Status
Checked out
Genres
Collection
Publication
William Morrow Paperbacks (2011), Edition: Reissue, 272 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: In Mrs. McGinty's Dead, one of Agatha Christie's most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady. Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victim's blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesn't seem like a murderer. Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . . ..
User reviews
LibraryThing member AlexTheHunn
This is an enticing mystery that keeps you guessing all the way through the many red herrings and plot twists you encounter. I always enjoy Christie's ability to string me along.
LibraryThing member riverwillow
Mrs McGinty's Dead. How did she die? Struck over the head by her lodger,. Or maybe not. Mrs McGinty's murder has been solved, but the policeman in charge of the case is not satisfied and calls in Poirot to investigate to make sure that he's caught the right man. Poirot, of course, discovers the
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truth. An interesting read and I always enjoy it when Poirot investigates a murder in retrospect. Show Less
LibraryThing member cmbohn
Superintendent Spence is retiring, and he is justly proud of his record. He has never hung an innocent man - until now. Although the evidence seems solid enough and there are no other suspects, Spence just can't convince himself that meek James Bentley murdered his landlady. But he is called off on
Poirot is more than willing to look into the murder. He is not finding retirement as congenial as he thought he would and he is convinced by the case Spence makes. But time is against him and he must rush to get to the bottom of this murder.
Fortunately, Ariadne Oliver is also on the scene, and she unearths several helpful clues for Poirot. The case is soon wrapped up in the fate of four women, each involved in a murder committed many years ago. Mrs. McGinty knew something about one of those cases. But which one?
I enjoyed this story. Mrs. Oliver is always a fun character. But it's Poirot I want to read about, and this book was a solid example of the great detective at work.
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another case, so he turns to an old friend - Hercule Poirot.Poirot is more than willing to look into the murder. He is not finding retirement as congenial as he thought he would and he is convinced by the case Spence makes. But time is against him and he must rush to get to the bottom of this murder.
Fortunately, Ariadne Oliver is also on the scene, and she unearths several helpful clues for Poirot. The case is soon wrapped up in the fate of four women, each involved in a murder committed many years ago. Mrs. McGinty knew something about one of those cases. But which one?
I enjoyed this story. Mrs. Oliver is always a fun character. But it's Poirot I want to read about, and this book was a solid example of the great detective at work.
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LibraryThing member mstrust
When an elderly and poor cleaning lady is murdered her lodger is tried and sentenced to death quickly. But something just doesn't seem right to Superintendent Spence, so he asks for M. Poirot's help. Poirot sees no reason to question the guilty verdict at first-until his interest is piqued by a
This is a good one. I managed to figure out the murderer but got the motives wrong. Great characters.
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bottle of ink.This is a good one. I managed to figure out the murderer but got the motives wrong. Great characters.
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LibraryThing member Figgles
Prompted once again by a TV dramatisation I sought out the source material and found it another delightful read.
LibraryThing member lecari
This is the first Poirot book I have read, although it is the twenty-eighth of the series (out of thirty-nine). I have always been a fan of the TV series, so when Christmas came around my parents naturally bought me two of the books.
This one has Poirot going to see his friend Superintendent
It’s a lot shorter than I was expecting, but it was definitely a good read. The twists in the story kept me interested the whole way through; it was a pleasure to read and hard to put down. And Poirot himself is absolutely charming, I found him very likeable. All the characters were very believable. It also has some great humorous comments (not laugh out loud funny, but enough to make me chuckle or smile to myself) so it’s not all doom and gloom. Definitely enjoyable, but more of a light, short read (in my opinion).
The only downside I had about this book was that I didn’t know men could be called ‘Evelyn’ and women ‘Craig’ – both seem pretty gender-specific names to me. Maybe I’m just being petty but it did bother me a bit (though it may be just a matter of time-difference, since Poirot is obviously not set in the modern day).
This one has Poirot going to see his friend Superintendent
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Spence, who has just had a man convicted for murder based on his evidence, and he will be hanged. However, he feels unhappy with the verdict, because although all the evidence points directly to him, he doesn’t feel he is the right ‘type’ to kill, so asks Poirot to take a look at the case and see if he can either find the real culprit or put his mind at ease.It’s a lot shorter than I was expecting, but it was definitely a good read. The twists in the story kept me interested the whole way through; it was a pleasure to read and hard to put down. And Poirot himself is absolutely charming, I found him very likeable. All the characters were very believable. It also has some great humorous comments (not laugh out loud funny, but enough to make me chuckle or smile to myself) so it’s not all doom and gloom. Definitely enjoyable, but more of a light, short read (in my opinion).
