Krishna
We have reviewed several of this author’s books earlier. Two examples with her most famous detective Hercule Poirot are Murder on the Links and The Mysterious Affair at Styles where the famous detective makes his first appearance.
Those were both novels. In contrast, as the title itself suggests, this is a collection of short stories (or cases). The first one is called The Adventure of The Western Star. Mary Marvell, the American film star visits him. She owns a great diamond, ‘The Western Star’. Her husband Greg bought the diamond from a frightened oriental (‘Chink’ is the improper word used by Agatha Christie here but those were different times?) at a fraction of the price. He gave it to his wife Mary, as a wedding gift. Now she has started getting threatening letters (three in all) asking that they returned to become, once again, the ‘eye of the God’. She seeks the master detective’s help.
She is foolishly determined to take the diamond to Lady Yardly, who is reputed to have another of the diamonds. Both of them have come from a Chinese God. Poirot steps out for a walk but Lady Yardly arrives just after he left and tells Watson that she too has been receiving threatening letters. Hers came by post unlike Mary’s which was hand delivered by a “Chinaman”. Lady Yardley had destroyed her letters before realizing that they may be serious.
Poirot visits the Yardly mansion after gaining permission from the Lord. They were there when Lady Yardly’s necklace was stolen by a Chinaman but the necklace, minus the diamond, was found dropped by the fleeing robber. Poirot suspects that one of the thefts were fake and quickly recovers the diamond to give to the real owner.
The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor is the second story. Poirot has been asked to investigate the death of Mr Maltravers who had died shortly after insuring his life for fifty thousand pounds (an enormous sum then) by the insurance company which was on the hook to pay up. He died of internal hemorrhage. But his impending bankruptcy is what triggered the company’s suspicion. The doctor says there is no way someone can trigger internal bleeding. They meet his wife who admits that she is incapable of understanding finances and her husband insured his life only because he had a hemorrhage earlier and had a premonition of premature death should one occur again. At the time Poirot nearly gave up on any mischief in this affairs they meet Captain Black. Having determined that Black was innocent, he then realizes that the story he told gives the clue of the murder. Then Poirot stages an enormous ploy to get the killer to confess.
Next Story is called The Adventure of The Cheap Flat. In a conversation a new acquaintance of Mr Watson is told by a new acquaintance called Mrs Robinson that she got a fantastic flat at a dirt cheap rent. It was bewildering. What was even odder is that the people who had seen it before thought it was already taken but when the Robinsons went, it was ‘available for rent’.
However, Poirot’s interest is piqued and when he goes and enquires, with Hastings, he is told that the Robinsons have been living there for six months! Poirot is up to his plans and rents another flat there for a month. Then he unravels the mystery. The flat was only let out to Mrs Robinson because they were waiting for a particular name. The previous owners wanted to move fearing danger approaching but wanted to set up a decoy if someone came looking. Ends well.
Next story is The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge. In this, Baron Windsor’s second son, Roger Hovering, comes to see Poirot in some agitation. His uncle has been murdered in Derbyshire, in Hunter’s Lodge. Poirot, recovering from influenza, sends Hastings in his place, with strict instructions to be in touch and ‘follow everything I say’. Hastings collects the information. There was a visitor who would not give them his name. His uncle went to the gun room to talk and see who it is and there was a sound of argument. Then a gun shot and the uncle was lying woulded and the man had disappeared. The gun was found later. After asking what clothes the mistress and the governess were wearing, Poirot sends a telegraph to ‘arrest the governess before it is too late’!! The governess has vanished.
However, Poirot solves the whole thing with just his brain cells. He discovers the murderer, the ‘missing maid’ and the ‘revolver that was found in London’. Ingenious.
Next comes The Million Dollar Bond Robbery . In this, a million dollars’ worth of Liberty Bonds were stolen en route from London to New York while aboard the ship Olympia and it was in the custody of Mr Philip Ridgeway. Even though his name was not suspected in the robbery, he was crestfallen and his fiancee Esmee Farquhar seeks Poirot’s help in solving the theft. It was handed to Philip and sealed in front of him and he put it in a case with a special lock. They were found missing just before reaching New York and a search was made on the ship. The bonds were not found.
Poirot investigates the managers of the bank and then sees the solution clearly. He explains to Hastings how this ‘theft’ happened. Thence to the client, Esmee.
Next story is The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb . In this, Sir John Willard, one of the people who explored and found the tomb of King Menher-Ra. When Willard soon after died of a heart attack, the gleeful papers resurrected the ‘Curse of the Pharaoh’ theories. Poirot was called in by Lady Willard. When two other deaths occur in brief sequence, the Lady decided to explore the deaths only to dispense with the ‘supernatural’ aspect of it. She is worried because her son intends to take the place of the father in further explorations in Egypt. After promising her that he, Poirot, would do everything he can, he decides to go to Egypt with Hastings. There he meets the people working with the son. Dr Ames, Hastings, the local servant, and others. He finally resolves the issue and finds the killer, even escaping an attempt to poison his own self by the murderer.
