Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Dead Man's Mirror: A Hercule Poirot Story
    Dead Man's Mirror: A Hercule Poirot Story
    Dead Man's Mirror: A Hercule Poirot Story
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    Dead Man's Mirror: A Hercule Poirot Story

    By Agatha Christie

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Previously published in the print anthology Murder in the Mews: Four Cases of Hercule Poirot.

    Hercule Poirot attends an auction and gets much more than he bid on: a disputed will, gunshots, and ancient Egyptian spirits. This might be Poirot's strangest case yet.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJul 30, 2013
    ISBN9780062298294
    Dead Man's Mirror: A Hercule Poirot Story
    Author

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six decades.

    Read more from Agatha Christie

    Related to Dead Man's Mirror

    Titles in the series (45)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Mystery, Thriller & Crime Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Mystery Of Christie

      Dec 4, 2020

      The Mystery Of Christie
      4 min read

    • Article

      100 Years On, It’s No Mystery Why Agatha Christie’s Stories Endure

      Oct 2, 2020

      The Queen of Mystery’s legendary plot twists and beloved characters have inspired legions of fans – especially mystery authors.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Cracking The Case

      Mar 25, 2020

      Cracking The Case
      3 min read

    • Article

      The William Trevor Reader: “The Bedroom Eyes of Mrs. Vansittart”

      Nov 3, 2022

      This story shows an author at the height of his powers, trying something he hasn't done before. The post The William Trevor Reader: “The Bedroom Eyes of Mrs. Vansittart” appeared first on The Millions.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Pats On The Back

      Dec 12, 2019

      I AM writing this column from a prone position. Reclining on my sofa in the library, propped up with cushions like some latter-day Lady Ottoline Morrell, but without the wit, brilliance and patronage. I wish I could say my current condition arose fro

      3 min read

    • Article

      When Lizzie met Maggie

      Dec 13, 2023

      The Grim Reaper has been having a high old time of late. I've barely had a moment to keep up with my diary, I have been so busy writing letters of condolence, attending funerals and giving addresses at memorial services. I was especially saddened by

      3 min read

    • Article

      La Otra Historia

      Jun 30, 2022

      La Otra Historia
      14 min read

    • Article

      Walking On TheWild Side…

      Jul 17, 2023

      Walking On TheWild Side…
      3 min read

    • Article

      If Sheep COULD FLY…

      Aug 3, 2022

      If Sheep COULD FLY…
      6 min read

    • Article

      Scoundrel’s Lair

      Jul 9, 2023

      Scoundrel’s Lair
      5 min read

    • Article

      I Love Liz Hurley, Topless Or Not

      Jun 2, 2021

      Catching sight of Elizabeth Hurley’s breasts on page 87 of the Spring issue of The Oldie reminded me of several things, as you might imagine. Chief among them, beyond the fact that this magazine never ceases to surprise me, was a sudden vivid recolle

      3 min read

    • Article

      Unfinished Portrait

      Dec 1, 2018

      I SHALL NEVER finish what would have been my twentieth novel. When I started it, it was to be called Iridescence, but after I had been working on it for a while I changed the working title to Butterfly. The opening image was of bubbles floating over

      7 min read

    • Article

      Roger's PROFANISAURUS

      Nov 19, 2020

      Roger's PROFANISAURUS
      8 min read

    • Article

      Unreality Television

      May 27, 2020

      Unreality Television
      4 min read

    • Article

      Hello, Grim Reaper

      Dec 15, 2021

      She was a babe. A fully paid-up, card-carrying babe. There was absolutely no doubt about it, and she was heading straight for me. She was almost sprinting towards me across the recently reimagined lobby of Claridge’s. She looked up, her scarlet-anoin

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ancestor envy ANYONE?

