the baffling character of the list intrigues Poirot, and he agrees to investigate. Under the pretense of a talk on crime, Poirot meets the students, and at the end recommends calling in the police. While Mrs. Nicoletis, the hostel owner, tries to stall, Poirot’s recommendation gets results. One of the girls, Celia Austin, confesses to some of the thefts and promises restitution. Later that evening, she announces her engagement to another resident, Colin McNabb, a psychology graduate student.

However, this apparently happy ending quickly turns more serious. Celia is found dead of a morphine overdose, apparently a suicide from the scrap of a note left behind. But the authorities quickly see through this. Someone in the house murdered Celia. The murder reveals the problems beneath the placid appearances, and many of the students are plausible suspects.

Only one is the killer and before this is over, two more will die. As Poirot aids in the investigation, the thefts and incidents Celia wasn’t responsible for, and the order in which they took place, become important. Things as baffling as a cut up rucksack and missing lightbulbs are key. In the process, it is apparent that much more than petty theft is going on.

In addition to serious crime, it turns out the murderer got away with murder in the past. But not with Poirot!

This is the first mystery I can think of to take place in a student boarding house. What an ideal setting for a household full of suspects. Not only that, Christie creates an interesting cast of characters and a liberal number of red herrings. It was fun to try to unravel this one!

Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot, 8), Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780063376014) 2024 (First published in 1932).

Summary: “Nick” Buckley has several “accidents” which Poirot believes are attempts on her life by someone in her inner circle.

Poirot and his old friend Captain Hastings are united for a stay at a Cornish resort. During an encounter with a young actress, Magdala “Nick” Buckley, something buzzes past them that they take for a wasp–until Poirot spots a hole in Buckley’s hat and a bullet on the ground. Then she confides that this is the latest in a string of “accidents.” Poirot suspects there is more to them than that. And his investigation confirms his fears, though Nick seems determined to defy death. Poirot believes someone in her inner circle is trying to kill her. In typical Poirot fashion, he takes on the mission of defending the lady and finding the murderer.

The inner circle are gathered around End House, the property Nick has inherited and struggles to maintain–a house with a questionable history. Charles Vyse is the lawyer cousin who arranged a mortgage for her to keep the house. She is hosting several friends. Her closest is Freddie Rice, a wife in an abusive marriage and closet cocaine user. Jim Lazarus, an art dealer is in love with Freddie. He also offered to buy a painting from Nick well above market value. Captain Challenger is a military officer with affections for Nick that she has indulged but not returned. Mr. and Mrs. Croft are transplanted Aussies renting a nearby lodge. They encouraged Nick to make a will before surgery six months earlier. They mailed it but Charles claims it was never received. Finally, there is Ellen, the housekeeper, who closely watches all the goings on at End House.

Poirot suggests Nick have the company of a trusted friend. Nick invites her cousin Maggie, a minister’s daughter. Shortly after her arrival, Maggie hosts a garden party. At one point, Maggie borrows a scarlet wrap of Nick’s. Masked by fireworks, gunshots take her life. Meanwhile, Nick had absented herself to take a phone call.

Next morning, Poirot notes the story of the death of a wealthy airman, Michael Seton. He surmises that Nick was his secret fiancée and stood to inherit the flyer’s wealth. So, for her safety, Poirot arranges her seclusion in a sanitarium with no visitors allowed. Yet somehow a box of chocolates laced with cocaine gets to her and she nearly dies from an overdose. The card said they were from Poirot.

Motive, and the contents of the missing will from Nick are on his mind. Freddie seems a prime suspect, having sent chocolates. And she is a cocaine addict. But Poirot is not so sure. So he stages a gathering at End House after Nick’s will turns up. The “official” word is that Nick died from the overdose. There will be a reading of the will. Poirot then suggests a seance, with Hastings as medium. And here, Nick stages her ultimate performance, triggering all sorts of mayhem and the exposure of the murderer.

To sum up, I thought this one of Christie’s near greats. The ingenious plot leaves you guessing and scratching your head and asking at the end, “why didn’t I see that?”. But we’re not the only ones, as you will see.

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Thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

Curtain, (Hercule Poirot, 44) Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780062074096) 2011 (first published in 1975).

Summary: In Poirot’s last case, he and Captain Hastings reunite at Styles to catch a murderer involved in but unsuspected in five murders.

It all began with The Mysterious Affair at Styles when Poirot and Arthur Hastings team up to solve a murder. Now they are back at the country manor of Styles once more. But this time, the matter is far more urgent. Poirot believes that their is a mysterious figure identified as X in the party. X has committed at least five murders and gotten off unsuspected in each case. Poirot believes he is out to murder again. He has asked for Hastings help.

Poirot is a dying man. He has a heart that is failing, arthritic joints that confine him to a wheel chair, and he is a shadow of his former self. Only his hair and moustache are still black. Hastings is there to be his eyes and ears. But this is hard for Hastings. He wants to know who the murderer is and spends most of the story trying to figure that out. Yet Poirot won’t reveal what he knows. It could be deadly for his old friend, who has a hard time with secrets.