The only downside I had about this book was that I didn’t know men could be called ‘Evelyn’ and women ‘Craig’ – both seem pretty gender-specific names to me. Maybe I’m just being petty but it did bother me a bit (though it may be just a matter of time-difference, since Poirot is obviously not set in the modern day).
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LibraryThing member bolgai
An elderly woman is found murdered in her home. Her lodger, an unpleasant young man, if convicted of the crime, but the police officer in charge of the investigation believes he is innocent and recruits Ercule Poirot to investigate.
Agatha Christie always surprises me when it comes to the identity
One of the themes of this novel is revealed in the alternative title - Blood Will Tell. The notion that character traits are hereditary comes up in conversation and the murder, when discovered, exclaims "I can't help it! It's in my blood!". While there is a reason the saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" exists I don't subscribe to the idea that one's predecessors' flaws as well as their strengths are irrevocably a part of one's character and feel that Christie didn't either.
Agatha Christie always surprises me when it comes to the identity
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of the criminal and this time is no exception, which is why I come back to her works again and again. I suspected everyone but the real villain and while many of the characters I pegged as untrustworthy were in fact hiding something (some even concealing secrets related to the case) none of them turned out to be guilty. I particularly enjoyed the characters in this story - the apple-eating authoress, the disheveled hostess, the clingy mother who isn't as weak as she'd like everyone to believe, a publicity-conscious politician, an impoverished nobleman turned farmer, a wealthy heiress who acts like she's the maid... Even if you can't be bothered to keep all the names straight you will know exactly who's who. One of the themes of this novel is revealed in the alternative title - Blood Will Tell. The notion that character traits are hereditary comes up in conversation and the murder, when discovered, exclaims "I can't help it! It's in my blood!". While there is a reason the saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" exists I don't subscribe to the idea that one's predecessors' flaws as well as their strengths are irrevocably a part of one's character and feel that Christie didn't either.
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LibraryThing member weikelm
One of my favorite Christie stories. I loved the trick of the newpaper photos. The only downcheck was the weak motive, which seemed to bother Christie a little as well...
LibraryThing member smik
Now retired, Hercule Poirot does not have enough to keep him busy. The only important events in his life are his three meals a day, and so when Superintendent Bert Spence, who he met on an earlier case, comes to see him about the McGinty case he welcomes some activity. James Bentley has just been
The problem with Bentley is that he is such a hangdog that he looks guilty and Poirot thinks that he can't blame the jury for their verdict, but he doubts that Bentley could kill anyone. Poirot goes to stay in the village of Broadhinny and puts it about that there is new evidence come to light that Bentley may not have committed murder after all. As Poirot questions those Superintendent Spence has already questioned, new evidence does indeed come to light. Someone tries to push Poirot under a train so he knows he is on the right track, but he is not quick enough to prevent another murder. Ariadne Oliver is chagrined to learn it has taken place under her very nose.
This is a carefully woven plot with Poirot trying to track down the identity of four women whose photos appeared in the local paper. There are several likely people and we see an idea surfacing that was used in an earlier novel, that so many people lost their identity papers during air raids and dislocation during the Second World War, that you can never be sure that people are who they say they are.
Poirot again gets a young woman to assist him in his investigation, and in the final pages we glimpse him indulging in some matchmaking.
A good read, but I really can't go along with Miss Marple replacing Hercule Poirot (see Synopsis).
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found guilty of Mrs McGinty's murder but has not yet been sentenced. Superintendent Spence is not happy that Bentley is really guilty and asks Poirot to retrace the investigation.The problem with Bentley is that he is such a hangdog that he looks guilty and Poirot thinks that he can't blame the jury for their verdict, but he doubts that Bentley could kill anyone. Poirot goes to stay in the village of Broadhinny and puts it about that there is new evidence come to light that Bentley may not have committed murder after all. As Poirot questions those Superintendent Spence has already questioned, new evidence does indeed come to light. Someone tries to push Poirot under a train so he knows he is on the right track, but he is not quick enough to prevent another murder. Ariadne Oliver is chagrined to learn it has taken place under her very nose.
