Hercule Poirot

Review: Three Act Tragedy

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Cover image of "Three Act Tragedy" by Agatha Christie.

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.

Review: The Hollow

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The Hollow (Poirot, 26), Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780062073853) 2011 (first published in 1946).

Summary: When Poirot sees Dr. John Christow lying dead poolside with Christow’s wife holding the gun, the murderer seems obvious.

John Christow is a Harley Street physician. His patients love him. But his real passion in medicine is not the stream of patients to his office, but his efforts to cure Ridgeway’s Disease, focused on one gritty old woman, Mrs. Crabtree. His other passion? Women. He’s had a string of affairs before and after the dutiful and seemingly dull-witted Gerda, who is waiting his lunch upstairs. He’s slow to see his last patient thinking of Henrietta Savernake, his current affair, who he will see at the Hollow this weekend.

The Hollow is the country home of Sir Henry and Lucy Angkatell. All the relations are coming. Henrietta is Sir Henry’s cousin and an accomplished sculptress. Edward Angatell is a distant cousin, and the holder of the family home, Ainswick. He’s a bachelor but has loved Henrietta since they were teens. Meanwhile, Midge Hardcastle is a young cousin of Lucy’s, and has always held an affection for Edward. She renounced any family support, working in a dressmaker’s shop. Finally, David Angkatell is the youngest, a bookish, aloof, introvert who doesn’t seem to like anyone, but stands to inherit Ainswick if Edward has no children.

The one responsible for this gathering is Lucy. Forgetful, blunt, conniving, and surprisingly shrewd, she is the one who stage manages this gathering, as well as the family relationships and future, as best she can. She’d like to get Edward and Henrietta together and even loosen up young David. One thing she fails to control is the sudden appearance of actress Veronica Cray, resident of a nearby cottage, needing to borrow a box of matches. John Christow is starstruck. Before his marriage to Gerda, he and Veronica had a torrid affair, broken off because he wouldn’t follow her to Hollywood. She asks him to escort her home. But he doesn’t return until 3 am the next morning.

The next day is Sunday and Poirot is coming to lunch at Lucy’s invitation. As it turns out he has a modest cottage nearby. Just before he arrives, a gunshot rings out. Henrietta and Edward arrive to find John Christow lying by the pool, bleeding out from a fatal gunshot wound. And Gerda is standing over him as Poirot arrives and takes in the scene. Poirot kneels by the dying doctor, who intently looks at him, speaking one word. “Henrietta.” Then he dies. Henrietta, unwisely perhaps, takes the gun from Gerda only to have it fall into the pool, wiping out any fingerprints.

When Inspector Grange arrives, he’s pretty sure Gerda is guilty, even though she claims to have picked up the gun lying by Dr. Christow. Yet things aren’t as they seem. Ballistics reveal another gun killed him, possibly another from Sir Henry’s gun collection that is missing. Gerda goes free to mourn while the search is on. And there’s a country house of suspects. Was Henrietta jealous? What did Christow’s last word mean? What about Veronica Cray, who was heard fighting with Christow and threatening him earlier that morning? Even Gudgeon, the butler, and Lucy are spotted with guns. But when the murder weapon is found, the prints don’t match any of these people.

Poirot talks to all of them. And he comes away with the sense they all know something. The clues seem staged. But by whom? And for what end? In the end, Poirot will figure it out, preventing one more murder as he does so.

This was Christie at the top of her game. An intricate plot, numerous red herrings, and the diverting subplot around Edward. All the ingredients for a great country house murder!

Review: One, Two Buckle My Shoe

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Cover image of "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" by Agatha Christie

One, Two, Buckle my Shoe (Hercule Poirot Number 23), Agatha Christie. William Morrow Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780062073778) 2011 (originally published 1940).

Summary: Poirot seeks the murderer of his dentist, found dead not two hours after Poirot visited him.

Like many of us, Hercule Poirot does not like going to the dentist. But his appointment with Dr. Morley goes off uneventfully. Except for complaining of the unexpected absence of Miss Nevill, his assistant, their conversation, as much as was possible, was pleasant. Two hours later, Poirot learn Morley has died, in what was an apparent suicide.

But Poirot is not so sure. Even after the inquest, when evidence came out that his last patient, a Greek man named Amberiotis, died in his hotel room of an overdose of the painkiller Morley used. The authorities believed that Morley killed himself for his mistake. But Poirot, having interacted with him, and talked with others who knew him, isn’t so sure.