The story called The Jewel Robbery at Grand Metropolitan is next. Poirot and Hastings go to stay in the Grand Metropolitan and meet Mr Opalsen and his wife. The wife is fond of collecting gems and she goes up to show Poirot her prized possession but does not return. When the police arrive, Poirot and Hastings to to the Lady’s bedroom.
He does not just know that the ‘found’ necklace under the servant’s bed was fake but who was the real culprit. He manages to recover the real jewels.
The Kidnapped Prime Minister is the next tale. Two senior cabinet secretaries tell Poirot that the Prime Minister, who had escaped an assassination attempt, is now missing, presumably kidnapped.
The shooting happened after the Prime Minister, accompanied by a polyglot Captain Daniels, went to France and returned. The PM does not want protection but secretly security services followed him and even the driver of his car, O’Murphy, an Irishman, was from Police, without his knowledge. However the car made a deviation that threw the followers and he was attacked by a band of masked men. The kidnapping occurred when he went to France, using a bogus car with identical design to the official car. Both the PM and the driver had vanished and even the car did not return. Poirot initially struggles with the ‘pointless’ shooting incident and the later kidnapping and then, with the same as the lynchpin evidence, sees the truth. In the end, the Minister is rescued and reaches the conference, his appearance in which was sought so badly to be thwarted by the evil group.
Next The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim occurs. That Davenheim was a senior partner in a banking and financial firm. He took a train from Victoria to his country place. He went for a stroll but never returned. A man and a business rival, Lawson, was invited to his study but he exited for a walk and never returned. His safe had been drilled open and his jewellery vanished. Poirot, with his little grey cells, figures out the solution and even where Davenheim is!!
The Adventure of The Italian Nobleman follows that story. Count Fascotini calls up a doctor, Dr Hawker, known to Poirot and Hastings. The housekeeper, Miss Rider, picks up and described a terrible voice that announced ‘They’ve killed me!’. His servant, Graves, informs them that he saw two people including Count Ascanio with an unidentified gentleman had met him the previous night and then they said they will come the next day. When they arrive, Graves is asked to leave. The Count’s watch has been smashed and so they know that the murder occurred at 8:47 PM. When he returned later that night, he found the Count dead. There were three dinner plates that were used but the rice pudding was left intact.
Poirot, inexplicably, is fixated on why the curtains in the windows were not drawn and then solves the whole murder cleverly!
Next comes The Case Of The Missing Will. Miss Violet Marsh comes to see Poirot. She is poor but an uncle who was illiterate made good in Australia. When both her parents died, he looked after her. But she quarrelled with him since he thought ‘a woman’s place was in the kitchen’ and was against using her brains. When he died, he left a strange will that she can have the assets for a year and if ‘she can prove that her brains were better than his’ she can keep them; else it all goes to charity.
Poirot infers that there is a second will somewhere in the house and all Miss Marsh needs to do is to find it. She agrees and says that it is the reason she sought Poirot. The “easy” way of contacting the building people fails because, in the described secret slot, they find the charred remains of the will. As Poirot dejectedly accepts his loss and even takes the train back, he gets a brainwave and rushes back to the manor, to solve triumphantly the problem of the second will.
The Veiled Lady follows next. A veiled pretty lady approaches Poirot to solve a big problem. She is Lady Millicent of Castle Vaughan, who was engaged to the young Duke of Southshire recently. A man called Lavington is tormenting her, having acquired a letter she wrote to a soldier she was in love with – but he died in the War. Poirot’s job is made easy as Lavington meets him and says ‘I have hidden the paper in a place no one can look’ and also says ‘I am leaving for abroad until next Tuesday’. (Only in Agatha’s somewhat simplistic stories will this happen’). So they go to the house at night – with Poirot creating an entry route earlier) and find the will – albeit with an unorthodox location that beats them at first. When Poirot finally finds and recovers the paper, and meets the client, there is a very unexpected twist again and Poirot explains how he suspected all along!
Next, The Lost Mine follows. There was a mine in Burma (Quaint old name, but this was the name of the country then) a little distance away from Rangoon, the capital (ditto). The mine was used by Chinese to excavate silver but left lead filled slag behind. When the British were to take control of the mine, they required documents and contacted the owner of a company, Wu Ling, who admitted to having papers proving the source of the ore. He wanted to talk only to the company owners and came to England in a ship. He stayed in Russel Square Hotel and promised to come to the board meeting next day. He left with an unnamed friend and never reached the company but his body was found in two days. Mr Pearson makes Poirot and himself disguise themselves and go to an opium den where they overhear a conversation. Poirot determines who stole the papers and where they were. There is, of course an unexpected twist.
The Chocolate Box is the next story. This story is described by Poirot as “his failure”. When Monsieur Delourard has suddenly died in his study, it is concluded as a heart attack but his friend, young Mesnard, asks him to investigate. Initially clueless and frustrated at every turn, his eyes alight on the chocolate box and he deduces the method of killing and the likely suspect ‘de Saint Alard’, an absentminded man who had frequent quarrels with Delourard. Why the failure? Because the real culprit calls him and admits to the crime! A wonderful story.
All in all, typical Poirot mysteries from Agatha Christie. Fun to read and without questions, be carried along to the surprising denouements.
7/10
— Krishna