This is a carefully woven plot with Poirot trying to track down the identity of four women whose photos appeared in the local paper. There are several likely people and we see an idea surfacing that was used in an earlier novel, that so many people lost their identity papers during air raids and dislocation during the Second World War, that you can never be sure that people are who they say they are.
Poirot again gets a young woman to assist him in his investigation, and in the final pages we glimpse him indulging in some matchmaking.
A good read, but I really can't go along with Miss Marple replacing Hercule Poirot (see Synopsis).
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LibraryThing member RubyScarlett
Very good and all tied up nicely. Ariadne makes a wonderful appearance here and Christie's humour really comes through. Lots of characters to keep up with but I did like the references to old murder cases since it's also happening today (Anne Perry being a prime example of someone who changed lives
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after being convincted for murder). Show Less
LibraryThing member vintagebeckie
Another car trip called for another Agatha Christie audiobook. This time Hercule Poirot has a lot of suspects for the murder of a charwoman. Mrs. McGinty’s Dead was the perfect book to make the miles fly by.
Mrs. McGinty’s Dead is classic Poirot. The fussy and fastidious little detective is
The audio version was very entertaining. Hugh Fraser does a great job of bringing Christie’s characters to life. His timing is impeccable too — we enjoyed a a great many laughs with this novel.
If you are looking for an entertaining and challenging mystery, then consider Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.
Recommended.
Audience: late teens to adults.
Mrs. McGinty’s Dead is classic Poirot. The fussy and fastidious little detective is
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endearing as he suffers in a small English village in the hopes of uncovering whodunit. My husband, son and I had a good time trying to figure out the villain, but in true Christie fashion, the actual solution was a bit obscured. We never would have figured it out on our own. And while I like to think that my powers of detection are sharp from the many hours of mystery reading, this particular mystery was just too hard.The audio version was very entertaining. Hugh Fraser does a great job of bringing Christie’s characters to life. His timing is impeccable too — we enjoyed a a great many laughs with this novel.
If you are looking for an entertaining and challenging mystery, then consider Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.
Recommended.
Audience: late teens to adults.
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LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
A standard murder mystery. Hercule Poirot is asked to investigate the death of a charwoman some months previously. He gets to know the residents of the village, and - of course - figures out 'whodunit'.
Agatha Christie's skill is in her plotting, and the laying of false clues to lull the reader
Lack of characterisation doesn't matter in a plot-based book where there are only a few people. But in this one, there are more individuals than I could remember... and I did figure out who was the guilty party about half-way through the book. I haven't read a Christie for quite some time, so was surprised to get it right.
OK for a light read if you're a fan of this genre, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it.
Agatha Christie's skill is in her plotting, and the laying of false clues to lull the reader
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into a false sense of confidence about the perpetrator of her crimes. However, her characters tend to be two-dimensional and hard to distinguish. Lack of characterisation doesn't matter in a plot-based book where there are only a few people. But in this one, there are more individuals than I could remember... and I did figure out who was the guilty party about half-way through the book. I haven't read a Christie for quite some time, so was surprised to get it right.
OK for a light read if you're a fan of this genre, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it.
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LibraryThing member Auntie-Nanuuq
A man is about ti be hanged for the murder of his landlady, Mrs McGinty... however, Superintendent Spence (who built the case & got the man convicted) has major doubts and calls M. Poirot in to re-investigate the case.
The supposed motive of the murder seemed to be robbery, but the money was found
As it turns out, M. Poirot finds that Mrs McGinty had been reading the Sunday paper and there had been an article about 4 women who were murderesses and she had recognized one of the photos in one of the houses she cleaned.....
Almost everyone in the village had something to hide, almost all were guilty of something....
Most of the women were domineering hypochondriacs (as was the mother of the alleged murderer).... or they were weak & much harassed
Not one of them was likable..... I finished the book just to find out "who done it"......
The supposed motive of the murder seemed to be robbery, but the money was found
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dumped near the house.As it turns out, M. Poirot finds that Mrs McGinty had been reading the Sunday paper and there had been an article about 4 women who were murderesses and she had recognized one of the photos in one of the houses she cleaned.....
