Hercule Poirot is contacted by Superintendent Spence (we also met in "Taken at the Flood" and "Hallowe'en Party"). He believes James Bentley, a man convicted and just about to be hanged for the murder of his landlady to be innocent and wants Poirot to investigate. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80% Misc. Murder Plotlets - local police w/ IQ of a houseplant - "All in the family" murder - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect - Killer purposely leaves clues Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 70 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 60's-90's Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation - blunt clubbing (like seals) Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |