Read it in one evening. So... I thought the eventually revealed backstory regarding the villain Poirot was seeking was rather fanciful and far-fetched ... but then, wow was that whole concluding section effective! ( )

Norton's best skill is manipulating people to murder others. His final act is to manipulate Poirot into murdering him. ( )

A revolving bookcase in an Innovations catalogue* brought be back to the final Poirot novel, but written many years (30ish) earlier so it's chronologically more aligned to her pre war novels. On this reading I found it a little unengaging, but that may've been me. The plot takes us back to where Poirot began, the house Styles, where he is staying, a physically broken man, and where he has invited his faithful friend Hastings, to help prevent a murder. So an oddity in many ways but a completion of the Poirot story. *To say more would be a spoiler!

Classic Agatha Christie, with twists and turns you don't expect, but still the ending isn't totally a surprise because at least once or more, you anticipated who was the killer. In this case, there is a surprise twist at the end. I don't know if I've just read so much of her work that I can anticipate her, or if the clues were obvious, or maybe I read this before (I don't remember this one) and subconsciously remembered at least part of the ending. Overall, a fun, quick read, ideal for a time when you don't want to have to think too hard. The characters are standard archetypes and that makes it even more enjoyable since it usually isn't the archetype you would most expect that commits the murder. ( )

4/8/22