Here's what we know so far. The victim, Mr. Daqvenheim, was found by a servant on the garden path precisely at 4:15 in the afternoon, with his limbs splayed, his clothes torn to shreds, and his hair matted with dried blood.
Sometime later, after cleaning himself up, he was murdered.
It's an enjoyable mystery, with plenty of Poirot, Hastings, Japp, and Miss Lemon. I found it especially enjoyable because I could more or less figure it out before Poirot did. Well -- the general picture anyway. He must not be as hot as everyone thinks because I'm pretty dull and I got there first.
The chief organism of interest is a parrot that someone sends to Poirot as a gift. Announces the delivery man: "A par-ROT for Mister Poy-rot." Poirot doesn't believe that "small animals belong in the house of a detective" but he keeps it around, despite its occasional squawk. The parrot figures in two comic exchanges that, if you're not expecting them, may go unnoticed.
Poirot is at his desk, practicing tricks he's picked up from "A Boy's Book of Conjuring." Hastings is fiddling with the parrot in its cage. Without looking up, Poirot remarks: "Please do not pay attention to that creature. I still have him in training." Hasting objects: "It's only a parrot." Poirot: "I was talking to the parrot." Comic business Number Two. Hastings and Japp are Poirot's dinner guests and the self-satisfied host brings a platter of roast chicken to the table. Poirot begins sharpening the carving knife and the parrot sets up an hysterical caterwauling. The host pauses and glances with irritation out of the sides of his eyes, then begins to carve the chicken to pieces with great relish.
There is another undecorated humorous moment. Since Poirot is unable to leave his flat, he has Hasting doing his snooping for him. When the dinner is served, Poirot remarks that there is one more datum he needs. Did the victim and his wife sleep together or did they have separate bed chambers? Poirot continues with the task at hand, but Japp stops and slowly turns to look at Hastings, who is aghast.
The mystery itself is typical for the series. A man walking down a lane in the fog disappears and his business rival shows up for a meeting that never takes place and leaves in a low English dudgeon. So what happened? Did the rival visitor meet his victim on the foggy lane, murder him, dispose of the body, and carry on with some sort of nefarious plan? Poirot bets Japp that he can solve the case without leaving his flat, which accounts for the time given over to Poirot's card tricks and cooking.
Sometime later, after cleaning himself up, he was murdered.
It's an enjoyable mystery, with plenty of Poirot, Hastings, Japp, and Miss Lemon. I found it especially enjoyable because I could more or less figure it out before Poirot did. Well -- the general picture anyway. He must not be as hot as everyone thinks because I'm pretty dull and I got there first.
The chief organism of interest is a parrot that someone sends to Poirot as a gift. Announces the delivery man: "A par-ROT for Mister Poy-rot." Poirot doesn't believe that "small animals belong in the house of a detective" but he keeps it around, despite its occasional squawk. The parrot figures in two comic exchanges that, if you're not expecting them, may go unnoticed.
Poirot is at his desk, practicing tricks he's picked up from "A Boy's Book of Conjuring." Hastings is fiddling with the parrot in its cage. Without looking up, Poirot remarks: "Please do not pay attention to that creature. I still have him in training." Hasting objects: "It's only a parrot." Poirot: "I was talking to the parrot." Comic business Number Two. Hastings and Japp are Poirot's dinner guests and the self-satisfied host brings a platter of roast chicken to the table. Poirot begins sharpening the carving knife and the parrot sets up an hysterical caterwauling. The host pauses and glances with irritation out of the sides of his eyes, then begins to carve the chicken to pieces with great relish.
There is another undecorated humorous moment. Since Poirot is unable to leave his flat, he has Hasting doing his snooping for him. When the dinner is served, Poirot remarks that there is one more datum he needs. Did the victim and his wife sleep together or did they have separate bed chambers? Poirot continues with the task at hand, but Japp stops and slowly turns to look at Hastings, who is aghast.
The mystery itself is typical for the series. A man walking down a lane in the fog disappears and his business rival shows up for a meeting that never takes place and leaves in a low English dudgeon. So what happened? Did the rival visitor meet his victim on the foggy lane, murder him, dispose of the body, and carry on with some sort of nefarious plan? Poirot bets Japp that he can solve the case without leaving his flat, which accounts for the time given over to Poirot's card tricks and cooking.