One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

This is one Agatha Christie that I had not read, for some unknown reason, for some time. I had even forgotten whodunnit, which is unusual. A lot of times that\’s ALL I remember. This one surprised me. There\’s some real darkness at its core that\’s very different for a Poirot novel. There\’s a lot about politics (mostly radical), innocent people being harmed, and a very cold-blooded psychopathic killer just full of excuses for their behavior. I really loathed this killer for their flippant disregard of other people\’s lives. “Yes, we are all human beings. That is what you have not remembered.\” (Hercule Poirot) The story starts simply – and humorously – enough with Poirot going to his dentist, Dr Henry Morley. Later, Poirot learns that Dr Morley is dead – supposedly a suicide. When another of Morley\’s patients, Mr Amberiotis, dies of an overdose from a dental anesthetic. Did Morley commit suicide when he realized what he had done? Of course, it\’s not that simple – it never is with Christie. Then another patient of Morley\’s, Mabelle Sainsbury Seale, vanishes. To say anything else would ruin the fun of reading this excellent Agatha Christie. Very recommended.

One of the things I have doing during the pandemic is to read a lot of the classic mysteries by Agatha Christie. This is the poorest of Christie mystery novels that I have read. I kept losing interest and would need to reread pages that just sort of floated by my eyes. The climax and revelation of the murderer is also weak. Stick to the great ones like Death on the Nile, The A,B, C Murders, and Murder on the Orient Express.

I\’m amazed that no one else has pointed this out. If you\’ve ever watched the movie \”Murder by Death,\” you may remember someone complaining bitterly that, as mystery writers, \”You have withheld vital clues until the very end.\” I can\’t spoil this for others by describing the vital clue Agatha Christie withheld, and Poirot may have been able to solve the murders without it, but I thought it was hugely vital, there was no way for a reader to discover it, she popped it out in the last few pages like a rabbit from a hat. Other than that, my main problem with this book is the jumble of characters that were paraded past me. I was constantly forced to go back to previous chapters to find out who was who. Bottom line — I\’ve read a number of Christie\’s Poirot novels, and there are much better ones than this. Not recommended.

I really enjoyed this read. Having watched the episode staring David Suchet before reading this book, I found the movie matched the book to a greater degree. It\’s always nice when the movie keeps to the core of the book. I enjoyed this read, the foreshadowing, red-herrings, and in-depth plot. There was a lot going on in this story, but Poirot shines as bright as always. A fun and intriguing way to pass the time. Find out more about my love of Agatha Christie on my blog review.

Mais oui ! Our small man with large moustaches and a egg shaped head is back. Does he live in England, speak French, and come from Belgium? Eh bien, it must be Agatha Christie\’s famous flatfoot, Hercule Poirot. This is my fifth Hercule mystery, and as customary, I didn\’t solve the murder. But I did solve \’Death on the Nile\’, so a twenty percent solving average is not bad. In this investigation, even the great Hercule was stumped for awhile as he thought to himself, \”Is it possible that I am growing old?\” But he must have been doing his job, since one of the suspects, Jane Olivera, said to him, \”I loathe the sight of you-you bloody little bourgeois detective!\” That\’s the Hercule that I know and love. Agatha wrote 37 Hercule Poirot mysteries, the final one was \’Curtain: Poirot\’s Last Case\’. She wrote the novel during World War II, but didn\’t publish it till 1975, a year before her own death. Agatha was a master at writing main plots, creating subplots, and inserting plot twists into every novel. Her books usually had around ten suspects, yet Agatha was able to inject `reader\’s sympathy\’ into most of the characters, so the reader was freely empowered to root for the innocence of their favorite hypothetical felon. She certainly achieved that in this novel. So it\’s time for Hercule\’s six month oral checkup, and he has the same fears as you and I. The superior Hercule was not himself. On page nine…\”His morale was down to zero. He was just that ordinary, craven figure, a man afraid of the dentist\’s chair.\” While in the waiting room, our sleuth observes the other patients. There was a military looking man, and a seemingly angry young man flipping pages of magazines. Hercule has his appointment with Doctor Henry Morley and prepares to leave after some minor filling work. Hercule learns that the Doc\’s assistant, Gladys Neville, is missing, and an important banker, Alistair Blunt, is on his way for his dental appointment. On his way out, He observes a fierce looking man in the waiting room, and outside a lady leaving a taxi who has torn her buckle off her shoe as she exited. Later that day, Hercule is informed by Chief Inspector Japp (you remember him from previous novels) of Scotland Yard that Doctor Morley has shot himself. How can that be? The Doc seemed normal and trouble free. Hercule Poirot suspects murder, and gathers a list of suspects. The possible perpetrators are: Doctor Reilly, Morley\’s partner; Mr. Amberiotis, the last patient; Miss Sainsbury Seale, the taxi lady; Howard Raikes, the American; Alistair Blunt, the banker; Frank Carter, the angry young man; Gladys Neville, the missing assistant; Jane Olivera, Blunt\’s niece; and Alfred Biggs, the murdered Doc\’s page boy. Then the unthinkable happens on page 53, Mr. Amberiotis turns up dead at his hotel! He is dead from an overdose of adrenaline and novocaine. What? Was he poisoned by Doctor Morley before the Doc committed suicide, or was murdered? Hercule Poirot is stumped. Then later in the novel, he is in church with Alistair Blunt, Jane Olivera, her mom, and Howard Raikes, while listening to the morning sermon, the light bulb goes off: \”It was like a kaleidoscope-shoe buckles, 10-inch stockings, a damaged face, the low tastes in literature of Alfred the page boy, the activities of Mr. Amberiotis, and the part played by the late Mr. Morley, all rose up and whirled and settled themselves down into a coherent pattern.\” Okay, Mr. Poirot\’s noggin is working again. Now is the time that you should grab your own copy of this highly recommended mystery.

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