Colonel and Mrs. Luttrell now own and run Styles. The guests all know each other. Sir William Boyd-Carrington has invited Dr. John Franklin and his wife Barbara, often needy of bedrest. Hastings daughter Judith is a research assistant with Dr. Franklin. Major Allerton is a ladies man. Hastings fears he will try to make Judith his next conquest, so much so that he makes a failed attempt to murder him. Elizabeth Cole is the sister of the accused in one of the murders. And Norton is a quiet, retiring type who spends his time watching birds, as well as the other guests.

A certain sense of foreboding rests over the party. At one point, Mrs. Luttrell is accidentally wounded when Colonel fires at what he thinks a rabbit. Paradoxically, the accident draws them closer. Then, after a busy day with Boyd-Carrington in town, Barbara Franklin dies under suspicious circumstances. Even Judith is a suspect. Is this once again the work of X? And why did Poirot not stop him?

In the end Poirot does stop the killer in a most unusual ending that I will not spoil. It will be his last time working with Hastings and as some editions note, his last case. What is fascinating is that this was actually written in the 1940’s and locked up until late in the author’s life, along with Miss Marple’s last case. Certainly, in terms of plotting, it reflects Christie at her peak rather than in her later works. It reflects an interesting decision to plan the denouement of her detective before her own. And Styles and Hastings provide the ideal bookends to Poirot’s illustrious career.

Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, 40), Agatha Christie. HarperCollins (ISBN: 9780062073761) 2010 (first published in 1966).

Summary: A young girl disturbs Poirot’s breakfast claiming she may have murdered someone, then leaves, telling Poirot “You’re too old.”

Poirot is enjoying his breakfast when George, his servant, interrupts to announce a woman who thinks she might have committed a murder wishes to see him. When he asks her to tell her story, she decides she cannot, telling him as she leaves, “You’re too old.”

She has disturbed Poirot. Not just by her insult. But also by her manner. Something is off. Then he learns his mystery writer friend Mrs. Oliver sent her to him. They’d met at a literary party. Her name is Norma Restarick. Her father has only recently returned after many years abroad to take up the family business. Norma’s mother, who had raised her, has died. Her father has returned with a new wife, Mary. They are living with his maternal Uncle, Sir Roderick Horsfield, a former intelligence officer writing his memoirs. Norma is ill at ease there. Part of this has to do with their disapproval of Norma’s boyfriend David, an artist.

And that is how she has become the “third girl,” living in a flat with two other girls. One is Claudia, her father’s very efficient secretary. The other is Frances, who represents an art gallery.

As Poirot investigates, he learns some disturbing facts. There had been a recent death at Borodene Mansions, where the girls live. A woman, living one floor up, fell to her death from her balcony. It appeared to be an accident or suicide. But could she have been pushed? Also, Mary Restarick has suffered several bouts of intestinal illness coinciding with Norma’s visits. The illness is traced to arsenic in her food.

But where is Norma? That’s where Mrs. Oliver comes in. She spots Norma and David at a cafe and calls Poirot. Shortly after he arrives, David leaves, and she decides to follow him, having taken it upon herself to join Poirot once again as co-sleuth, despite his warnings. He intuits that something dangerous is going on. After she leaves, Norma recognizes him. This time she shares more, including gaps in her memory and disturbing events, like finding herself holding a revolver. She doesn’t want to see a doctor, and in the end, walks out on Poirot once more.

Next thing we know, a man is caring for her after she’d nearly been killed by a speeding car. He’s a doctor by the name of Stillingfleet and persuades her after a long conversation to go to a “convalescent” home.

Who is this mysterious doctor who saves Norma in the nick of time, and what is he going to do with her? And what is Poirot doing, other than gathering information from an investigator (Goby) and thinking? Mrs Oliver keeps pressing him to do something, especially since he “lost” Norma.

The signs seem to point to Norma as a murderer. But things don’t add up. The principal of Norma’s school saw no sign of mental illness in Norma. Several of the characters also capture his attention from David, found searching Norma’s room at the Restarick’s, to unaccounted absences by Mary, and a painting where it would not be expected.

The mystery was published in 1966. There is a drug theme that runs through the story. One wonders if Mrs. Christie also struggled with questions of whether she were too old, and is trying to be “with it”. It feels like there is a lot of Christie in Mrs. Oliver, who is eager to not just write mysteries but solve crimes. Is there a commentary here on the difference between being a crime writer and a real detective?

In the end, it will be apparent that Poirot has been doing more than meets the eye. And despite some implausibilities, so has Christie, spinning a tale with enough twists and turns to keep at least this reader engaged.

Three Act Tragedy (Hercule Poirot, 11), Agatha Christie. William Morrowe (9780063376045) 2006, (first published 1934).

Summary: Two deaths after a drink, with most of the same guests present on both occasions, sets Poirot to investigating murder.

