REVIEW: Dead Man's Folly

 Dead Man's Folly
Author: Agatha Christie 

Dead Man's Folly was published in the UK and US in 1956. Earlier in 1956, the story was also published in serial format in magazines in both the US and UK, but the story was abridged.

One of Poirot's sidekicks returns in this book -- Ariadne Oliver, a mystery novelist that pops up now and again in Poirot stories to "help" him investigate. In fact, this time Ariadne actually requests Poirot come to investigate a situation where she believes "something is wrong."  And.....she's proven correct when a dead body pops up in the middle of a local fete. 

Originally, this story was written as a novella, Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly. Agatha Christie wrote it as a fundraiser for her local church, but it was never published. She ended up writing another  story featuring Miss Marple for the fundraiser. Agatha later expanded the plot and published the Poirot story as Dead Man's Folly. The original novella was finally published in 2014. 

I have read this novel before and remembered it fondly for Ariadne Oliver's antics. I also remembered the setting, premise and a few plot points here and there (like I remembered the murder victim that sets off the whole thing). It was so much fun to re-visit this story and get the whole plot back in my mind!  

My copy of this book is an old paperback I bought used years ago [Harper Paperbacks, 1984, 199 pages]. It was in relatively ok condition, although the pages were very yellowed. I read my old copy while listening to the audio book [HarperCollins, 2012, 6 hours 2 minutes, narrated by David Suchet]. It was so nice to listen to David Suchet reading a Poirot novel! I enjoyed every minute! 

The basics: Poirot's friend, Ariadne Oliver, has created a story for a murder mystery party game. It's part of the festivities for a fete at an estate in Devonshire. Guests get snippets of the plot and then have to wander the estate finding clues. Before the festivities even begin, Ariadne feels there is something wrong and requests Poirot join her to figure out what is causing her misgivings. A murder on the day of the fete confirms her feelings.....and Poirot is on the case!  

I always enjoy stories that involve Ariadne Oliver. She is always so delightfully over the top and Agatha Christie describes her in such fun terms. Plus, it's pretty easy to tell that Agatha was using the character to comment on her experiences as a writer, as Ariadne is a best-selling murder mystery writer. 

While reading this book, I found myself smiling and laughing as the character laments people telling her that a killer in one of her novels should have been someone else or that a story would have been better if it had happened this way or that way. I can just imagine that Agatha suffered through many similar conversations! At one point Ariadne exclaims "All right then, why don't you write it yourself if you want it that way!" :) I kept imagining Agatha Christie writing that bit and wishing she could say that herself sometimes! At one point, Ariadne is asked who could have done the horrible deed.....and she just starts spouting off every possible motive from the mundane to fantastical at break neck speed. I can just see conversation in the entire room pausing and everyone staring as she just spews motive-word-soup at 3x speed. :) Ariadne is by far my favorite recurring character in Poirot stories! I get the impression that she may have been one of Agatha's favorites too -- she got to inject her own voice and some humor here and there. Love it!  

Adaptations:

1986 movie: Peter Ustinov plays Hercule Poirot in this movie. Unfortunately, I couldn't watch this film. Amazon had a banner up that said "Unavailable due to expired rights." No luck on Tubi, Kanopy or Hoopla. I do remember from past views that there were many changes made to the plot, including setting the story in present day. The cast starred some pretty famous faces including Jean Stapleton. I wanted to watch just to see Jean shine (and definitely not for Peter Ustinov's Poirot), but had no luck finding the movie. I will keep an eye out for this film to appear on streaming again. I really want to see Jean Stapleton play Ariadne Oliver!!  

Radio Drama: BBC Radio 4 presented an audio drama of this book in 2007. The plot was adjusted for time and some changes were made, but these audio dramas are quite good! Always full case with sound effects. 

Video Game: I-play released a found-object game based on this story in 2009, as part of a series of video games based on Agatha Christie stories.  

Television: In 2013, the long-running show Poirot had an episode based on this book [Season 13, episode 3] This episode was part of the final season of the show. I enjoyed the episode, despite some changes made to the plot and characters. The actress playing Ariadne Oliver is perfect for the role! 

Graphic Novel: A Swiss publisher released a graphic novel based on this novel in 2022 titled Hercule Poirot: Poirot Joue le jeu.  

And, another old paperback into the recycle bin.....moving on to the next book! 