      Aug 31, 2023

      Ancestor envy ANYONE?
      4 min read

    • Article

      Gem

      Apr 27, 2020

      Gem
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Bum Shot

      Jan 14, 2022

      A Bum Shot
      7 min read

    • Article

      Search PARTY

      Jan 13, 2021

      You find me hunched over the ironing board in the kitchen and thinking dark thoughts about Mrs Bertha Berman. Tell me honestly, is there any more soul-destroying occupation known to womankind than the ironing and attempted folding of fitted bed shee

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Dead Man's Mirror

    3.5/5

    454 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      The four stories in "Murder in the Mews" all work as puzzles, and – at a length hovering somewhere between short story and novel – manage to incorporate enough shades of character without ever tapping the well dry.

      There’s nothing groundbreaking here, no, but as an example of “classic era” Christie, "Murder in the Mews" is not too shabby. The title story is perhaps the most engaging, with a murder plot that will keep you guessing. "The Incredible Theft" and "Triangle at Rhodes" are more opaque mysteries, focussing as much on character and ambience, which makes for a surprisingly good read. "Dead Man’s Mirror" – a retelling of an earlier Poirot short story, "The Submarine Plans" (which, poor thing, is now erased from most Poirot collections due to redundancy) – is my least favourite, failing to engage me for unknown reasons. However it is the most typically ‘Christie’ of the bunch – with a country house full of eccentrics – and there are some lovely pseudo-supernatural touches in for good measure.

      Poirot ranking: 29th out of 38.
    • 4/5
      This collection of four not quite so short stories is great as each story has a twist in the tale. Even so Poirot solves each puzzle. The collection is also interesting as there are hints of plots to come in later novels.
    • 3/5


      I found the stories to be odd and can not say I really liked any except the 3rd story.

      1. Murder in the Mews: Poirot joins Inspector Japp at the scene of a murder, posed to look as a suicide. Mrs Allen shot herself during a fireworks display and was found the following morning by her roommate, Miss Plenderlieth, in her bedroom behind a locked door.

      It seems as though Mrs Allen had a visitor of dubious reputation and was being blackmailed by the man who was seen at the scene of the crime during the fireworks display.


      2. The Incredible Theft: A house party is underway with a large variety of guests including: Lord Charles (the engineer of a new bomber), his secretary, an MP (Sir George Carrington), his wife, his son, & the dubious Mrs. Macatta (a suspected spy).

      After dinner Lord Charles & sir George stroll the grounds and then go into the study where the secretary has laid out the plans for the bomber, only to find the plans stolen.

      Who stole the plans out from plain sight?


      3. Dead Man's Mirror: Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore having written to M. Poirot, imploring him to come help him before it is too late is found dead in his study prior to dinner. It appears to be suicide, with the bullet hitting the mirror as the main clue. Everyone heard the shot, but no one recognized it for what it was.

      The family all had reasons for wanting Sir Gervase dead, he was a controlling despot more concerned with pride of family name than care of his family and his family resented his control of them.

      Of all the stories this is the one I liked.... I liked the characters, the plot, the twists, & the romances.


      4. Triangle at Rhodes: While on holiday during the off season M. Poirot an overtly observed love triangle turned deadly. However the victim was not who the other guests supposed it would be.

      The sleight of hand, an unobserved triangle, and "wrong" victim are all sorted out by M. Poirot.

