Out of 5 mustachesOut of 5 mustaches
When you're traveling in a plane or bus, do you really pay attention to what other people are doing? No one does, and neither do the people in the same plane Poirot is in. Just fifteen feet away from Poirot, Madame Giselle is murdered by a dart from a blowpipe!
What is more curious is that no one saw anyone raise a blowpipe. What's worse is that the blowpipe is found underneath Poirot's seat! It could've been the wasp flying around inside. When Poirot approaches the lifeless body on the seat, he finds a dart dipped in snake venom. Could it have been done? The father or brother Dupont, archaeologists with access to a blowpipe, could have done it. But, they surely they can't. The dead lady was a moneylender and surely they didn't have need of money. James Ryder, the businessman, was sent to France to negotiate a loan. Maybe he was turned down by Giselle and thought of bumping her off. What about Mr. Clancy, the writer of detective novels? He claimed that he owned a blowpipe. Was it him? What about Norman Gale, the dentist in his uncle's footsteps? Did he have gambling debts? Jane Grey is a simple hairdresser from London--surely she did not do it. Lady Horbury is addicted to cocaine and gambling--she needed money. Did she kill Giselle, too? Dr. Bryant sat next to Poirot playing a flute. Did the flute shoot the dart? Bryant has access to snake venom, too. What about the airplane stewards--are they innocent?
The secrets are many: blackmail, greed, secret identities, and hidden agendas. What is so important about the passengers' luggage? Who is the mysterious Silas Harper? Giselle's daughter was murdered, too--was she privy to a secret plot? Also, there were two spoons in Giselle's cup saucer. Why?
The books goes smoothly and fast, it holds your attention right after the first chapter, and presents clues and conversations in a perfect order, unlike some other books. It is a great pleasure to read and those very observant will figure the whole thing out. Just like Poirot says in this case: "No one, in the course of conversation, can fail to give themselves away sooner or later. Everyone has an irresistible urge to talk about themselves." I suppose that's the clincher right there. And carelessness, too.