REVIEW: Hickory Dickory Dock

 Hickory Dickory Dock
Author: Agatha Christie

Once again, this Agatha Christie novel was published in the US and the UK under different titles. It published in the UK as Hickory Dickory Dock and in the US as Hickory Dickory Death. This is the first appearance of Miss Lemon, Hercule Poirot's secretary, in one of the Poirot novels. Previously, Miss Lemon had only appeared in some of the short stories. 

My paperback copy of this book [Pocket Books, 1975, 222 pages] was in terrible shape. The spine was brittle and many pages were falling out. It was in such bad shape that it was unreadable. Every time I tried more pages dropped out. The paper was very brittle as well. So, I took photos and threw the book away. The cover art and bright orange coloring was bizarre. Gotta love those 1970s covers! 

I listened to an audio book version of this novel instead. [Blackstone Publishing, 2010, 6 hrs 3 minutes, narrated by Hugh Fraser] Hugh Fraser always does a magnificent job narrating the Hercule Poirot audio books! Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed his performance! 

The basics: Hercule Poirot notices his secretary, Miss Lemon, is upset and gets drawn into a case involving thefts at a student hostel run by Miss Lemon's sister, Mrs. Hubbard.  It soon turns into something much more serious than petty theft.  

Adaptations: 

Television: The long-running show Agatha Christie's Poirot had an episode based on this book in 1995

(Season 6, episode 2).  Lots of changes are made to the plot and time line. This isn't one of my favorite Poirot episodes. I always enjoy David Suchet as the detective, but this time the changes in the plot ruined the episode for me. 

Television: The French television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie made an episode based on this novel. As usual, pretty drastic changes are made including setting the story in France and replacing Poirot with French detectives. This series is fun to watch, even if it makes some pretty big changes. If your local library has Kanopy, you can watch the entire series there. Enjoy!  

I was a bit surprised that BBC Radio didn't do an audio drama presentation based on this book! I will just have to wait until I've read the next book (Dead Man's Folly) to enjoy one of their audio dramas again. They did 27 audio dramas based on the Hercule Poirot novels, so skipped six of the books. I researched online to find out why they didn't do them all. Best explanation I found was -- funding cuts.

Moving on to the next!!  19 books to go! I'm getting closer!! 

REVIEW: Destination Unknown

 Destination Unknown
Author: Agatha Christie 

I'm going to start my review by being totally honest -- 

I DNF'd (did-not-finish) this book. I've been on this journey through Agatha Christie's writing in publication order since 2020. And, I have found that I just don't like her spy thrillers. For me, the plots just didn't age well at all. 

Once again, I tried to read this. And, I found myself disliking it more and more as I went along. I got about halfway....and just said nope. Done. 

Life is too short to force myself to read something I am not enjoying. Even if it's written by Agatha Christie.  

I'm going to do a shortened review, and move on to the next book.  

This is another of Christie's books that was published under a different title in the US and UK. It was first published in the UK in 1954 as Destination Unknown. US publication as So Many Steps to Death followed in 1955. My paperback copy from 1987 [PocketBooks, 237 pages] used the original title. At one point when I was collecting Agatha Christie paperbacks I had two copies of this book because I didn't realize at the time it was the same book just published under two different titles! :) Ooops!

As usual, before being published in book format, this story was published in serial format in a UK magazine and in several US newspapers. Someday I hope I come across the magazine or newspaper versions of at least one of these novels! I'd love to see the presentation and formatting!  

My old paperback was in pretty bad shape. Yellowed pages, bent up cover that was torn at lower spine. It was time to (try to) read it and then throw it away. While I was reading and listening to the audio book, the pages started to fall out. Definitely time for it to go to that book recycling bin in the sky. :) 

I checked out the audio book on Hoopla [HarperCollins, 2012, 6 hrs 43 minutes, narrated by Emilia Fox]. I have listened to several books narrated by Emilia Fox, and she always gives a very good performance. I got about half way through and stopped reading/listening. It was not because of her narration. I just wasn't enjoying the story. 

I found no adaptations for audio or film of this book.  

As stated earlier, I lasted through half of this book and abandoned it. I didn't like the main character and the plot was just too outdated, in my opinion. I'm glad to see that others have enjoyed this story. It was just not for me. 

Moving on!  

REVIEW: A Pocket Full of Rye

A Pocket Full of Rye
Author: Agatha Christie 

Miss Marple shines in this Agatha Christie Mystery! 

