Mrs.McGinty's Dead

So Poirot goes to stay in the village of Broadhinny, where the grizzly deed was done, and he soon begins to uncover reasons why other people might have wanted Mrs McGinty dead. While striving to discover the real murderer, he also has to cope with the appalling conditions at the truly terrible 'guest house' he is staying at. The Summerhayes, whose house it is, have no idea how to run a guest house, nor even how to prepare an edible meal.

The scenes where Poirot's sufferings at the Summerhayes's horrible guest house are described are among the funniest in the book, which is replete with humour. There are many interesting characters, especially the scatty but charming Maureen Summerhayes, whom Poirot likes in spite of her atrocious cooking. The character of the convicted murderer Jame Bentley is particularly good, he is utterly unprepossesing, which makes Poirot all the more determined to prove him innocent.

The best exchange in this very entertaining book comes near the end:' "Bon Dieu, how stupid I have been" said Hercule Poirot. "The whole thing is simple, is it not?" It was after that remark that there was very nearly another murder - the murder of Hercule Poirot by Superintendent Spence'. Enjoy it.


Excellent Poirot story.   June 6, 2001
An innocent man accused of murder and it is up to Poirot to save him in this well-written story. The wool is pulled well over the reader's eyes and the end is a revelation. I got completely the wrong suspect. A good read, even if it does feature the infuriating Ariadne Oliver.


Sinister goings on in 1950's rural England   September 28, 2000
The book is a great read from begining to end and has a dark and sinister feel to it.Mrs Mcginty is killed and her shifty lodger is arrested but Poirot thinks he is innocent so he comes to stay in Broadhinny. The key to the crime seems to be past cases of murder as reported in The News of the World but murder comes to Broahinny in this sinister and incredibly ingenoius mystery.