Poirot Retrospective #18: Appointment with Death

 

Poirot Retrospective #18: Appointment with Death

Appointment with Death was strictly middle of the pack, but was fun anyway. This is another "Poirot on the move" novel, this time at Petra, Jordan. It's like the successful alternate version of Murder in Mesopotamia.

A horrible old woman who rules her family with an iron thumb and takes glee in crushing them underfoot dies suddenly at Petra. Was it one of her children - every one of whom hated her? - or one of the various outsiders on the periphery?

Poirot - but of course! - JUST HAPPENS to be wandering through Jordan at that moment. Unlike most books, this one draws attention explicitly to the Cabot Cove Syndrome (everywhere Poirot goes, people conveniently die), and Poirot even accepts a dare from the British Colonel in charge of the Trans-Jordan territory (1930s) to solve the case IN ONE DAY.

Sure, it's ridiculous. But the characters are reasonably well drawn, the murder and solution are quite interesting and not what I expected (I felt SO SURE I was right about this one, but no - I fell for the final red herring), and the setting is used well.

I don't have a ton to say, except that there is an unusual denouement here - a final chapter that takes place years later (!) that shows many happy endings. This is very uncommon for Christie, and I'm a little unsure why she felt the need in this one to wrap things up this way. I guess she felt the need to balance out the misery of the opening.

So, this is a very straightforward "standard" Poirot. Enjoyable, brief, easily digested.