This story was first published in a very condensed version in the UK's Daily Express in 1953. In the US, it ran in the Chicago Tribune in serialized format in early 1954. The book was first published in the UK in 1953, and US publication followed in 1954. 

The title comes from the well-known nursery rhyme, Sing a Song of Sixpence. I had to look up the words to the old rhyme. I hadn't heard it since we used to recite it while jumping rope on the playground when I was in grade school. As usual with nursery rhymes, it's pretty dark and gruesome. I don't think as kids we ever really thought about the meaning of the actual words. It just had a sing-song cadence that was perfect for timing jumping rope. Amazing how awful some of those old playground rhymes are as I look back as an adult. I researched a few and found that most refer back to really terrible historic events. I wonder why they got turned into children's rhymes? Odd choice! 

Sing a song of sixpence,

A pocket full of rye,

Four and twenty blackbirds

Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened

The birds began to sing—

Wasn't that a dainty dish

To set before the king?

The king was in the counting-house

Counting out his money,

The queen was in the parlor

Eating bread and honey,

The maid was in the garden

Hanging out the clothes.

Along came a blackbird

And snipped off her nose.

I had an old paperback copy of this book on my shelves [Pocket Books, 1985, 239 pages]. The cover is bright purple...so definitely eye-catching!

As usual, I read from my paperback copy while listening to an audio book version [HarperCollins, 2013, 6 hrs 50 minutes, narrated by Richard E. Grant]. Grant did a great job of narration. At first it felt odd to have a man narrating a Miss Marple story, but as I got further into the story it made sense. First book I've listened to narrated by Richard Grant. Nice voice. He read at an even pace and did a good job of voice acting.  

The basics: A businessman is poisoned. Then two other deaths follow. The killer's biggest mistake? Killing a girl that Jane Marple cared about. Miss Marple shows up on site, angry at a disrespect shown to the dead girl, and is on the case to bring the killer to justice. 

Adaptations: 

1985 movie: A Russian movie, The Secret of the Blackbirds, is based on this book. 

Television: Miss Marple, featuring Joan Hickson as the elderly sleuth, adapted this story into an episode in 1985. Some characters were removed, and the ending was changed. I did not like the change to the ending. The end was perfect as Agatha Christie wrote it. Loved Joan Hickson as Miss Marple as usual, but found the changes to be unnecessary. 

Television: Agatha Christie's Marple, with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple, made an episode in 2009. [Season 4, ep 1] The episode added in some sexual content that I felt unnecessary, but stuck to the original ending. I found the original ending much more profound. I'm glad they stuck with it! 

Radio play: BBC Radio 4 presented an audio drama in 1995. The audio runs 1 hr 28 minutes. June Whitfield voices Miss Marple. I love these full-cast audio dramas! June Whitfield does such a great job portraying Miss Marple. Very enjoyable listen. 

I enjoyed this story. The plot seemed a bit far-fetched in places, but it definitely kept my attention from start to finish. Not one of my favorites, but I always enjoy Miss Marple!  

My old paperback has gone into the recycle bin. Moving on to the next!!  

 

REVIEW: After the Funeral

 After the Funeral
Author: Agatha Christie. 

This is another Christie mystery published underneath different titles. The book was first published in the US in 1953 as Funerals are Fatal. The first UK publishing as After the Funeral was also in 1953. 

My paperback copy is very very old and in terrible shape (Pocket Books, 1969, 224 pages). I remember getting it at a used book shop at some point (and it was in bad condition at that time already) and it has been on my bookshelves for years. I remember laughing that I was paying more for the book at a used bookstore than it cost when it was purchased new (50 cents is on the front cover). I'm sure the only reason I bought the poor thing was because it was one of Christie's novels I didn't have. I have considered throwing it away many many times. I'm glad I didn't. 

The front cover is incredibly ugly. It's just not an attractive book at all. It's also wider and shorter than the other more standard size Agatha Christie paperbacks I have on my shelves. I like all my paperbacks to be the same size so my shelves look nice, and this one just messed up the whole look. :) The odd, dark mystery liquid stain on it didn't help the matter one bit! This book obviously had a hard existence! I read it this one time, and then put it in the recycling. [Now -- finally! -- all my paperbacks are the same size!]

Now on to the story! 