For one thing, the telegram calling Miss Nevill away was a decoy. There were several other patients, including successful financier Alistair Blunt, former actress Mabelle Sainsbury Seale (who Poirot briefly encountered), and Amberiotis. Also, an American, Howard Raikes came, and not wanting to wait, left. One other, who did not have an appointment, also came. Frank Carter was Miss Nevill’s fiancé, and not approved of by Dr. Morley. He had come to plead his case with the doctor, including the new job he’d just gotten. Finally, Dr. Reilly, his partner, appears to have a drinking problem, and his practice is not going well.

More strange things happen. For one, Mabelle Sainsbury Seale disappears. A month later, police find a body in the lodgings of a Mrs. Albert Chapman. Mabelle’s clothing is found on the body, but dental records reveal her to be Mrs. Chapman. Both had been patients of Dr. Morley. Then Blunt, who had just survived one assassination attempt where Frank Carter was present, invites Poirot to his estate, to persuade Poirot to search for the missing Mabelle. While they are talking, a shot is fired, but misses Blunt. The gun, a match for the pistol by which Morley died, is at Carter’s feet. Carter’s “job,” as it turns out was as a gardener at the estate.

Things are not looking good for Carter, who is hardly of the most exemplary character. But Poirot comes to think that a trap has been laid, not only for the hapless Carter, but for himself. Carter professes innocence to both crimes, saying he came upon Morley after he was shot. The key, Poirot believes, is finding the “missing Mabelle.”

The title rhyme carries through the titles for each chapter. Poirot, as always, thinks as much as he “detects” and it is a reference to a Psalm that puts him on the trail of the killer. This was Christie at the height of her powers in 1940 in a well-paced mystery with a number of “red herrings.”

Review: Taken at the Flood

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Cover image of "Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie

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.

Review: Evil Under the Sun

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Evil Under the Sun (Hercule Poirot #24), Agatha Christie. New York: Harper Collins, 2011 (originally published in 1941).

Summary: While Poirot is vacationing in Devon, Arlena Marshall, an actress who attracts men like moths to the flame, is found dead of strangulation on an isolated beach.

Poirot is vacationing at a highly rated summer resort in Devon, accessed by a causeway submerged at high tide. Some of the other guests enjoying the sun and the sea include Horace Blatt, a big talking business type, somewhat shady, Major Barry, a retired officer, Carrie Gardner, a gabby woman and Odell, her longsuffering husband, Reverend Stephen Lane, a rather severe clergyman, who we learned had suffered a breakdown in the recent past due to an obsession with evil, Emily Brewster, an athletic single woman, and the Redferns–Patrick, a trim, attractive man, and his wife Christine, somewhat owlish, pale, a former school teacher who is devoted to her husband. Then there is Arlene Marshall, a sexy actress who attracts men as moths are attracted to a flame, her reserved husband Kenneth, and Kenneth’s daughter Linda, the offspring of a deceased wife once tried and acquitted for murder. Rounding out the ensemble is Rosamund Darnley, a fashion designer and one time love of Kenneth’s

Patrick Redfern is one who is drawn to Arlene, flirting and meeting in secluded locations with her. It turns out he had met her several months before and it is no coincidence that they are at this resort together. Despite Christine’s evident discomfort and displeasure, they keep carrying on. Poirot notes this and fears evil.

One morning, Poirot finds Arlena Marshall up early, taking a boat out on her own. He helps her get off, with her asking him not to say anything about her whereabouts, and shortly after encounters Patrick, who was plainly expecting to meet someone and is frustrated. He waits about for sometime and finally persuades Emily Brewster to go rowing. They head to a secluded beach, Pixy Cove, where they spot a woman sunbathing that looks like it is Arlene. Patrick goes to investigate and, to his horror, finds her dead. He stays with the body, sending Emily to fetch the authorities.

Local Inspector Colgate asks Poirot the help in the investigation. It appears that all the island occupants have alibis, even Kenneth, the husband, and Patrick, the lover. Kenneth was both heard by a maid and seen by Rosamond typing letters during the time the murder could have occurred. Patrick was either with Poirot or Emily Brewster until the body was found. A number of others could be suspects–Christine, the jealous wife, Linda, the resentful step-daughter, Lane, the overwrought clergyman obsessed with evil, Blatt, whose suspicious dealings may be connect with drugs found in the cave at Pixy Cove, and Rosamond, Kenneth’s former love.

