Hercule Poirot doesn’t need all his detective skills to realize something is troubling his secretary, Miss Lemon—she has made three mistakes in a simple letter. It seems an outbreak of kleptomania at the student hostel in which her sister works is distracting his usually efficient assistant.

Deciding that desperate times call for desperate measures, the great detective agrees to investigate. Unknown to Poirot, however, desperation is a motive he shares with a killer. . . .

Starred Review. Fraser, who played Captain Hastings, the sidekick for arch Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the PBS Mystery series, now performs the entire cast in Christie's 1955 mystery. Fraser's Poirot is derivative of the stellar performance of the series' star, David Suchet; nevertheless, Fraser gives Christie's work his own imprimatur. Poirot is absent much of the time in this tale of kleptomania, malice and murder set at a boarding house for students. Add to the mix a number of students from England, a temperamental Greek landlady and an Italian house staff, and one must conclude that Fraser is some sort of magician to keep all the players sorted out as they converge in the common room. Not to be missed among the clamoring voices is Christie's narrative, from which Fraser manages to wring every wry drop. The producers at the Mystery Masters division of the Audio Partners were smart to hire Fraser to record this classic, and listeners will find it a delightful romp that passes all too quickly. (Dec.)
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“When it comes to fiendish plotting, there’s nobody to compare with Agatha Christie.” (Peter Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Banks novels )

“The Christie fan of longest standing, who thinks he knows every one of her tricks, will still be surprised by some of the twists here.” (New York Times )

“The characters are as good as ever and there is plenty of entertainment.” (Times Literary Supplement (London) )