Another dead man? C’mon!

Hercule Poirot is summoned by Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore to join him at the family home. Poirot doesn’t really want to go, but there’s something interesting about the summons, so he heads out to the country. When he gets there, no one is expecting him, and now no one can find Sir Gervase. The house is searched, and Sir Gervase is found dead in his study, apparently having committed suicide. Poirot, of course, has his doubts. There are a few improbable things about the scene, including a mirror that was struck by the fatal bullet.

There’s a short list of suspects, basically whoever was home at the time (unless a rampaging murder had come lolloping across the grounds with foul play on his mind). There’s the squire’s wife Vanda, who is very into the spiritualist stuff. Their adopted daughter Ruth, who has a pretty big secret. Cousin Hugo, who also has a pretty big secret. There’s Miss Lingard, the personal secretary, who may have the biggest secret of all. The question is: were any of these secrets big enough to kill for?

The web is untangled pretty quickly by Poirot, with his usual aplomb. This one’s fairly short, and has the normal Christie twists, which means it’s good for an evening’s entertainment, for sure.