Almost everyone in the village had something to hide, almost all were guilty of something....
Most of the women were domineering hypochondriacs (as was the mother of the alleged murderer).... or they were weak & much harassed
Not one of them was likable..... I finished the book just to find out "who done it"......
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LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Mrs. McGinty’s dead. How did she die?
Down on one knee, just like I.
Mrs. McGinty’s dead. How did she die?
Holding her hand out, just like I.
Mrs. McGinty is indeed dead, her killer has been convicted, and he is scheduled to die. But is he really guilty of the murder, or did someone else kill Mrs.
Detective novelist Ariadne Oliver is reunited with Poirot in this book. Her comments on her detective and the writing process provide comic relief. It’s not hard to see her comments as Christie’s own feelings about her own fictional detective, Hercule Poirot. Mrs. Oliver is in the village to collaborate with a young playwright who is adapting one of her novels for the stage. Some aspects of the plot, setting, and characters remind me of the plot, setting, and characters of The Mousetrap, which debuted in the same year that this book was published.
Down on one knee, just like I.
Mrs. McGinty’s dead. How did she die?
Holding her hand out, just like I.
Mrs. McGinty is indeed dead, her killer has been convicted, and he is scheduled to die. But is he really guilty of the murder, or did someone else kill Mrs.
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McGinty? All the evidence pointed to James Bentley as the killer, yet Superintendent Spence isn’t satisfied. He calls on his old acquaintance, Hercule Poirot, and asks if Poirot might look into the case to see if he can spot anything the police missed. Poirot takes a room in a lodging house in the village and begins asking questions. The Superintendent’s suspicion will prove right when another murder occurs. This time there is no question that James Bentley could have done it, because he is in custody awaiting his execution.Detective novelist Ariadne Oliver is reunited with Poirot in this book. Her comments on her detective and the writing process provide comic relief. It’s not hard to see her comments as Christie’s own feelings about her own fictional detective, Hercule Poirot. Mrs. Oliver is in the village to collaborate with a young playwright who is adapting one of her novels for the stage. Some aspects of the plot, setting, and characters remind me of the plot, setting, and characters of The Mousetrap, which debuted in the same year that this book was published.
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LibraryThing member ritaer
Refreshingly lacking any reference to the little grey cells, this is an entertaining Poirot with an unexpected, but not a trick, ending. A clever murderer kills an elderly char woman, not for her savings, but because she has seen something that she should not have and may use the knowledge to ruin
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the killer's life. This CD version is read by the acotr who played Hastings in the BBC series, and who does the various voices very well. Show Less
LibraryThing member AmphipodGirl
Such a pleasure! Recently I reread a Christie novel, not realizing it was a reread, and it was dreadful. I thought this one was a reread, but actually I turned out not to have read it before, and it’s an excellent Poirot outing — not top 5 Poirot, maybe, but good — plus appearances by the
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delightful Ariadne Oliver. Show Less
LibraryThing member rosalita
I neglected my chronological read of the Poirot novels for too long, but now that I'm back on track I hope I can polish them off in good time. And this one's kind of a hybrid of Christie's most enduring series, with Poirot plopped down into the middle of a Miss Marple-esque setting (small village
Here we've got an old cleaning woman (that's Mrs. McGinty to you) who's murdered in her cottage, and the lodger who shared her home who's convicted of the crime. But Superintendent Spence has doubts about the man's guilt, even though it was the evidence Spence gathered that clinched the case. So he enlists his old friend Hercule to nose around to uncover the truth, which the little Belgian does, eventually, but only after more bodies pile up.
I liked but didn't love this one but it provided a nice array of suspects and a satisfying ending — who among us would ask for more?
As an aside, the title is apparently a play on a common children's game in the UK (according to Wikipedia, it's similar to the Hokey-Cokey/Hokey-Pokey). I had to look it up because it was completely unfamiliar to me and I was curious whether it was an actual thing or something Christie invented for the purposes of her plot.
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where everyone knows everyone else's business).Here we've got an old cleaning woman (that's Mrs. McGinty to you) who's murdered in her cottage, and the lodger who shared her home who's convicted of the crime. But Superintendent Spence has doubts about the man's guilt, even though it was the evidence Spence gathered that clinched the case. So he enlists his old friend Hercule to nose around to uncover the truth, which the little Belgian does, eventually, but only after more bodies pile up.
