I’m gonna level with you guys: I thought this one was really boring.
While on a vacation to the countryside, Hastings, Poirot, and Japp are eager to relax. But their plans are interrupted when a case arises. A suicide. Just one complication: all the signs point to murder! With only a few leads to go on, can Poirot unravel this puzzle?
The premise of the mystery is a basic but exciting one. Proving a suicide is a murder and searching for the killer is a mystery tale as old as time. Problem is… well, just about everything.
Nothing in this short is presented in an interesting way. All the information on the case is delivered by flat, matter-of-fact exposition by Hastings. The suspects in the case never talk, Hastings just tells you what they said like he’s giving you the cliff notes version of the investigation.
Then there’s the ending. Which is just… so disappointing. Once again, the crux of the reveal boils down to information we never received and the final revelation is flat and dull. It isn’t satisfying at all.
If I had to put a positive forward for this story, it would actually have to be Japp. It’s nice to see the policeman actually be taken seriously for once, and to be allowed to lead the investigation. Plus, we learn that he liked botany. He’s been a side character in basically all of these shorts, so it’s nice to see him get fleshed out a bit.
Yes, I am grasping at straws. This short was really dull, okay?
Jonah's Books & Rants 
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