My regularly scheduled Appointment with Agatha novel. It is probably the one that I have enjoyed the least since I began this venture. I always look forward to my regular dose of Christie, but like the murder victims in this novel, I'm left with a bitter taste in my mouth.
My first objection: I think Jane Marple would have been much superior to Hercule Poirot in this story. She would have seen to the heart of the matter in a much quieter, safer way. She would have been sympathetic, but firm with Miss Egg Lytton Gore. No doubt she would remember some lovelorn young woman in a similar situation in Chipping Cleghorn. She could have gently inserted herself into the story, rather than bulldozing her way in as Poirot does (at least as Egg perceives it).
My second reservation: I feel that Violet Milray is treated quite ruthlessly by the author. We cannot all be beautiful and many a plain woman has had to develop skills, such as organisation and efficiency, to make their living. They are very aware of how others perceive them. They are not without emotions and often endure the unrequited loves of men who barely look twice at them. Worse, those same men turn around and say nasty things behind their backs, as Sir Charles does to Miss Milray. No wonder she was planning to leave his employ.
Unusually, I twigged to the murderer's identity much earlier than usual. Not unusually, there is the long explanation by M. Poirot, followed by the murderer's chance to choose how to respond, with a strong implication that suicide might be it. I can think of at least one more sensible way that the killer might have proceeded, not requiring the complicated plotting. But I am not the author and she structured things as she willed. All I can say is that I will be in no hurry to revisit this mystery.
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