I liked but didn't love this one but it provided a nice array of suspects and a satisfying ending — who among us would ask for more?
As an aside, the title is apparently a play on a common children's game in the UK (according to Wikipedia, it's similar to the Hokey-Cokey/Hokey-Pokey). I had to look it up because it was completely unfamiliar to me and I was curious whether it was an actual thing or something Christie invented for the purposes of her plot.
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LibraryThing member smik
First published in 1952, the novel was adapted by MGM in 1964, and released as 'Murder Most Foul'. The character of Hercule Poirot was replaced by Jane Marple, played by Margaret Rutherford. In 2008 David Suchet starred as Poirt and Zoë Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver in the ITV production.
After our
I am re-reading this for my U3A Agatha Christie Group, so the main feature of this review are the discussion questions I have written.
Who is the narrator?
The book opens with Poirot reflecting on his previous investigations and the role that his good friend Hastings played in them as "the stooge". What do you understand that to mean?
Why does Superintendent Spence come to Poirot?
Even though James Bentley has been convicted of the murder by a jury why does he doubt that he is guilty?
There seem to be conflicting descriptions of Bentley. He is said to have the mind of a 12 year old, to be a bit screwy, to be shy and awkward, daft, lacking in confidence, although others said he was educated. Which do you think is correct? Could he plead insanity?
Poirot contrasts himself with Inspector Spence. "he is a good and painstaking police officer.... But it should be different for me" Why? What disappoints him?
What was the significance of Mrs McGinty buying a bottle of ink?
Why did Mrs McGinty cut the picture out of the Sunday Comet?
An interesting phrase: from him she takes the Greenwich time - what does it mean? (Shelagh Rendell is looking at her husband)
Why does Christie bring Mrs Oliver into the story?
What did her employers have to say about Mrs McGinty? There were a number of reasons why people disliked her.
An interesting comment on the effects of World War II on English communities:
the war has complicated things. Records destroyed—endless opportunities for people who
want to cover their traces doing so by means of other people’s identity cards, etc., especially after “incidents” when nobody could know which corpse was which! If we could concentrate on just one lot, but you’ve got so many possibles, M. Poirot.
This is a comment that Christie has made elsewhere. What does it mean? What effect does it have on an investigation?
Who attempted to push Poirot under the train?
What is the irony of Mrs Upward ringing 3 women to come to visit her? What did she think she knew? What did she intend to do with her knowledge?
In the last pages Poirot gets the remaining characters together and says he knows what the motive for the murders was - money. Was he right? Can you explain the plot?
Why did Maude Williams get involved?
How was the identity of the murderer finally discovered?
I think this is an easy novel to underestimate. In fact the plot is quite complex. And there are comments about the social and economic effects of World War II that are valuable.
After our
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discussion we will watch the David Suchet ITV production.I am re-reading this for my U3A Agatha Christie Group, so the main feature of this review are the discussion questions I have written.
Who is the narrator?
The book opens with Poirot reflecting on his previous investigations and the role that his good friend Hastings played in them as "the stooge". What do you understand that to mean?
Why does Superintendent Spence come to Poirot?
Even though James Bentley has been convicted of the murder by a jury why does he doubt that he is guilty?
There seem to be conflicting descriptions of Bentley. He is said to have the mind of a 12 year old, to be a bit screwy, to be shy and awkward, daft, lacking in confidence, although others said he was educated. Which do you think is correct? Could he plead insanity?
Poirot contrasts himself with Inspector Spence. "he is a good and painstaking police officer.... But it should be different for me" Why? What disappoints him?
What was the significance of Mrs McGinty buying a bottle of ink?
Why did Mrs McGinty cut the picture out of the Sunday Comet?
An interesting phrase: from him she takes the Greenwich time - what does it mean? (Shelagh Rendell is looking at her husband)
Why does Christie bring Mrs Oliver into the story?
What did her employers have to say about Mrs McGinty? There were a number of reasons why people disliked her.
An interesting comment on the effects of World War II on English communities:
the war has complicated things. Records destroyed—endless opportunities for people who
want to cover their traces doing so by means of other people’s identity cards, etc., especially after “incidents” when nobody could know which corpse was which! If we could concentrate on just one lot, but you’ve got so many possibles, M. Poirot.
