“Well, what leaps to the eye is this: the motive cannot be obvious. If it were –why, then, truly the risk would indeed be too great to be taken! People would say: ‘I wonder if it were So-and-So when the shot was fired?’ No the murderer –the would-be murderer, I should say—cannot be obvious” (19).
In what is another brilliant and puzzling slight-of-hand murder mystery, Agatha Christie’s Peril at End House (1932) offers a delightful return to form for the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot after some notable departures in previous novels like The Big Four (1927), a global espionage adventure which weaved together a collection of short stories, as well as The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928), a locomotive adventure in which Poirot’s clumsy sidekick Captain Arthur Hastings and his trademark humor is wholly absent. In contrast, Peril at End House returns to the familiar setting of an ornate English country home and reunites Poirot and Hastings so they can solve a befuddling murder –and even our old friend Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard makes a minor appearance. Despite Peril at End House being an altogether wonderful novel, in later years Agatha Christie inexplicably downplayed the novel –in her memoirs, written thirty years later, she could hardly even remember having written it. Nevertheless, in my view this ranks among her best Poirot tales.
Peril at End House takes us down to the beautiful Cornish coastal town of St. Loo in the south of England where Poirot and Hastings are on holiday (Hastings is back visiting England from his ranch in the Argentine). The town of St. Loo is reminiscent of the French Riviera –Christie’s based it on her hometown of Torquay in Devon. Likewise, the Majestic Hotel, where Poirot and Hastings are vacationing for the week, is based on the Imperial Hotel in Torquay (known today as “The Imperial Torquay”). The Majestic Hotel is described as the biggest hotel in St. Loo overlooking the sea.
“No seaside town in the south of England is, I think, as attractive as St. Loo. It is well-named the Queen of Watering Places and reminds one forcibly of the Riviera. The Cornish coast is to my mind every bit as fascinating as that of the south of France” (1).
Once again, our story is told from the first-person perspective of Hastings. As the representative for simplistic English commonsense, Hastings is a fairly charming but silly individual. Continuing from the previous novels, this is another a richly imagined world. In the news, Hastings notes that there have been two more deaths at Leeds from the “Parrot Disease,” and a mysterious man named Seton is making a round-the-world flight in his amphibian machine The Albatross (which becomes important later in the novel), and also later in the book, Hastings himself falls ill to a fever at a critical moment in the story, the fever is the result of a prior bout of malaria he once contracted (likely during the War).
At any rate, at the outset Poirot has recently received a letter from the Home Secretary in London asking him to take up a new case –Hastings urges Poirot to consider the case but Poirot remains steadfast in his retirement. Hastings suggests perhaps he is scared, a claim which irks Poirot and his enormous pride, but before he can retort, Poirot quite literally stumbles into a pretty young woman named Miss Nick Buckley who lives at “End House,” an old coastal mansion she has inherited from her family (she has been forced to mortgage the home and rent out a room to a pair of Australians). End House is described as a large, dreary-looking house shut in by trees and in bad repair, but filled with an odd mixture of modern and antique decor.
Nick Buckley’s real name is Magdala but she has been nicknamed after her grandfather “Old Nick.” She shares with Poirot that she’s faced no less than three apparent near-death experiences in recent days: first, a large picture hanging over her bed fell in the night, second, a boulder tumbled down a cliffside and just narrowly missed her as she walked down to the seaside to bathe, third, her car had brakes malfunction. “Three near escapes from death in three days. That is what she said. We must act quickly, Hastings. The peril is very close at hand” (13). After speaking with Poirot, she walks away with a group of friends but leaves her hat behind. As Poirot picks it up, he notices a bullet that has sliced a hole in her hat. Someone apparently attempted to shoot Nick while she was speaking with Poirot on the terrace of the Majestic Hotel.
“Is no one ever quite sure? In detective books –yes. But life –real life—is always full of muddle. Am I sure, myself, about anything at all? No, no –a thousand times, no” (177).
This leads Poirot and Hastings on a puzzling –at times frustrating– quest to figure out who is trying to murder Nick Buckley. At times, the mystery tests even Poirot’s “unerring acumen.” Could the killer be a madman? Or is it a crime of passion (i.e. a jealous lover)? Or a crime of gain (i.e. to acquire riches)? Nick apparently has no enemies but she is the owner of End House (a “mortgaged barn), and she has no immediate family members –her grandfather died six years ago, her brother Gerald also died in an automobile accident three years ago, her father was invalided home from the War but caught pneumonia and died in 1919, and her mother died when she was a baby. She has inherited a variety of family heirlooms such as a gun as well as wrist-watch. Nick did write a will about six months ago after undergoing an appendicitis operation, however the will seemingly never made it to her cousin and attorney, Mr. Charles Vyse. Her will stated that End House would be left to Charles Vyse and the rest of her estate would be given to Nick’s close friend, Freddie Rice.
The key suspects are as follows:
- Ellen: Nick’s strange housekeeper. She believes End House is cursed.
- William Wilson: the gardener at End House and Ellen’s husband. He is described as having a weather-beaten face.
- Alfred Wilson: the child of Ellen and William.
- Mr. Bert Croft: an overly kind Australian man who is renting the lodge near End House. He is married to Mildred. Poirot speculates that the Crofts might be putting on a performance as they loudly shout “Cooee” and chatter on with various Australian idiosyncrasies.
