The Case of the Missing Will {short story}

The late Andrew Marsh, who never agreed with his niece's academic aspirations, has left all of his wealth to his niece in his will—but only if she can locate the deliberately hidden document within a year's time. So she employs the help of Detective Hercule Poirot in The Case of the Missing Will by author Agatha Christie.

High-five to young Miss Violet Marsh for knowing her gifts and having the courage to use them, even when her uncle (as well as the narrator of the story and Poirot's sidekick, Captain Arthur Hastings) doesn't believe her scholastic pursuits to be becoming of a woman.

My interest in this short story slackened somewhat during the middle. But as I headed toward the end, I should've known it was getting too easy, that show more there would be a twist coming. And it came, despite my having gotten lax in my anticipation. What's more, even with Poirot's being rather puffed-up about himself, I couldn't argue with his conclusion about Miss Marsh in the end.

It turned out to be well worth the fifteen minutes or so it took me to read this short and fun little mystery. show less

Rating: 3.9* of five

The Publisher Says: Poirot receives an unusual request for help from a Miss Violet Marsh, who was orphaned as a child and went to live with her peculiar Uncle Andrew. He died a month ago, leaving a will with a strange clause. Marsh has given instructions that his "clever" niece is allowed to live in his house for one month and in that time she has to "prove her wits" and find his second will. If at the end of that time she hasn't, all his worldly goods go to charitable institutions and she will be left with nothing. Can Poirot help her?

My Review: Another 99¢ Kindle Single and fifth season Agatha Christie's Poirot episode.

The story is very different indeed, the episode's murder isn't a murder but a simple death. The show more story goes from that point of difference to a paper chase of sorts, with his beneficiary sent looking for the titular document. The episode was more or less a straightforward murder-for-inheritance tale.

Much of the difference in framework comes down to The Big Reveal at the end of the episode. It makes a completely different tale out of the story, using only a few elements of the story. I like the story for what it is, a caper; I like the episode for what it is, a puzzle. They're really not closely related, and each stands well on its own.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. show less

This Hercule Poirot short story was first published in the UK on October 31, 1923 in The Sketch magazine. US publication followed in The Blue Book magazine in January 1925.

Hercule Poirot is hired by a woman whose wealthy uncle has died. She and her uncle had a difference of opinion about the education of women. When he passed away, he left a will that gave her a year to find another document that would leave her his money. If she couldn't find the document within that time, all his money and property would go to various charities. Can Poirot's wits and little grey cells find the hidden will?

A very interesting and creative story! It is definitely more than a bit dated though. The old uncle thinks that women should not be educated, but show more learn homemaker skills and dairy work....that women are only useful around the house. He is basically estranged from his niece because she wants to go to college. And she does! Despite the fact that the uncle threatens to disown her....and then plays a ridiculous game of find-the-will to prove that her education is worthless and that he can outwit her from the grave. What an ass!

The television show Agatha Christie's Poirot adapted this story into an episode (Season 5, episode 4). For the first time, I have to say that I did not like the episode. It makes such sweeping changes to the plot of Christie's original story that it can't even be seen as the same story. The timeline is moved up to the 1930s, Hitler, Mussolini, Germany overtaking other countries, and going to war are mentioned, and the basic plot is all together different. Ick. David Suchet and the rest of the cast do a great job acting the script they were given.....but, why did they decide to basically trash Christie's original story? No reason for it.

On to the next story: The Submarine Plans! show less

Poirot and Hastings are called in to help a girl locate a missing will, one of her late Uncle. Violet Marsh and her Uncle didn’t really see eye to eye. He thought she should be the domestic type and she wanted to get an education. When he passed away, Violet learns that there is a missing will and her Uncle is testing her (from beyond the grave) to see exactly how smart she is. Instead of trying to find it herself she enlists Poirot’s help to locate the will.

Oh what fun! There is a dead body, but Poirot isn’t here to solve that issue, he’s here to find a will. I like that this mystery is all about “cleverness” and in her ultimate act of cleverness Violet hires someone else to find the will. That’s not something I think her show more Uncle was expecting.

This was a fun story. The more of these short stories I read the more I’m enjoying watching Poirot’s method of detection to see how he solves the mystery. It’s very interesting watching the master at work, and hopefully one day I will solve one before Poirot! show less

Miss Violet March approaches Poirot for help. As stated in her late uncle's will she has one year to solve a puzzle or lose her inheritance.
Another enjoyable short mystery

Poirot says Miss Marsh deserved the inheritance because she proved her witt and benefit of her education by hiring Poirot. "Always employ the expert."

Quick and easy read