(Free in the sense of freedom)
This is the first novel of Agatha Christie to the world of classic thriller and detective novels. Unfortunately this is not as famous as her other works. The plot, the characters, suspense and the fearful atmosphere everything is amazing in this work. The plot is so ingenious that every moment it will leave the reader puzzling. There are number of suspects in this story and every turn and twist unravels new hidden facts about these characters and incidents which makes it very difficult for the reader to make any guess of the original culprit. This detective mystery introduces the famous character of detective world, Hercule Poirot. The story is narrated by one of the favourite character of Agatha Christie, Arthur Hasting who reappeared in her later novels with Hercule Poirot.
The story begins with the visit of Arthur Hasting to his friend’s house in Style court at Essex. He was surprised to find the remarriage of his friend’s step mother Mrs. Cavendish to a man twenty years younger to her. Mrs. Cavendish inherited the estate of Mr. Cavendish and upon her death the estate will pass to her step son John Cavendish. The story catches its momentum with the murder of Mrs. Cavendish by poisoning. Arthur Hasting seek the help of Hercule Poirot to solve the murder mystery. He tries to solve the mystery by correlating various incidents of the day when the victim was poisoned. Every member and inmate of the Cavendish house was surrounded by suspicion. Each of them has sufficient reasons and motive to kill her. Unless Hercule Poirot reveals the real culprit, the reader remains clueless.