The Basics: Richard Abernethie has died. Following his funeral, the family and Richard's lawyer gather at the house for the reading of the will. When a family member speaks up, saying she thinks he was murdered, nobody really pays attention -- until she gets murdered in her bed. Hacked to death with an axe. And, that violent incident is just the first. More strange happenings follow. Can Hercule Poirot discover the killer's identity before more people are hurt?  

Adaptations: 

1963 Movie: This film (Murder at the Gallop) is only loosely based on this novel. There are significant changes made to the plot. Poirot is replaced with Miss Marple -- played by Margaret Rutherford. The changes get more bizarre from there. All of these Margaret Rutherford movies are basically comedies, and

much as I really enjoy Margaret Rutherford's comedic timing, I don't like these Agatha Christie adaptations. There were 4 of them -- and when I think of them as Christie adaptations, they are just terrible. But, if I can ignore the knowledge of the original stories these were sort of based on, I can enjoy them as light hearted comedies rather than Christie adaptations.  I have seen all 4 of these movies in the past, but didn't rewatch them. It costs $3.99 - $10 each to buy streaming copies, as no streaming service has them included in their free package. And, I'm just not going to pay for movies that I really didn't like all that much. 

Radio play: BBC Radio 4 broadcast an audio drama based on this novel in 1999. John Moffat starred as Poirot. I really enjoy these full-cast audio dramas of Christie's books! They even have music and sound effects. Always very well done!  

Television:  The long-running show Poirot adapted this novel in 2005. [Season 10, ep 3]. There are some minor changes in plot but the basic story holds pretty closely to the novel. There were some odd sexual angles added in this episode that I didn't think were necessary, but I still enjoyed watching. 

Just as an ode to my very hideous copy of this book that has now progressed on to it's eternal slumber....  The paperback was ugly and in really very bad condition. Yellowed tape held many of the pages together, and the front cover and spine of the book were taped. But -- it was 57 years old. That's pretty old for a paperback book, so understandable that it was in poor condition. When I read an old book, I always find myself wondering how many people owned and read the book before I did. How did it get the odd, dark stain on the lower left? Lots of history and quiet hours spent reading. I hope everyone who read the book enjoyed the story. And,with the passing of its usefulness, the paper and ink return to the universe to become something else. Fitting end for a classic murder mystery, I think.  

Moving on!  

 

REVIEW: Murder With Mirrors

 Murder With Mirrors
Author: Agatha Christie

This book was first published in the US in 1952. UK publication followed later that same year under Christie's original title -- They Do It With Mirrors. 

Miss Marple is the detective in this novel. Yay! I enjoy Hercule Poirot, but I get ridiculously happy when I reach a Miss Marple book on my journey through all of Christie's mystery writings. I think I love Miss Marple for the same reason I enjoyed the television detective, Columbo. She pretends to be a simple, frail elderly woman, while she is actually taking stock of every person in the room. 

The basics: Miss Marple visits with an old friend after another friend  confides in her that something might be wrong. After a murder occurs, Miss Marple realizes their mutual friend was totally correct.  

I have an old paperback copy of this book published by Pocket Books. The pages are very yellowed and the covers are brittle. 

I read my paperback copy while listening to the audio book

[HarperCollins, 2013, 6 hrs 35 minutes, narrated by Emilia Fox] Hoopla had a version narrated by Joan Hickson, but I have such problems understanding her that I just went with the Emilia Fox version. Emilia did a great job of narrating, but her version of an American accent for one character is....bad. Not a good attempt. :)  

Adaptations:

1964 movie: Murder, Ahoy! is loosely based on this book...sort of. Perhaps. Not Really. A bit? The film starred Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. The plot also refers to Christie's famous play, The Mousetrap. As other early movies with Rutherford, the plot is so altered that it really doesn't follow the original story at all. I'm including it just because it sort of incorporates this story. The changes to the setting and plot were just.....odd. Yuck. Margaret Rutherford is superb, but the script was garbage. Ridiculous changes!! But I guess that's why they titled it Murder, Ahoy! and not They Do It With Mirrors/Murder With Mirrors. This is available to rent/buy online, but I decided against it. I don't want to pay $3.99 - $10 for a movie that doesn't really follow the plot as Agatha wrote it. 

1985 movie: Murder With Mirrors. This film actually follows the original plot, and has some pretty famous actors in it including Sir John Mills, Bette Davis and Helen Hayes. These 1980's Agatha Christie adaptations were so over the top! Star studded extravaganzas with bad casting and odd story changes.....but I remember watching (and loving!) them all (except the ones with Peter Ustinov as Poirot -- total miscast) In this movie, Bette Davis looked very frail and ill, but I enjoyed her performance. Helen Hayes was wonderful as Miss Marple.  I found this movie on Youtube. 

