The next stop on my journey through Dame Agatha’s land was Hickory Dickory Death.

Another of the “nursery rhyme” mysteries, this one is not one of her best. Oh, its a good puzzle (when does she not make one?) but in this book her palming of the critical clues is not quite up to her usual standards. You can see her hands move, and her misdirection isn’t as good as usual. An astute reader should arrive at the correct conclusion before All Is Revealed.

The book begins when the incomparable Miss Lemon makes three (count ’em 3!) errors in a letter she is typing for Poirot. The plot revolves around some silly thefts at a youth hostel, which is managed by her sister and so family feeling is the cause of her mental lapses, and builds from there through three murders to a conclusion. It builds well, Poirot is, well, Poirot. If you’re coming here from the TV series, be aware that the TV writers have rewritten a lot of Dame Agatha’s work in order to include the supporting characters of Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings, neither of whom appear in this.