We have reviewed several of this author’s mysteries earlier. For example, please see Murder At the Vicarage or The Mysterious Affairs at Styles. But unlike those, there is no Herculie Poirot or Miss Marple in this one. It is populated by characters that don’t appear in her other stories. For all that, it is a typical mystery that will delight and entertain you nevertheless.
Major John Burnaby is a friend of Captain Trevelyan. The latter buys a lot of land in an out of the way village in England called Sittaford and builds a cottage and five bungalows. One of them is sold to Burnaby.
When he hears that an old lady, Mrs Willet, from South Africa wants to rent his cottage for the winter and that she lives with her daughter Miss Violet, initially he rejects the idea but relents.
Mrs Willet is having a get together at her rented house to which Burnaby, Mr Garfield, Mr Duke and Mr Rycroft have been invited. Already a good setting where deep snow outside and a party in a remote location – inaccessible to others – sets up the stage for a mystery right away.
But that is not where the first twist occurs. They try a kind of spirit medium thing and the spirit seems to say that Trevelyan is dead. This happens at 10:20 PM.
While others just laugh it off as a child’s play, Barnaby gets worried and trudges through snow. Not being able to gain entry to the house despite ringing the doorbell and chimes, he suspects something is wrong. And with the local constable Graves and Doctor Warren, they go into the house through a side window (which was open, another unexpected surprise, given the weather) and find Trevelyan indeed lying dead. The doctor guesses the death in a range with 10:20 bang in the middle of it!
Inspector Narracott comes to investigate the next day. With him is Sergeant Pollack. He immediately deduces that the killer must have come from the living room window (tracks in the snow) and that Trevelyan must have let him in (as the window was locked and was not tampered with) and so Trevelyan must have known the killer.
The inspector goes to interview James Pearson who is the nephew of the murdered man. James admits to meeting his uncle on the day he died and left close to the time he was murdered. Agatha is filling in the suspect list as she normally does! When he heard the news of his uncle’s death (‘He was alive when I left him, I swear!) he admits to panicking and taking the train out of the city.
Emily, who is engaged to James decides to take matters in her own hands because it looks ‘bad for James who won’t hurt a fly’. She is shocked, nevertheless, when James is arrested by Inspector Narracott and enlists the help of a young journalist called Charles Enderby.
She decides to go to Sittaford in search of clues about the real killer. Another resident offers his services – old Mr Ryker. He gives some information about everyone. Especially the young Garfield who is broke and came recently from somewhere abroad.
In the meanwhile, Inspector Narracott asks how they knew about Trevelyan to find the cottage and is surprised to find that the question stumped Mrs Willett who is wily and clever. In addition when they ask if she knew young Peterson who was arrested, she stumbles more, and what’s more, Violet Willett, the young one, faints. Distinctly odd, that.
A convict, meanwhile, has escaped they hear and the whole community is excited. This is a very unusual occurrence for this quiet town.
Emily continues to find clues which help focus suspicion on many folks. First, even though the Willets said that they came from South Africa, a luggage label suggesting Australia is found dropped as they travel. It turns out that one of the alibis of a person (Duke) does not hold water. He was not at the dinner that he claimed to have attended.
All is muddled up in the Agatha Christie fashion but when Emily goes over to see the house after receiving a seemingly insignificant clue – that Trevelyan’s pair of shoes was missing, she gets to know who killed the man. Then she goes and talks to Inspector Narracot. Meanwhile, also in Agatha Christie’s fashion, everyone has gathered in Mrs Willet’s house where they are wondering if they have to start another seance, including Charles, the young journalist. When they prepare to do so, both Emily and Narracot burst in and the inspector arrests the real killer.
Emily then explains how she deduced who the killer was!
Nice little story, in typical Christie style. Enjoyable.
7/10
== Krishna
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