Television: Miss Marple. Joan Hickson stars as Miss Marple in this television adaption in 1991. There are a few minor changes made, but it stick pretty closely to the original. I watched this episode on Britbox. 

Television: Agatha Christie's Marple. Julia McKenzie portrays Miss Marple. This episode first aired in

2010. There are more major changes made for this adaptation, and I'm not quite sure why. The original story was perfect, and the changes they made messed up the plot, in my opinion. McKenzie is fantastic as Miss Marple as usual....but I wish they would have stuck to the script. Yuck! This entire series is available on Britbox. 

Television: French television show Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie adapted this story in 2013. The episode is titled "Game of Mirrors."  This show always greatly alters the setting and plot, moving the story to France and incorporating French investigators. The show is fun to watch! If your local library has Kanopy, you can find most of the episodes there. The episodes are subtitled in English. 

Back to the book...... 

 There was an ad in the back of my old paperback, offering Hercule Poirot paperbacks for $2.95 each. Ahhhh, the good old days! But, back then, I remember thinking $2.95 for a book was expensive. Back then I was probably thinking "I remember when books were 75 and 99 cents!!" It just seems cheap looking back decades and seeing that price, when a paperback costs $10 or more now! 

 This is a great Miss Marple mystery! I have read this book before, but it was far enough in the past that I didn't remember the killer's identity. I enjoyed the book and watching the adaptations! 

An important aside: I am finding some problematic racist undertones and unacceptable language as I read my way through Agatha Christie's writing. Her characters often voice classist and racist opinions -- servants are lazy, certain races are this or that, and use of words that are in modern times completely offensive (and should ALWAYS have been offensive, in my opinion, even if people got away with it) The use of the n-word, for example. Agatha Christie even used the term in one of her original book titles. I am not going to fall into the pit of "product of their time" excuses because that is bullshit -- that word and racist opinions were NEVER ok, even if people got by with it at the time. This book made me cringe multiple times. People being referred to as pansies or sissies and the n-word popping out again....

 I am glad that the audio book I listened to left these sentences out entirely. And, I'm usually not in favor of editing classic books, but removing these words from the printed books wouldn't bother me one bit. No place for this sort of nonsense -- and it wasn't ok in the past either. 

I'm going to continue reading, but the further I get into Christie's writing, the more disappointed I am becoming in some of the language and themes. These nuances in her books did not age well. And, I'm bothered that this was considered ok, and hopeful that newer editions of these books have removed things like this.  

Old paperback sent to the recycle bin and ...... on to the next!!  

 

REVIEW: Mrs. McGinty's Dead

 Mrs. McGinty's Dead
Author: Agatha Christie

This is another Agatha Christie novel that I don't have on my bookshelves. I remember owning a copy in the past.....but somewhere over the years, the book must have zagged when I zigged. It is nowhere to be found!  

Mrs. McGinty's Dead first appeared in serialized format in The Chicago Tribune's Sunday editions from October to December 1951. It was first published as a novel in 1952 in both the US and UK.  

A recurring character comes back in this story - Ariadne Oliver. She first appeared in Cards on the Table in 1936. She appears in several of Christie's short stories and novels. Ariadne is a crime fiction writer and occasionally assists Hercule Poirot with cases. She appears in one novel without Poirot (The Pale Horse), but is only a minor character. 

Because I don't own a copy of this book, I turned to Hoopla (big thanks to my local library again!), and checked out an audio book version.[HarperCollins, 2012, 6 hrs 15 minutes, narrated by Hugh Fraser].  

When this book popped up as next in order for my ongoing Agatha Christie reading challenge, I wasn't sure if I had read this story before. I owned many Agatha Christie novels for decades (nearly all of them!), but never actually read most of them. I remember owning a copy of this book with the 1980s style cover art, but never noticed until now that it was gone from my collection. As I listened to the audio book, I realized that I had read this book before, but luckily, I only remembered snippets here and there of the plot. I didn't remember the killer's identity.  

The Basics: Poirot hears of a murder case and subsequent trial and conviction of the main suspect. He's not very interested in the crime because he finds it a boring case -- just a matter of everyday violence. Then, an old acquaintance comes to see him, stating that he doesn't believe the convicted man is guilty. At that point, Poirot is on the case! 