      This was my least favorite of all. I didn't like the characters, the story was not involved enough and it left me wanting.....
    • 4/5
      The audio version I listened to contains three Poirot stories: “Murder in the Mews”, “Triangle at Rhodes”, and “The Incredible Theft”. In the first story, Poirot assists Chief Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard in the investigation of a suspicious death. Coincidentally, just the evening before, the two men had walked together through the quiet street where the death occurred. In “Triangle at Rhodes”, a vacationing Poirot solves the murder of a fellow tourist. There's no death in the final story. Instead, Poirot investigates the mysterious disappearance of top secret plans for a bomber.“Murder in the Mews” is the most original of the three stories. The other two stories remind me of some of her other works, and seemed vaguely familiar to me as I listened. The three stories are a fairly representative sample of Christie's work, and it might be a nice introduction to Christie for readers who don't want to commit to a full length novel.
    • 4/5
      A nice little collection featuring four mysteries involving Hercule Poirot, with Agatha Christie displaying her skill with the short story. My favourite was the locked-room murder mystery 'Dead Man's Mirror', where Poirot dazzles the reader with his ability to deduct a sequence of events and pinpoint the perpetrator from the seemingly most random and unconnected statements and objects.In particular, the stories are:Murder in the Mews: The morning after bonfire night a woman is found dead in her apartment. At first things point to suicide, but on closer inspection doubts are beginning to emerge. Inspector Japp asks his old friend Hercule Poirot to become involved in the investigation.The Incredible Theft: At a gathering at a country mansion, the plans for a top-secret bomber are stolen. One of the house guests suggests calling in Hercule Poirot to investigate the matter and restore the plans before they fall into the hands of a foreign power.Dead Man's Mirror: A peer of the realm is found shot to death at his country mansion, having apparently committed suicide. Unbeknown to the hostess, secretary and guests, he had contacted Poirot and asked him to investigate in a delicate matter, but when Poirot arrives, the host is already dead. Poirot then assists Major Riddle in the investigation.Triangle at Rhodes: While holidaying on Rhodes, Hercule Poirot tries to prevent a murder.
    • 4/5
      This was a collection of three short stories starring Hercule Poirot. Of course, they were mysteries that only Poirot could solve with twists and turns. In one story, only Poirot realized who the real victim was. Classic stories and mysteries--a story of blackmail, a story about a love triangle, and a story of political intrigue.
    • 3/5
      A collection of four short stories featuring Poirot. The title story concerns an arrogant Lord who summons Poirot to his manor to discuss fraud, but the detective finds himself investigating a locked room murder instead. This is the only Christie I've read so far where the answers seemed so glaringly obvious.This book also goes by the title of Murder in the Mews, which is the best story in the collection. A young woman with a good life commits suicide, or maybe someone has made it look like suicide. Poirot is assisted by Inspector Japp and the woman's roommate.
    • 4/5
      I didn't expect this, the next in my chronological read of Christie's Hercule Poirot series, to be a collection of short stories but there you are. The title refers only to the first story, where a young widow is found dead of apparent suicide in a locked room but suspicion quickly mounts that her death was murder. The ending has the characteristic Christie twist that makes her mysteries a delight to read. The second story, The Incredible Theft, features no murder at all, but rather the mysterious theft of a set of top-secret military plans from a government minister's home. This wasn't quite a locked-room mystery but nearly so. Poirot has the key, as always.Dead Man's Mirror is another locked-room apparent suicide that turns out to be murder. Christie plays with fire by including two such similar puzzles in the same collection but manages to come up with two very different solutions without breaking a sweat.And finally, Triangle in Rhodes finds Poirot on holiday, where the sun is hot and the tourist ménage à trois even hotter. Once again, though, all is not what it seems to the mere bystander, and it is up to Poirot to clear things up.
    • 4/5
      Murder in the MewsThis novella gives the collection it's name.The investigation of suspicious suicide that begins with Hercule Poirot and his friend Inspector Japp from Scotland Yard walking home on Guy Fawkes Night after meeting for dinner. They speculate that all the noise of firecrackers could disguise the report of a gun, and that a murder could easily go undetected.Next morning a young lady is found dead in her flat, shot, apparently suicide. Japp invites Poirot to join him on the investigation.The Incredible TheftThe disappearance of top secret military plans.A honey trap to ensnare an espionage agent who is a house guest apparently backfires when plans disappear from a study moments before top level discussions of them are to take place. Hercule Poirot is brought in to investigate before the news leaks out.Dead Man's MirrorThe bullet that kills Gervase Chevenix-Gore shatters a mirror.Hercule Poirot receives an urgent summons from "the last baronet", Gervase Chevenix-Gore and catches up with his old friend Mr Satterthwaite to learn what he can about the baronet. He learns that Chevenix-Gore is extremely wealthy, very arrogant, very eccentric and the last of his line.When Hercule Poirot arrives for dinner and Sir Gervase does not appear when the dinner gong is sounded, he realizes he is already too late. Sir Gervase is dead.It looks like suicide but the shattered mirror points in another direction.Triangle at RhodesHercule Poirot is sitting on the beach watching the byplay between the sunbathers.mValentine Chantry, recently married for the fifth time, flirts with a new arrival, Douglas Gold, while sending her own husband off on petty tasks. As his holiday progresses, Poirot finds what is happening rather distressing.When Valentine Chantry dies his interpretation of the crime show that others have seen what they wanted to see, not the way he saw it.-------------I suspected I had already read these novellas, perhaps not as this collection, and perhaps seen a television version of at least one of them. They all show how acutely Hercule Poirot observes others, and how he often interprets things very differently.
    • 3/5
      I was rather surprised, if not disappointed, to learn only after I started reading Murder in the Mews, that this book in the Poirot series in fact consists out of four totally independent stories. Even for Agatha Christie I would say that four mysteries in less than 350 pages is a bit of a stretch.

