Dumb Witness, Agatha Christie
Also published as Poirot Loses A Client, Dumb Witness is a case study in 'better late than never'.
Hercule Poirot receives a request to help a women. Not so unusual for the famous Belgian detective. Only one problem: the woman has been dead for over a month. Poirot, never one to leave a damsel in distress, decides that the time is right, no matter how cold the trail of clues might be, to investigate the case and avenge the murder of Mrs. Arundell.
Poirot soon discovers that it is, most likely, that his deceased client was murdered for her money by one of her own relatives. Mrs. Arundell has hinted in her letter to Poirot that discretion was of utmost importance and, above all, she wished to protect the name of her family.
Luckily, there was, it seems, a witness to the crime in Littlegreen House in the village of Market Basing. Aaaah, this should make the solution as simple as taking candy from a small child. The only problem is that the only witness to Mrs. Arundell's murder was the victim's pet dog and, of course, can't clue Poirot in on who killed his master.
A fun aspect of the book is that part of the story is told through the eyes of the witness. Yes, man's best friend is also Poirot's assistant in this murder mystery which makes Dumb Witness a wonderful story for mystery lovers as well as animal lovers!
Read our biography of Agatha Christie.
