Lord Edgware Dies

Agatha Christie\’s 1933 Poirot novel \” Lord Edgware Dies: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot series Book 9) \” is another one \”solved\” without evidence. But, wait. There\’s more. She spends the entire book generating behaviors in every person that walks past our eyes implying that, this one, for sure, must be the culprit. So, by the end, we can\’t even keep the possible suspects straight. Then, in the last chapter, Poirot finally figures out a story that meets all his criteria and announces the guilty party. The problem is that it\’s all supposition (i.e., no evidence) and we know that at least some of the witnessed material is incorrect. Even worse, the plan is so convoluted that there\’s no way the guilty party could have come up with it. But, off Japp jumps to arrest the person, who confesses for no reason. I guess, for Christie, that\’s QED. So, I\’m rating the book at a Not Very Good 2 stars out of 5. BTW: in case you\’re sensitive about this kind of thing, Christie\’s casual 1930s racism and sexism is pretty prevalent in the first couple of chapters.

Lord Edgware Dies Mr. Poirot, I need you to get rid of my husband. This is the request that starts the mystery. Jane Wilkinson wishes to remarry but her estranged husband will not grant her a divorce. Her plan is to have Hercule Poirot convince her husband to accede to her wishes. Of course, her husband is found stabbed and only Poirot can discover who has devised the clever plan to kill Lord Edgware. The supporting characters are wonderful especially Charlotta Adams who unfortunately turns out to be another victim. Poirot considers this case as a failure because he only figures out the outcome because of a chance remark on the street. Agatha Christie created an amazing character in Poirot a man who is not a physical detective but a mental one. He sits back in a chair and uses his little grey cells. To be honest I never have cared much for Hastings. He was created to fill the Dr. Watson character but does not have Watson\’s charm. This is one of her mystery that includes Hastings but she stopped using him in a lot of her books. The solution to this mystery is incredible and the murderer is perfect. As I said, Poirot considered this mystery as a failure so who outwitted Poirot at least for a while. Read the book to discover the answer

What can you say about Agatha Christie that hasn’t been said before. She is the Queen of Crime and will never lose that title. “Lord Edgware Dies” is a fine example of why that is. Interesting characters, engaging, clever plot, and the incomparable detective, Hercule Poirot. I highly recommend this for all classic mystery lovers. It’s an excellent example from that golden age of mystery stories when CSI took a back seat to psychology and intuition. The detective used his wits to solve a crime, and there’s no grey cells better for that than Poirot’s. And no better chronicler of those cases than Agatha Christie- The Queen of Crime!

An American actress asks Poirot to help her divorce her cruel husband, Lord Edgware. Shortly after speaking to Poirot, Lord Edgware and another American actress are found murdered. It’s up to Poirot to solve the crime. Hastings is in this story offering his ‘everyman’ opinions about the case and Chief Inspector Japp features as well. I think this story has the best description of what Hastings adds to investigations when Poirot says, “There are moments when you have flashes of brilliance when you rise above average…moments when you descent to curious depths of obtuseness, but take it all for all, you are amazing normal.” (p. 134) Essentially, that Hastings falls for whatever the criminal wants Poirot to believe so Poirot uses that to believe the opposite.

What a wonderful mystery! I hate to admit it but I was stumped yet again, despite clues being littered everywhere. I take solace in the fact that even Poirot was hoodwinked this time, and his mini revenge on one of those who tried to trick him made me smile. How do you commit a crime with a perfect alibi? You can\’t… or can you? Lady Edgeware seems to be the prime suspect for killing her husband, but how did she do it? She has no motive and 12 witnesses placing her at a party at the time of the murder. Did she even do it?

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