      All four of them were - of course - very nice and again unique examples of Christies' endless wittiness, but I would rather have enjoyed them wrapped in longer stories.
    • 4/5
      This was a collection of four short stories featuring Poirot. The first two were excellent, the third so-so, and the fourth dreadful.

    Book preview

    Dead Man's Mirror - Agatha Christie

    Contents

    Dead Man's Mirror

    One

    Two

    Three

    Four

    Five

    Six

    Seven

    Eight

    Nine

    Ten

    Eleven

    Twelve

    About the Author

    The Agatha Christie Collection

    Copyright

    About the Publisher

    DEAD MAN’S MIRROR

    One

    I

    The flat was a modern one. The furnishings of the room were modern, too. The armchairs were squarely built, the upright chairs were angular. A modern writing table was set squarely in front of the window, and at it sat a small, elderly man. His head was practically the only thing in the room that was not square. It was egg-shaped.

    M. Hercule Poirot was reading a letter:

    M. Hercule Poirot.

    Dear Sir,—A matter has arisen which requires handling with great delicacy and discretion. I have heard good accounts of you, and have decided to entrust the matter to you. I have reason to believe that I am the victim of fraud, but for family reasons I do not wish to call in the police. I am taking certain measures of my own to deal with the business, but you must be prepared to come down here immediately on receipt of a telegram. I should be obliged if you will not answer this letter.

    Yours faithfully,

    Gervase Chevenix-Gore.

    The eyebrows of M. Hercule Poirot climbed slowly up his forehead until they nearly disappeared into his hair.

    And who, then, he demanded of space, is this Gervase Chevenix-Gore?

    He crossed to a bookcase and took out a large, fat book.

    He found what he wanted easily enough.

    Chevenix-Gore, Sir Gervase Francis Xavier, 10th Bt. cr. 1694; formerly Captain 17th Lancers; b. 18th May, 1878; e.s. of Sir Guy Chevenix-Gore, 9th Bt., and Lady Claudia Bretherton, 2nd. d. of 8th Earl of Wallingford. S. father, 1911; m. 1912, Vanda Elizabeth, e.d. of Colonel Frederick Arbuthnot, q.v.; educ. Eton. Served European War, 1914–18. Recreations: travelling, big game hunting. Address: Hamborough St. Mary, Westshire, and 218 Lowndes Square, S.W.1. Clubs: Cavalry. Travellers.

    Poirot shook his head in a slightly dissatisfied manner. For a moment or two he remained lost in thought, then he went to the desk, pulled open a drawer and took out a little pile of invitation cards.

    His face brightened.

    "A la bonne heure! Exactly my affair! He will certainly be there."

    II

    A duchess greeted M. Hercule Poirot in fulsome tones.

    So you could manage to come after all, M. Poirot! Why, that’s splendid.

    The pleasure is mine, madame, murmured Poirot, bowing.

