Well, you can’t win ’em all.
Poirot has been offered an interesting challenge. After a disagreement between an uncle and his niece, he’s presented her a task to prove herself: to find his will and earn his fortune. Naturally, she turns to our favorite Belgian to solve the case. But when her uncle proves a cunning soul, will Poirot be able to break his puzzle?
I love the initial hook of this one. A family setting up a mental duel between each other? That sounds perfect for a fun mystery and a rich character drama!
We got neither.
The characters don’t have a chance to develop. The uncle is dead already, the niece vanishes after the introduction, and the two servants are just there for plot exposition. Any fun drama we could have gotten is dead on arrival!
As for the mystery, it’s extremely underwhelming. Poirot searches a room, then he searches another room and finds the thing. No twists, no turns, no compelling clues that get you scratching your head. It’s a massive disappointment from beginning to end.
Also, I’m not too sure about the message of this one. The moral of the story is that the best way for women to prove their intellect is… to hire a man to solve their problems. I dunno, maybe I’m overthinking it, but that rubs me the wrong way.
I really didn’t like this one. It could have been a home run, but it was ultimately a swing and a miss. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend reading this one.
Jonah's Books & Rants 
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