Death in the Clouds (Poirot)

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And of course M. Poirot is most charming and engaging, why he could sell you on any idea, and he does. He has a rousing way of uncovering the facts.

Poirot is assisted by Japp throughout the investigation; he comes with him to investigate the case in France. Inspector Fournier is given a lesser role as a result. Robert Barnard: "Exceptionally lively specimen, with wider than usual class and type-range of suspects. Scrupulously fair, with each clue presented openly and discussed. Note Clancy the crime writer, and the superiority of French police to British (no signs of insularity here)." Poirot pursues his enquiries in both London and Paris. On a flight to Paris, he conducts an experiment that shows that the use of the blowpipe, or anything similar, would have been noticed by the other passengers. It subsequently emerges that Giselle has an estranged daughter, Anne Morisot, who now stands to inherit her fortune. Poirot meets Anne and learns that she has an American or Canadian husband, whom she married a month earlier. Poirot afterwards comments that he feels that he has seen Anne before. When Jane makes a remark about needing to file a nail, he realises that Anne was Lady Horbury's maid Madeleine – he had seen her come into the rear compartment during the flight when Lady Horbury summoned her to fetch a dressing-case. He immediately instructs Fournier to find Anne. French police discover her body on the boat-train to Boulogne, with a bottle beside it; she appears to have poisoned herself. The novel was adapted as an anime film for television as episodes 36-39 of the NHK anime series Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple and broadcast from 14 April 2005 to 15 May 2005. My wife and I listened to this audiobook whilst decorating over the last few days and at 6 hours its a jolly good listen. Hugh Fraser does have a penchant for narrating, and for the various voices he uses without it sounding too contrived.The characters of Dr Bryant, James Ryder and Armand Dupont are omitted from the adaptation; Jean Dupont is the only archaeologist on the flight. Ahora que he estado leyendo tan seguido los libros de Agatha y además en orden me he dado cuenta de que es notable el estado de animo que posiblemente tenía la escritora cuando escribía sus libros, mientras en algunos el ambiente es jocoso, divertido o ligero, en otros es serio y formal o como en este caso incluso algo opresivo, había leído libros de ella antes de empezar con este reto de Agatha, pero ni los había leído en orden y ni los había leído todos, claro me faltaban un montón, pero me ha encantado darme cuenta de estos cambios en la ambiente de sus historias.

The youngest of three children of the Miller family. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880–1929), called Monty, ten years older than Agatha.Rue des Ursins, Paris - Japp and Poirot rush in a taxi to hotel of Mrs Richards. The taxi makes a cyclist lose his balance on the Rue des Ursins. But is the method used as simple as that? What of the wasp flying around? And why didn’t anyone see a passenger putting a flute to their mouth? And which flute would it have been: we learn of several. Take note too of the details; the tiny clues which Poirot spots. The two coffee spoons. The nail clippers. The hypodermic syringe. A long cigarette holder. An empty matchbox. A blowpipe found pushed down the side of Poirot’s seat. The fact that Poirot offered his seat to someone so that she could sit and chat with her friend. Are any of these noteworthy? By now, readers of the time knew what to expect of the little Belgian detective, and neither they nor we would be disappointed with this story. It is a variant on a country house “closed room” murder, the twist being that the murder takes place mid-flight – or “in the clouds” – where all the suspects are present, in a confined space, with no chance to escape. What’s more, it is a delight to find that yet again Poirot finds that he himself is the main suspect for the murder! After the inquest, even a jury decide this way, much to the consternation of the judge. During the flight, Lady Horbari calls her maid from another cabin. A bee flies in the cabin, and one of the passengers kills her. The Times in its main paper gave the book a second review in its issue of 2 July 1935 when they described its plot as "ingenious" and commented on the fact that Christie had evolved a method of presenting a crime in a confined space (with reference to The Mystery of the Blue Train and Murder on the Orient Express) which "however often employed, never loses its originality." [4]

Poirot makes his dénouement of the case in the presence of Japp, Gale, and Clancy. Giselle's killer was Norman Gale, who sought her fortune. The murder was carefully planned: Gale had brought his dentist's coat on the flight, which he changed into after some time to pose as a steward, knowing no-one would pay attention to such a person. Under the guise of delivering a spoon to Giselle, he stabbed her with the dart, then removed his coat and returned to his seat before the body was found. Anne's murder was part of the plan – Gale married her when he learned she was Giselle's daughter, intending to kill her at a later date in Canada, after she had received her mother's estate, and having ensured that he would in turn inherit the money from her. However, he had to kill her earlier than planned because she claimed her inheritance on the same day that Poirot met her. Not only is the idea of a murder on an aeroplane intriguing, but we need to remember that air flight itself was brand new, when this novel was first published. A regular London to Paris air service began in 1935, and the aeroplanes were converted bombers! There were eight models, all named after mythological figures, so Agatha Christie invented a name on the same theme: “Prometheus”. Sadly, by 1940, all the original Imperial Airways planes had either crashed or been irreparably damaged and destroyed. Thus the aeroplane that Agatha Christie describes here, feels very authentic; moreover it feels specific to the 1930s.

It is certainly more interesting for us to have such a wide selection of suspects, varying from an ordinary shop girl to an aristocrat, and a businessman to archaeologists. Agatha Christie displays her skill at humour, in making each character have their own little quirk, and for the main part these are necessary clues to the plot, as well as being most entertaining. The Times Literary Supplement of 4 July 1935 summarized thus: "Any of the other nine passengers and two stewards could be suspected. And all of them were, including Clancy, the writer of detective stories, whom the author evidently enjoys making absurd. It will be a very acute reader who does not receive a complete surprise at the end." [3] The Times in its main paper gave the book a second review in its issue of 2 July 1935 when they described its plot as "ingenious" and commented on the fact that Christie had evolved a method of presenting a crime in a confined space (with reference to The Mystery of the Blue Train and Murder on the Orient Express) which "however often employed, never loses its originality." Having studied the book and asked the doorman Madame Morisot, Poirot learns that Lady Horbari was at the deceased the day before. The story was straightforward enough. A person dies on a plane, one of the passengers must have done it. There were many complicated motives and possible solutions, but in the end Poirot manages to ignore all the distractions and focuses on what really matters.