This is a comment that Christie has made elsewhere. What does it mean? What effect does it have on an investigation?
Who attempted to push Poirot under the train?
What is the irony of Mrs Upward ringing 3 women to come to visit her? What did she think she knew? What did she intend to do with her knowledge?
In the last pages Poirot gets the remaining characters together and says he knows what the motive for the murders was - money. Was he right? Can you explain the plot?
Why did Maude Williams get involved?
How was the identity of the murderer finally discovered?
I think this is an easy novel to underestimate. In fact the plot is quite complex. And there are comments about the social and economic effects of World War II that are valuable.
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LibraryThing member delphimo
Agatha Christie again shines with her tale of mistaken identity that leads to murder. A convicted killer will soon hang for his crime of killing an old woman. Superintendent Spence believes that James Bentley did not commit the crime, so Spence encourages Hercule Poirot to aid in finding the actual
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killer. The clue to the real killer rests with decades old criminal cases and the photographs of four women. The dead woman, Mrs. McGinty, had seen a photograph during her cleaning of some lady’s house and mentioned this to her lodger. Another person overheard the conversation and decided Mrs. McGinty must die. As usual, Christie weaves a wonderful story with such marvelous names. What a surprise at the end to discover the real criminal. In the end, Poirot must have a turn in playing Cupid to two young people. Show Less
LibraryThing member funstm
Superintendent Spence shook his head sadly at Poirot. “You do like to make it difficult, don’t you, M. Poirot?” he said.
Christie, Agatha. Mrs. McGinty's Dead: Hercule Poirot Investigates (Hercule Poirot series Book 28) (p. 221). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Superintendent Spence has
Superintendent Spence appeared in the last novel, Taken at the Flood and seems to be a no nonsense sort and a decent detective - even if he isn't quite in Poirot's class. Ariadne Oliver, the mystery writer and amateur sleuth who prides herself on her women's intuition also appears. I didn't really like Ariadne in this - she's kind of ridiculous with her flighty nature and faulty women's intuition. But I'm quite fond of Superintendent Spence and I hope to see more of him in the future, so that was good.
As for Poirot, he is busy integrating himself into the community and ruffling feathers of those who have things to hide. I enjoyed this one for the most part but I was kind of lost for a lot of it. Too much going on with kind of bland characters. I didn't like James Bentley and it was hard to care about proving his innocence. I really didn't understand why Maude or Deidre liked him, he was lame.
So not my favourite Poirot but enjoyable nonetheless. 3 stars.
Christie, Agatha. Mrs. McGinty's Dead: Hercule Poirot Investigates (Hercule Poirot series Book 28) (p. 221). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Superintendent Spence has
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investigated, trialled and convicted James Bentley of murder. All the evidence points to Bentley. The only problem is - Spence doesn't think he did it. So he pays Hercule Poirot a visit to ask a favour - see if he can prove it one way or another.Superintendent Spence appeared in the last novel, Taken at the Flood and seems to be a no nonsense sort and a decent detective - even if he isn't quite in Poirot's class. Ariadne Oliver, the mystery writer and amateur sleuth who prides herself on her women's intuition also appears. I didn't really like Ariadne in this - she's kind of ridiculous with her flighty nature and faulty women's intuition. But I'm quite fond of Superintendent Spence and I hope to see more of him in the future, so that was good.
As for Poirot, he is busy integrating himself into the community and ruffling feathers of those who have things to hide. I enjoyed this one for the most part but I was kind of lost for a lot of it. Too much going on with kind of bland characters. I didn't like James Bentley and it was hard to care about proving his innocence. I really didn't understand why Maude or Deidre liked him, he was lame.
So not my favourite Poirot but enjoyable nonetheless. 3 stars.
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LibraryThing member JBarringer
I think this is one of my top 10 favorite Christie novels, though it is hard to pick my top favorites. I love the grumbly Poirot, suffering in his miserable rented room to investigate this already solved murder to find the real murderer and save an innocent man. Poirot is so funny, always just a
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bit flustered at how few people in this backwards small town have ever heard of him, and not sure how to react when people don't believe he is a famous detective. Without Hastings along to help him deal with people, his personality really stands out. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1952-02-01
Physical description
272 p.; 5.31 inches
ISBN
0062074083 / 9780062074089