But amid the various accounts, there are “pieces to the puzzle,” as Poirot explains it that remain to be fitted into the picture of what happened that morning. Emily described nearly being hit by an empty bottle thrown from a hotel window. A maid heard someone running a bath before noon, that no one claims to have taken. An in a cave at Pixy Cove, Poirot smells a scent worn by only two women–the deceased and Rosamond Darnley.

As in other Poirots, these “pieces,” an enquiry about other strangling deaths in the vicinity, and a picnic outing lead Poirot, after much pondering, to expose the murderer, and nearly be strangled himself! In the denouement, we discover some who are far more evil than they appeared, and others more noble than one would have thought. And we discover every piece matters in this well-crafted mystery.

Review: The Mystery of the Blue Train

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The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot #6), Agatha Christie. New York: William Morrow, 2005 (originally published in 1928).

Summary: A rich heiress carrying a rare ruby is murdered on the fashionable overnight train to the French Riviera on which retired detective Hercule Poirot happens to be riding.

Agatha Christie’s most well-known train mystery is Murder on the Orient Express (1934). This was preceded by a lesser-known train mystery, The Mystery of the Blue Train, published six years earlier. It wasn’t one of her favorites and one she struggled to write. But I thought it contained some interesting plot twists and a surprise ending that I wasn’t looking for.

The plot revolves around the murder of Ruth Kettering, daughter of American tycoon, Rufus Van Aldin. Just before departing for a trip to the Riviera on the Blue Train, a luxury, overnight train through France, she agrees to her father’s counsel to divorce her philandering husband, Derek Kettering, whose most recent “bit of stuff” is an opportunistic dancer, Mirelle. He also gives her the fabulous gift of a rare ruby, with a history of murder attached to it. Van Aldin tries to buy Derek off, which he refuses, even though he faces mounting debts with no income besides Ruth’s. The only way he will get anything from her is if she dies. He also knows Ruth has resumed an affair with the Comte de la Roche, who is a rogue and a swindler who thusfar has escaped the reach of the law.

Ruth is accompanied by her new maid, Ada Mason, who after her death, tells authorities that Ruth asked her to leave at Paris and stay at the Ritz. Katherine Grey is a single woman who has been an elder companion, whose service meant so much that she was left a sizable sum by the woman she cared for. She has decided that there are things to see and experience that are now possible. She has been invited to stay with her cousin, the Viscountess Tamplin and her daughter, who also hope to benefit from Katherine’s new found wealth. And Poirot, retired and seeking to enjoy the world, is also on the train, talks wisely to Katherine, who thinks detective stories are just something fictional people are part of. It turns out she will end up far more involved than she could have imagined. Poirot agrees to assist, as well as to work for Van Aldin, and his quiet, war veteran assistant, Major Knighton.

The case revolves around the time between when Ada left Ruth in Paris and who the tall male was seen entering and leaving Ruth’s compartment before the train passed through Lyons. Initial suspicions center around Ruth’s love, the Comte de la Roche, in league with a jewel dealer. Was this just a jewelry theft gone bad or something more? Yet Poirot is not so sure and suspicions turn to Derek. A cigarette case found in the compartment is thought to be his. Then Mirelle, who Derek has decided to ditch in his interest in Katherine, goes to Poirot and tells him that she saw Derek leave Ruth’s compartment at about the time the murder was purported to occur. Katherine also saw a man around Ruth’s compartment and possibly enter it.

One other detail troubles Poirot. Why did Ruth’s murderer not only strangle her but also strike her face with a disfiguring blow. Could Derek have done that? Katherine, who is now being pursued by both Derek and Major Knighton is drawn into Poirot’s counsels. At the risk of looking “past it” with Van Aldin, Poirot keeps looking, and particularly for a shadowy figure known as the Marquis.

As I mentioned, I wasn’t expecting the ending, which made this all the more fun. Poirot and Katherine match each other in very different ways in their own self-possession. I would have liked to see them together again–and perhaps Poirot would have as well–but she makes a different choice that, depending on your perspective, may seem “safe” or alternatively reflect a mature self-understanding. I think the latter and found her one of the most interesting of Christie’s characters, in her understated way.