The famous stage actor Sir Charles Cartwright is hosting a dinner party. In addition to Poirot, he has invited an interesting mix of guests. The local vicar, Reverend Babbington and his wife are there. In addition, celebrate psychiatrist Sir Bartholomew Strange, actress Angela Sutcliffe, and playwright Muriel Wills are part of the party. Rounding out the party are Captain and Mrs. Dacres, he a gambler, she a dressmaker, Lady Mary Lytton Gore and her daughter Hermione (“Egg”), and Oliver Manders, a young financier in love with Hermione. However, Hermione doesn’t reciprocate his feelings; she is attracted to Sir Charles. Unknown to her, he is also drawn to her. And there is Mr. Satterthwaite, who also turns up in two other Poirots.

The dinner party fails to get past cocktails. When Reverend Babbington, an elderly man sips his drink, he collapses. Sir Charles mentions the possibility of murder, which Poirot dismisses. No poison is found on the glass and the death is ruled due to natural causes. A couple months later, Poirot hears from Satterthwaite and Cartwright that Dr. Strange has died under similar circumstances. Again, the glass was free of poison. But an autopsy determined his death was due to nicotine poisoning. Poirot reconsiders his conclusion, now convinced someone murdered both men. A subsequent exhumation of Reverend Babbage’s body determines he also died of nicotine poisoning. All the guests except for himself, Satterthwaite and Cartwright were at the party. Even Oliver Manders, not invited, manages to literally “gate crash.”

Cartwright and Satterthwaite join Poirot. In addition, Christie livens thing up by having “Egg” join in. It’s not clear whether she is more interested in the murder than in Sir Charles. Let’s just say, they find reason to be together a lot. Poirot’s three assistants busy themselves with questioning all the guests. In addition, they attempt to figure out the motive for killing Babbington who everyone loved and the connection between the two murders. There is one other suspect in the second murder–the butler, who has disappeared without a trace, and had only recently begun working for Dr. Strange.

A patient of Dr. Strange, Mrs. De Rushbridger may hold a key to the murders, but before they can question her, she is also murdered. The sleuths appear no closer to a solution, and a serial murderer is on the loose. Others could be in danger. Amid it all, Poirot takes time to stop and think, collects one further piece of evidence, and confronts the murderer, along with Cartwright, Satterthwaite, and “Egg.”

There were so many interesting elements to this. One was the affable and observant Satterthwaite. Another was the spunky “Egg.” Above all, I thought Christie did a stellar job of concealing the culprit. If you read this, did the ending surprise you? It did me.

Taken at the Flood, Agatha Christie. HarperCollins (ISBN: 9780062073846), 2011 (originally published in 1948).

Summary: A young widow and her brother inherit a family fortune, stirring family resentments until a mysterious figure threatens blackmail and is found dead.

Gordon Cloade was the benefactor of the Cloade family. During the war, he meets a young widow, Rosaleen Underhay on a ship, and marries her. Two days after they arrive in England, all but Rosaleen and her brother David, who has joined the household, are killed in a bombing raid. Cloade had not had time to change his will to provide for both wife and family. This meant that Rosaleen, for the duration of her life inherited the income from the capital of Cloade’s life, depriving the family of needed support.

But all may not be as it seems with Rosaleen. Her first marriage had been an unhappy one. Her husband separated and then was reported dead. But a conversation where a Major Porter was overheard by Poirot, while sheltering in a club from a bombing raid, suggests that Underhay never died, but was abroad under the name of Enoch Arden, a reference to a Lord Tennyson poem about one thought dead who was not.

Christie introduces us to the various Cloades, in various states of insolvency. Jeremy, the lawyer, has been pilfering funds, and a reckoning approaches. Lionel is a physician, and has become a morphine addict, to the detriment of his finances. Rowley has been able to eke by as a farmer but had hoped for more, particularly as he anticipates marrying the village girl, Lynn Marchmont, who has returned to live with her mother after Lynn’s service as a WREN during the war.

Needless to say, many wish Rosaleen dead, or at least her claim on the Cloade fortune disproven. Then a mysterious figure shows up in town, identifying himself to David, Rosaleen’s brother, as Enoch Arden, and threatening blackmail. When Arden is found dead, Rowley, acting in the family’s interests asks Poirot to confirm the identity of the man named Arden. He calls on Porter, who testifies at the inquest that he knew Underhay and that the dead man was Underhay, despite Rosaleen’s denials. David, as prime suspect is arrested.

There’s a tangled web that Poirot has to unravel before all becomes clear. Two more die along the way. Poirot will say one is accidental, one is a suicide, and one is murder. But which is which and how are they all connected is for Poirot to discover, as he talks to people and learns things, while those around him underestimate his abilities.

I thought this a cleverly written mystery that also offered an instructive tale on the follies of depending on the wealth of a benefactor–from family or otherwise. Along the way, there is a diverting subplot as Lynn, finding Rowley somewhat dull after her war adventures, is drawn by the allure of the roguish David. I’m not sure I like Christie’s use of partner violence in this plot. As a mystery, I think this one of her better efforts, written at the height of her powers in 1948.