Appointment with Death

by Agatha Christie

Volume 31 in the Agatha Christie Collection (1938) Limited edition of 800 copies worldwide

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sat the corpse of Mrs Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist was the only sign of the fatal injection that had killed her.

With only 24 hours available to solve the mystery, Hercule Poirot recalled a chance remark he'd overheard back in Jerusalem: 'You see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?' Mrs Boynton was, indeed, the most detestable woman he'd ever met...

• ISBN10: 0006130755
• ISBN13: 9780006130758
• Publish Date: 6 November 1972 (first published 2 May 1938)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 17 October 2003
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: HarperCollins Distribution Services
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 160
• Language: English

Reviews

[brokentune]

4.5*

"You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?"

Mrs. Boynton is despised by everyone who meets her. Even her family. All of her children live under her thumb and it is easy to see how her manipulative tyranny make Mrs. Boynton one of the most despicable characters and one of the most deserving victims in any Christie novel.

Poirot, having once overheard a conversation between two of the Boyton children, is resolved to investigate when a death occurs on a trip to Petra.

I really enjoyed this mystery. Christie focuses once again on the relationships between the characters and uses psychology to map out what makes those relationship keep intact. There is something compelling about the vile Mrs Boynton as none of the people around her find the strength to tear away from her even though this would ultimately be for their own good. At the same time, Mrs Boyton's sadistic behaviour provides a number of lies and deceptions that make it fun to follow Poirot's investigations and keep guessing the resolution to this mystery.