Whilst not her best novel, Agatha Christie's thought process is innovative and justifiable, unfortunately the reader has to wait till the Poirot monologue at the end to unravel the mystery.

A simple flight from Paris to Croydon, nothing could possibly go wrong, unless Poirot is on board, the man is a walking hex of murder and mayhem. Add in thirteen (yes that evil number again) passengers in the separated section of the plane, someone is going to die!



The Victim: Madame Giselle (real name Marie Angélique Morisot), a French moneylender, had her own intelligence service, collecting many facts about her clients, before lending them large sums of money. If they refused to pay back the loaned money, the information she held would be divulged.

Murder Weapon: Originally thought to be a wasp sting but Poirot dismisses that belief, locating a dart which is identified by author Mr Clancy (who had done research on blowpipes and darts for a book that he wrote) as a native thorn shot from a blowpipe. Once again Christie thinking things out. Normally curare would be used, but would Poirot notice the injection site in the neck if that was the case? Probably not so Agatha Christie changes the poison to the venom of the South African boomslang snake...

The poison causes acute haemorrhage under the skin and also acts on the heart, paralysing its action

Now this would allow Poirot to notice the injection site Once again Christie thinking things out.

The Primary Suspect: Poirot, as the blowpipe was found wedged in his chair, even the jury at the inquest suspect him.



Poirot vows to clear his name and solve the case. Poirot works with Inspector Japp in England and Inspector Fournier in France, recommended by Monsieur Gilles the chief of the French detective force at the Sûreté, also from [b:The Murder on the Links|51132354|The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot, #2)|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581427726l/51132354._SY75_.jpg|625995].

Other passengers/suspects: Jane Grey, a hairdresser; her love interest, dentist Norman Gale; mystery writer Daniel Clancy; French archaeologists Armand Dupont and his son Jean; Doctor Bryant; businessman James Ryder; Cicely, Countess of Horbury; the Honourable Venetia Kerr; and two airline stewards Henry Mitchell and Albert Davis.

Another solid mystery, although the actual act of the murder was a little…silly.