Then I thought Three Act Tragedy, but discovered that there are different UK and US versions and now want to get my hands on both so I can compare them. My first plan was to look at After The Funeral, but that was just done over at The Reader Is Warned. It’s been over six months since Dame Agatha cropped up on the blog with the rather woeful Elephants Can Remember, so I thought it was time to take a look at her again. Poirot sets out to find a murderer, but when Japp is pulled off the case, Poirot finds himself on his own.Ĭontinuing my habit of looking at hard-to-find authors – Brian Flynn, John Rhode, etc, I’ve come across this one – any heard of Agatha Christie? Just kidding. While Japp tries to establish a motive for the suicide and Poirot scents murder, it transpires that apparently Morley accidentally gave a fatal overdose to his last patient that day and shot himself out of guilt. Let’s face it, from that cover picture, he doesn’t look like the model of mental stability – and yes, I know what pedants might say… Needless to say, he’s back later that day as his dentist, Morley, has apparently shot himself. Another review said "the plot is more ingenious than probable" while another was not pleased with her "joyless style of impartial investigation" nor this novel, "The 'full horrible details' that bring people to death are accounted of more importance than details which bring people to life." A later review by Robert Barnard in 1990 found "a fairly conventional murder mystery, beguilingly and cunningly sustained." while Christie has included characters of the politically unstable war time in which it was written, "political 'idealists', fascist movements and conservative financiers who maintain world stability.Even great detectives need healthy teeth, and when Hercule Poirot visits the dentist, thankfully hilarity doesn’t ensue – bet it did on the television adaptation – and after “just” a couple of fillings, he is on his merry way, glad that he doesn’t have to go back for another six months.
More people are dead, and the investigation widens, as Poirot slowly finds his way to the true stories behind the murders.Īt the time of publication, the novel was generally well received, as "compactly simple in narrative, with a swift course of unflagging suspense that leads to complete surprise." The author is described as the "Queen of Crime's scheming ingenuity" who writes in "the most ingenious way and, as usual, produces a masterly solution." A Canadian reviewer felt that "the pace is swift and talk – curse of the English detective story – is kept to a minimum". Soon after he visits his dentist, Poirot is investigating the death of his dentist.
The novel features both the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and Chief Inspector Japp.
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