    He escaped from several important and splendid beings—a famous diplomat, an equally famous actress and a well-known sporting peer—and found at last the person he had come to seek, that invariably also present guest, Mr. Satterthwaite.

    Mr. Satterthwaite twittered amiably.

    "The dear duchess—I always enjoy her parties . . . Such a personality, if you know what I mean. I saw a lot of her in Corsica some years ago. . . ."

    Mr. Satterthwaite’s conversation was apt to be unduly burdened by mentions of his titled acquaintances. It is possible that he may sometimes have found pleasure in the company of Messrs. Jones, Brown or Robinson, but, if so, he did not mention the fact. And yet, to describe Mr. Satterthwaite as a mere snob and leave it at that would have been to do him an injustice. He was a keen observer of human nature, and if it is true that the looker-on knows most of the game, Mr. Satterthwaite knew a good deal.

    You know, my dear fellow, it is really ages since I saw you. I always feel myself privileged to have seen you work at close quarters in the Crow’s Nest business. I feel since then that I am in the know, so to speak. I saw Lady Mary only last week, by the way. A charming creature—pot pourri and lavender!

    After passing lightly on one or two scandals of the moment—the indiscretions of an earl’s daughter, and the lamentable conduct of a viscount—Poirot succeeded in introducing the name of Gervase Chevenix-Gore.

    Mr. Satterthwaite responded immediately.

    "Ah, now, there is a character, if you like! The Last of the Baronets—that’s his nickname."

    "Pardon, I do not quite comprehend."

    Mr. Satterthwaite unbent indulgently to the lower comprehension of a foreigner.

    "It’s a joke, you know—a joke. Naturally, he’s not really the last baronet in England—but he does represent the end of an era. The Bold Bad Baronet—the mad harum-scarum baronet so popular in the novels of the last century—the kind of fellow who laid impossible wagers and won ’em."

    He went on to expound what he meant in more detail. In younger years, Gervase Chevenix-Gore had sailed round the world in a windjammer. He had been on an expedition to the Pole. He had challenged a racing peer to a duel. For a wager he had ridden his favourite mare up the staircase of a ducal house. He had once leapt from a box to the stage and carried off a well-known actress in the middle of her rôle.

    The anecdotes of him were innumerable.

    It’s an old family, went on Mr. Satterthwaite. Sir Guy de Chevenix went on the first crusade. Now, alas, the line looks like it’s coming to an end. Old Gervase is the last Chevenix-Gore.

    The estate, it is impoverished?

    Not a bit of it. Gervase is fabulously wealthy. Owns valuable house property—coalfields—and in addition he staked out a claim to some mine in Peru or somewhere in South America, when he was a young man, which has yielded him a fortune. An amazing man. Always lucky in everything he’s undertaken.

    He is now an elderly man, of course?

    Yes, poor old Gervase. Mr. Satterthwaite sighed, shook his head. "Most people would describe him to you as mad as a hatter. It’s true, in a way. He is mad—not in the sense of being certifiable or having delusions—but mad in the sense of being abnormal. He’s always been a man of great originality of character."

    And originality becomes eccentricity as the years go by? suggested Poirot.

    Very true. That’s exactly what’s happened to poor old Gervase.

    He has perhaps, a swollen idea of his own importance?

    Absolutely. I should imagine that, in Gervase’s mind, the world has always been divided into two parts—there are the Chevenix-Gores, and the other people!

    An exaggerated sense of family!

    Yes. The Chevenix-Gores are all arrogant as the devil—a law unto themselves. Gervase, being the last of them, has got it badly. He is—well, really, you know, to hear him talk, you might imagine him to be—er, the Almighty!

    Poirot nodded his head slowly and thoughtfully.

    Yes, I imagined that. I have had, you see, a letter from him. It was an unusual letter. It did not demand. It summoned!

    A royal command, said Mr. Satterthwaite, tittering a little.

    "Precisely. It did not seem to occur to this Sir Gervase that I, Hercule Poirot, am a man of importance, a man of infinite affairs! That it was extremely unlikely that I should be able to fling everything aside

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1