DUMB WITNESS
US title: POIROT LOSES A CLIENT
Other titles: MYSTERY AT LITTLEGREEN HOUSE or MURDER AT LITTLEGREEN HOUSE
UK publication: 1937 (Collins)
US publication: 1937 (Dodd, Mead)
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Genre: Novel
Plot summary and comments: Poirot receives a long and rambling letter from
Emily Arundell, an elderly spinster who lives at Littlegreen House in
the village of Market Basing, Berkshire; she asks him to undertake an
investigation for her but forgets to tell him what it is. Poirot and Hastings
visit Market Basing to find that she has died of a heart attack, but investigate
the case anyway. The 'dumb witness' of the title is a dog, a wire-haired
terrier called Bob, who plays an important role in the plot and who is
given some 'dialogue'. The story is another take on the village murder
with a small number of suspects and a death by poison. (Hastings accepts
the dog at the end, presumably returning to Argentina with him).
Courtesey of: http://stout.physics.ucla.edu/%7eyoder/mystery/christie.html
::READERS REVIEWS::
"In
this book Agatha Christie refers to the murderers in Death in the Clouds,
the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Mysterious Affair at Style and the Mystery
of the Blue Train, so make sure you have read all of these before you
read this one, our your fun will be spoilt!
Dumb Witness is one my top ten favourite Agatha Christie novels. Dame Christie has expressed the character of Hastings better here than in any of the other seven novels in which he appears. It is also one of the most amusing.
One thing I enjoy about this book is that we are given a fair crack at the whip - everything that Poirot sees we see, there are no last minute envelopes arriving (which often irritates me). His explanation is convincing.
Go ahead and read it! But don't forget to read the books mentioned above first."
"believe
me....i can't utter more.....you will satisfy with this book and yell
to the high pitch.....agatha christie once again shows her critical thinking
in this book with more psychological side....she performs the best....in
addition, my truly favorite fiction detective..hercule poirot....has taken
the tasks...."
"At
first the title intrigued me, but as i got down to reading the book, I
found that the title had nothing much to do with the story. But nevertheless,
i enjoyed the book. It's about the murder of an old lady, and the suspects
are the relatives after her money. So what's the title have to do with
the book? Simple. Only one witness was there to this murder...and the
witness is dumb. yep... we're talikng about her pet dog here. The irony
to the story is that inspite of having a witness, Poirot has to unravel
the mystery, with hardly any clues. But poirot being poirot solves the
mystery....making another good book to read. Most of christie's books
are a bit similar, but not exactly same, making it possible to read most
of her books without getting bored. While this sounds like one of those
typical books, it's really not. Read it...then you'll see."
::YOUR OPINION::
