The Mysterious Affair at Styles; Ten Little Niggers; Dumb Witness
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The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Hercule Poirot has been at the centre of so many of Christie's novels that he has become one of the immortals of fiction. Yet there was a time when there was no Poirot for other fictional detectives to be compared with. The Mysterious Affair at Styles marked his debut and in this early Christie classic he first displayed the flair that was to endear him to an ever increasing and enthusiastic public.
Recently, there had been some strange goings on at Styles St Mary. Evelyn, constant companion to old Mrs Inglethorp, had stormed out of the house muttering something about 'a lot of sharks'. And with her, something indefinable had gone from the atmosphere. Her presence had spelt security; now the air seemed rife with suspicion and impending evil. A murder, a shattered coffee cup, a splash of candle grease, a bed of begonias all Poirot required to display his now legendary powers of detection.
Hercule Poirot has been at the centre of so many of Christie's novels that he has become one of the immortals of fiction. Yet there was a time when there was no Poirot for other fictional detectives to be compared with. The Mysterious Affair at Styles marked his debut and in this early Christie classic he first displayed the flair that was to endear him to an ever increasing and enthusiastic public.
Recently, there had been some strange goings on at Styles St Mary. Evelyn, constant companion to old Mrs Inglethorp, had stormed out of the house muttering something about 'a lot of sharks'. And with her, something indefinable had gone from the atmosphere. Her presence had spelt security; now the air seemed rife with suspicion and impending evil. A murder, a shattered coffee cup, a splash of candle grease, a bed of begonias all Poirot required to display his now legendary powers of detection.
Ten Little Niggers
Nigger Island is small, and about a mile from the Devon coast. It provides an almost ideal refuge from the noise and stress of less untroubled spots. But the guests invited to enjoy its quiet pleasures find troubles a-plenty - and of a specially deadly kind. It is not long before Nigger Island seems to be a place to escape from rather than a place to escape to... but from Nigger Island there is no escape, even for the murderer. Yet murder is done, not once but many times - and no one who could conceivably be the murderer remains.
Nigger Island is small, and about a mile from the Devon coast. It provides an almost ideal refuge from the noise and stress of less untroubled spots. But the guests invited to enjoy its quiet pleasures find troubles a-plenty - and of a specially deadly kind. It is not long before Nigger Island seems to be a place to escape from rather than a place to escape to... but from Nigger Island there is no escape, even for the murderer. Yet murder is done, not once but many times - and no one who could conceivably be the murderer remains.
Dumb Witness
Anyone but Poirot would have dismissed the letter from Emily Arundell as gibberish. The writer was clearly elderly, worried, and in need of advice. But the spidery, rambling script completely failed to make clear the nature of her fear. Poirot was nevertheless intrigued - because this was June 28th, and the newly arrived letter was dated April 7th. His conviction that some mystery involved Miss Arundell and her affairs was strengthened when he discovered that she had in fact been dead for many weeks when her letter arrived.
Anyone but Poirot would have dismissed the letter from Emily Arundell as gibberish. The writer was clearly elderly, worried, and in need of advice. But the spidery, rambling script completely failed to make clear the nature of her fear. Poirot was nevertheless intrigued - because this was June 28th, and the newly arrived letter was dated April 7th. His conviction that some mystery involved Miss Arundell and her affairs was strengthened when he discovered that she had in fact been dead for many weeks when her letter arrived.
