Alas, Mrs. McGinty; we hardly knew you.Really. I mean that. She was a widow, a woman who cleaned houses and took in lodgers to make ends meet; had a niece whom she saw at holidays, and was perhaps a bit of a nosy parker; nothing extraordinary to fill the obituary. When Inspector Spence visits the retired Poirot, he shares his troubling concern that the man he arrested for murdering Mrs. McGinty, and who is now facing the death penalty, is not truly guilty. Yes, yes; the circumstantial evidence was damning, but James Bentley’s milquetoast personality seems so wrong for the deed. Could dear Poirot perhaps put his little grey cells to work? But the clues won’t be found in McGinty’s past; as Hercule Poirot points out “For, you see, Mon cher Spence, if Mrs. McGinty is just an ordinary charwoman–it is the murderer who must be extraordinary.” It is true; the murderer is a bit extraordinary. The plotting has an interesting premise, albeit perhaps hard to understand in the modern age. A second murder (because there always is one, isn’t there?) was unsurprising. Overall, the book reminded me more than a bit of A Murder Is Announced, so perhaps take a break between if you are on a Christie binge, or perhaps visit one of her more exotic locales in between.For once, Christie leads with Hercule instead of consulting him later, providing an enjoyable stroll down nostalgia lane. Poirot laments the loss of Hastings as a sounding board and audience, but since Poirot’s investigative strategy is to stir up the village, he ends up ‘confiding’ in a number of people. We are treated to Christie’s standard cast of the post-war English village: a penniless but connected couple with a shabby family manse, a overly dramatic woman who enjoys her own tales of woe, the dutiful but repressed daughter, a bold young woman emblematic of the new age, an insecure, unsmart woman attempting to climb the social ladder, a postmistress with a penchant for gossip. All standard in many Christies, along with the semi-invalid elderly woman and her playwright son, echoes of Marple’s nephew Raymond.“Mrs. Sweetiman imparted all this information with relish. She prided herself on being well informed. Mrs. Weatherby whose desire for knitting needles had perhaps been prompted by a desire to know what was going on, paid for her purchase.“Tone seems on the playful side, which self-referential remarks on writing, appreciation and performance. When Mrs. Oliver and her apples make an appearance, it becomes quite clear that Christie is taking an authorial aside to muse on readers who obstinately prefer troublesome characters and playwrights who take license with an author’s characters. “‘How do I know?’ said Mrs. Oliver crossly. ‘How do I know why I ever thought of the revolting man? I must have been mad!… Why all the idiotic mannerisms he’s got? These things just happen. You try something–and people seem to like it–and then you go on–and before you know where you are, you’ve got someone like that maddening Sven Hjerson tied to you for life.”Poor Dame Christie. She seems to have had at least a gastronomic sort of revenge on Poirot at least, by boarding him at the worst guest-house possible: "I thought I would open a bottle of those raspberries I put up last summer. They seem to have a bit of mould on top but they say nowadays that that doesn't matter... --practically penicillin." If it is any post-humous consolation, in my old age, I prefer Miss Marple to the conceited Poirot, but I enjoy them both. Mrs. McGinty's Dead is one worth adding to the library.Three and a half self-referential stars.
Poirot è chiamato da un poliziotto a indagare su un caso di qualche mese prima: un giovane è stato condannato a morte per aver ucciso la sua padrona di casa. Ma il poliziotto non crede sia stato lui, così l'investigatore belga indaga per dipanare il mistero...Carino, ma non leggete prima la prefazione, altrimenti vi rovina il divertimento!!! Dvertente quando Ariadne Oliver, scrittrice di gialli, parla del suo personaggio... sembra la confessione di amore-odio di Agatha verso Poirot!* Era ed è sempre la mia debolezza il desiderio di fare il saccente: una debolezza che Hastings non avrebbe mai potuto capire. Ma, in realtà, è necessario per un uomo delle mie capacità ammirare se stesso, e per far questo si ha bisogno di stimoli esterni. Non si può stare su una poltrona tutto il giorno e pensare di essere un uomo in gamba: occorre anche confrontarsi con gli altri.* Poirot prese il biglietto da visita e vi scrisse il nome della pensione e il numero di telefono. "Abito qui." Il suo nome, notò con dispiacere, non fece molta impressione alla Williams. I giovani sono tremendamente ignoranti in fatto di celebrità.* Io sono liberale. è il solo partito su cui si può contare, oggi: piccolo, selezionato e senza possibilità di essere eletto. Mi piacciono le cause perse.* Come faccio a sapere perché ho creato un personaggio così disgustoso? Dovevo essere impazzita! Perché ho scelto un finlandese se non so niente della Finlandia? Perché ho pensato a tutte quelle maniere idiote che lo caratterizzano? Sono cose che succedono. Crei un personaggio... e sembra che il pubblico lo apprezzi... e tu continui... e prima che ti renda conto dove sei arrivata, ti ritrovi legata per tutta la vita a quell'esasperante Sven Hjerson. E la gente arriva persino a scrivere... a dire che gli devo essere molto affezionata. Affezionata? Se incontrassi quell'ossuto, magro vegetariano finlandese nella vita reale, imbastirei l'omicidio più perfetto che abbia mai inventato.* Le secret de Polichinelle è un segreto che tutti sanno. Per questo la gente che non lo conosce, non lo saprà mai: infatti se tutti pensano che lei sappia una cosa, nessuno gliela viene a raccontare.
What do You think about Mrs. McGinty's Dead (2007)?
One of the most intricate and elaborate plots I’ve ever read, but quite enjoyable . While reading this book, I'm positive most people will feel baffled at times by the names of the characters and the places, in addition to the subplots within the main plot. Christie tactfully succeeded in misleading the reader with a lot of false clues and red herrings, with keeping the story as belivable as possible.If you are a fan of Poirot, you'll recognize an amusing humor in his character here, which I admired. You can't help but sympathize with the man because of what he endured during his stay in Broadhinny.I gave the book 4 stars because of the ending, which in my opinion lacked originality. In addition to that, the plot was rather unnecessarily complicated. But, the book is good and definitely a page-turner.
—Carlo
An elderly woman has been murdered, seemingly by her down-on-his-luck boarder for the few pounds she had hidden in her room. It's an open-and-shut case...or is it? Hercule Poirot, initially uninterested in such an ordinary case, changes his mind after Superintendent Spence (last seen in Taken At The Flood asks him to take a closer look at the facts.Mrs. McGinty's Dead is a rollicking read, and as usual for Christie, will keep you guessing as to the murderer's identity until the end. Also, the book contains some other references to earlier Poirot works, which I always enjoy. Poirot brings up once again the unnamed Belgian soap manufacturer who murdered his wife--a past case previously mentioned to frighten a character in the short story "The Nemean Lion." In addition, Ariadne Oliver (an eccentric mystery novelist who is Christie's affectionate self-insert character) mentions a mistake she made in one of her past novels, which is a reference to Death in the Clouds.
—Mary Ann
Poor old Mrs. McGinty is found dead and her boarder is found guilty of her murder. The police aren’t so sure he is really guilty and ask Hercule Poirot to help investigate this incident a little further.I found this book slow to start, but once all the characters were introduced (and there was a nice little cheat sheet in the front of the book) it got interesting to see how this diverse group of town folk interacted. The story is a classic whodunit detective mystery with some dark family secrets that come out in the investigation. Loved how the group is all together and Poirot pulls the decision together with his facts and findings so you really don’t miss any of the clues that the story offered.
—Joanne
