In Peril at End House, a young woman named Magdala Buckley— nicknamed Nick— has had three near escapes from death. Once a heavy painting fell off from the wall and almost hit her, once her car wouldn't brake, and another time a huge boulder fell and almost hit her car. Then, when she was talking to Poirot, a bullet went straight past through her hat, almost killing her...
Seeing that she was in danger, Poirot tried his best to protect her. However...
Spoiler/Plot development:
- Maggie Buckley, Nick's cousin, was accidentally killed by the murderer
- Nick's fiance was a pilot who would inherit a lot of money from his uncle, and both of them recently died. Their relationship was kept secret because the pilot's uncle hated women.
- Maggie's real name was Magdala (same as Nick's), and she was the pilot's actual fiance. She was killed by Nick because Nick wanted to pretend to be the pilot's fiance and obtain the fortune he left.
Thoughts
I knew from the start that Nick was the murderer! Whenever a person who is supposed to die doesn't, it can almost be guaranteed that the person is the murderer themselves; that's why they can still be alive!
Anyway, I thought this was an overall good read. It's not my favourite of Agatha Christie, but I think the plot and the development were both pretty clever. And when the truth was revealed, everything was extremely logical; there were plenty of clues that pointed towards Nick as the murderer.