I’m not sure if this is my second or third Hercule Poirot book. I originally started reading this as a combo book of number 1 (ummm the poisoning one – They Mysterious Affair at Styles) and this one, which is number 22. I’ve seen Death on the Nile, the train one (it’s probably Agatha Christie blasphemy to not remember the name – Murder on the Orient Express
), and maybe another Poirot movie? When you read so many books and watch so many movies sometimes they all blend together.
Anyway, sixteen years after her mother was convicted of killing her father, the daughter asks Poirot to review the case. Caroline (the mother) was convicted of poisoning her cheating husband very quickly, and never appealed the verdict. Everyone believed she was guilty too. She died in prison, but not before sending her daughter a letter claiming innocence. This letter led the girl to Poirot to find out the truth.
Of course Mr. Poirot gets the old gang together, the five little pigs who are his potential suspects in the poisoning because of their relationships and proximity to the murdered man and the murder. It’s fascinating to see how five people can tell five slightly to drastically different stories of the same event. As an investigator myself (albeit of vaccine production and not crime), I’m intrigued by how we all see the truth differently. In my job, telling me the truth of what happened could get you in trouble, and possibly fired. That’s nothing compared to admitting to murder though!