Several weeks ago, the New York Times Sunday Book Review celebrated its 125th anniversary with a wonderful edition comprising reviews of classic books by extraordinary reviewers from the past.  One section highlighted  ten classic mysteries from Agatha Christie’s 1916 book  through Georgette Heyer’s 1937 book, They Found Him Dead.   Sayers, Hammett, Queen, Simenon (YEA!), Carr, Mitchell, Allingham, Van Dine make up the rest of the list.

I decided to begin with Christie and work my way through the list, and I was not disappointed.  Christie introduces us to the wonderful plot device of the ‘locked room’ murder in a country estate where the guests and the hosts are the only suspects.

Hercule Poirot is retired after a distinguished career as a Belgian detective and is living in the village of Styles, recovering from WWI wounds.  Poirot is enlisted by his friend Hastings, a weekend guest of the Cavendish’s at their Styles manor, to help solve the mystery when Mrs. Ingelthorpe, the matriarch is found dead in bed, evidently the victim of strychnine poisoning.  Who did it?  Was it her young, fortune hunting newly-wed husband?  one of the two stepsons?  the beautiful daughter-in-law? or one of the downstairs staff?

After many false starts by Scotland Yard and mistaken conclusions by Hastings, Poirot gathers all the suspects in the library (where else?) and explains who did it and how.  Great fun!