In Curtain, the last Hercule Poirot mystery, novelist Agatha Christie takes Poirot back to the setting of the 1920 novel that began the series: Styles Court.
As then, Poirot is joined by Captain Hastings. Unlike then, Poirot is now old, deformed by arthritis, using a wheelchair.
Styles Court is now a guest house. Poirot has persuaded Hasting’s daughter, Judith, and the Franklins, who are her boss and his wife, to come to Styles Court.
There are other people staying at the house, Poirot and Hastings have never met.
Poirot has asked Hastings to come to help him investigate the guests and prevent a murder which he is sure is going to be committed.
Poirot has already identified five seemingly unrelated murder cases in which no one doubted who the murderer was. Yet Poirot believes the person responsible for all five of the murders was someone else—a person who is at Styles Court.
With Poirot confined to a wheelchair, it’s up to Hastings to do the legwork.
Poirot fans will appreciate this unexpected end to the 55-year series.
For those who don’t know him, Curtain is not a good introduction to the little Belgian with the mustache.
Curtain by Agatha Christie
Dodd, Mead [1975] 1st ed. 238 p.
1975 bestseller #3. My grade: B
© 2018 Linda Gorton Aragoni
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