Agatha Christie drew portions of the plot from a real case involving Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen. Crippen murdered his wife and took off with his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, in 1910. The character Eva Kane is pretty obviously based on Ethel, although loosely. If you are interested in historical murder cases, I highly recommend researching Dr. Crippen.  His capture on a ship was quite the adventure. It involved the ship captain alerting police by radio that Crippen and his mistress were on board. How do police apprehend a suspect who has already escaped on board a ship bound for Canada?? Board a faster ship, of course!! Christie obviously drew from the case for this book, but changed nearly all the elements of the actual murder/investigation. I'm sure many mystery/crime writers of the time used the sensational case as a basis for novels in the decades following Crippen's trial and execution. Christie found a way to use snippets of the famous case without it being just another story mirroring Crippen's crime.

Ariadne Oliver adds some fun to this mystery. Some of her dialogue seemed to be Agatha Christie commenting on her own writing, characters and theater adaptations of her stories. 

For me, the plot of this book was just okay. Nothing spectacular. I'm glad Ariadne was in this one, otherwise I'm not so sure I would have really enjoyed this book as much as I did. Poirot complained a lot throughout the course of this story. Mostly about food. He seemed more finicky and fastidious than usual. And some of the side characters (especially one that couldn't cook proper meals and kept a messy house) seemed created just to push the detective's buttons. 

I found it interesting that the title of the book refers to a old children's game. One child played the leader, yelling out "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" then all the other children lined up would answer "How did she die?" And the leader would describe the demise of poor dead Mrs.McGinty "Down on One Knee, just like I" or "Holding her hand out, just like I" and all of the children one by one would assume the pose. The required poses become more and more silly until the final lines "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" "How did she die?" and the leader yells "LIKE THIS!!!!" and the first player in the line pushes the next child and they all fall down on the ground. Ahhh morbid children's playground games! There's nothing better! :) The lines of the game were repeated over and over during the story.  Perfect game to use as the theme for a murder mystery!  Christie used every part of the game to her advantage while working up her plot! 

Adaptations: 

Movie: In 1964, a movie version based on this novel was released. But, there are major changes to the story. Poirot is replaced by Miss Marple (Played by Margaret Rutherford). There are many plot changes, so I think the best way to put it is that the movie is only very loosely based on this book. But, it has enough similarities to count as an adaptation. I understand why they substituted Miss Marple for Poirot. The village setting for this story seems more like a Marple plot than Hercule Poirot. I have to be honest and say that I don't like the Margaret Rutherford versions of Miss Marple. They were made as comedies, don't follow the plots of the stories at all, and I really don't understand why they were made as Miss Marple movies. If they were going to go so off-script, they could have called the main character anything and just made a parody of a similar character rather than calling whatever-that-was Miss Marple. Hats off to Margaret Rutherford. She was an excellent comedic actress.....but they shouldn't have butchered a classic character like Miss Marple in that way. Just my honest opinion. 

Radio Drama: BBC Radio 4 adapted this story into an audio play in 2006.  John Moffat stars as Poirot. The episode runs about 2 hrs 22 minutes. I love these full-cast audio dramas! They even have music and sound effects! I highly recommend them!! BBC Radio 4 adapted many of Christie's novels. 

Poirot television series: The long-running television series starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot adapted this novel into an episode in 2008 [Season 11, Episode 1]  Some characters are left out and there are some rather major plot changes. But, I enjoyed the episode! I loved how David Suchet really played up Poirot's disgust at bad food and poor housekeeping. :) It made the episode fun to watch. 

French Television: Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie had an episode based on this story in 2015. This show always makes some pretty large changes to Christie's stories, including relocating to France and having French investigators. But, the episodes are very enjoyable to watch. If your local library has Kanopy, you can watch this show with English subtitles. 

 

I wish they still did serialized releases or magazine publication like they did with so many of Christie's novels, novellas and short stories (including this one).  I think the last serialized story I read was The Green Mile by Stephen King. I loved buying those tiny paperbacks each time a new one came out. I'd love to see the presentation and lay out of this story's first publication in The Chicago Tribune. I would have read each week without fail! I can just imagine people sitting at their tables over the newspaper and trying to guess what the ending would be. I hope they were all better guessers than I am. I'm usually wrong! This is why I work in social services and not as a detective!! 

 On to the next!!