- Mrs. Mildred Croft: Bert Croft’s wife who is apparently crippled from a train accident.
- Mrs. Frederica “Freddie” Rice: Nick’s best friend. Freddie is separated from her husband, a man who drank heavily and abused drugs. She is described as “a weary Madonna” with “fair, almost colourless hair, parted in the middle and drawn straight down over her ears to a knot in her neck. Her face was dead white and emaciated –yet curiously attractive. Her eyes were very light grey with large pupils. She had a curious look of detachment.” She is seemingly tired and speaks with a languid, artificial voice, “as though she had found everything in the world to be empty and valueless.” Poirot wonders: “Is she evil? Is she good? Is she merely unhappy? One cannot tell. She is a mystery” (48). She claims she was at Tavistock until the day before, but she may be lying (she later admits she stayed in Shellacombe seven miles away, not Tavistock).
- Maggie Buckley: Nick’s cousin whom she invites to stay with her at End House. However, during an evening fireworks show at a Regatta party hosted at End House, Maggie is tragically shot while wearing Nick’s red shawl. She is portrayed as something of a quiet simpleton.
- Mr. Jim Lazarus: a Jewish art dealer who is in love with Freddie Rice. He is described as “a tall, fair, rather exquisite young man, with a rather fleshy nose with overemphasized good looks. He had a supercilious manner and a tired drawl. There was a sleekness about him I especially disliked.” He recently offered fifty pounds to Nick for a portrait of her grandfather that is only worth about twenty pounds. Why would he overpay for a portrait? We later learn he is in in bad financial straits. As a Jew, Mr. Lazarus is unfortunately served with a dash of antisemitism throughout the book (“He’s a Jew, of course… but a frightfully decent one”).
- Commander George Challenger: a commander in the Royal Navy who appears to be in love with Nick. He has a strange uncle named Dr. MacAllister, a “nerve doctor” who deals with women who have libido struggles. Could Commander Challenger be angry with, or perhaps even jealous of, Nick?
- Mr. Charles Vyse: a lawyer who is also Nick’s cousin and appears to be in love with her. Will he stand to inherit End House from Nick? As Nick’s attorney, did he fabricate a will for her? Can he be trusted?
Poirot lists out all the suspects on a scratch piece of paper lettered “A-J,” yet he still suspects there is a missing “Person K.” In solving this one, Poirot and Hastings learn a variety of key points. Nick’s Mauser pistol has gone missing from End House –her father had brought it back from the War. We also learn from Ellen that there is a “secret panel” in the house, but Nick says she knows nothing about this panel. A third key fact that Nick reveals is that she was secretly engaged to Michael Seton (or “Mad Seton”), the millionaire airman who dies in a plane crash halfway through the book. His death is particularly of note because his father was the second richest man in England. Nick says that she and Michael Seton needed to kept their engagement a secret in order to appease his flaming misogynist of an uncle who insisted that his nephew never marry.
Notably, Nick and her friends are all “of the generation that knows only the great names of the immediate moment.” They exhibit a kind of malaise and do not take much seriously (the assassination attempts against Nick are “thrilling” at first). They are depicted as a flippant, careless generation. Additionally, the use of recreational drugs plays an important role in this mystery, particularly the habitual use of cocaine. This rampant drug-use shows us a wayward, moody bunch of main characters who are sharply contrasted with Poirot’s neat “order and method.” And Peril at End House seems to take place just as British culture teeters on the precipice of a new era –there are new forms of art and furniture, drugs and travel, and various new technologies which are changing the way people live, particularly the advent of air travel (Hastings says he has flown only once). We are reminded of the age of air travel with the character of Michael Seton, who is in some ways a nod to Charles Lindbergh. This novel has a Janus-esque quality to it –it both looks backward at the old world while also hailing the forthcoming brave new world.
The real turning point in the book comes during an evening Regatta party and a fireworks show in which Nick briefly returns to the house, followed shortly thereafter by her cousin Maggie (Ellen remained inside the house). Moments later, Maggie emerges wearing Nick’s red Chinese shawl only to be shot and killed. Who shot Maggie? Did the killer believe Maggie was Nick since she was wearing Nick’s shawl? Should we assume this to be the same person who has been trying to assassinate Nick? Poirot then blames himself for Maggie’s death and decides to conceal Nick inside a nursing home where she may be safe from her potential killer. However, when he tries to send her flowers, Nick nearly dies of cocaine poisoning. Someone had apparently filled a chocolate box delivered by Freddie with cocaine. Could Freddie be the killer? Around the same time, the local constable, Colonel Weston, finds a suspicious scrap note on the grounds of End House. It reads: “…must have money at once. If not you… what will happen. I’m warning you.” It appears that this is likely a crime of gain, someone who is killing for money. Poirot then builds a house of cards, both literally and metaphorically. He sets up a ruse in which Nick has actually died of the cocaine poisoning, thereby luring the murderer out into the open by finally rendering an assassination attempt successful. Shortly thereafter, Nick’s long-lost will mysteriously arrives at Mr. Vyse’s office, dated to last February. With the case finally moving forward, Poirot decides to stage a “play” at End House in order to put this matter to rest once and for all.
“You are right, mon ami. I am suspicious of everyone –of everything. I am afraid, Hastings –afraid” (59).
There are several references to past Poirot adventures in the series, such as The Mystery of the Blue Train which comes up during Poirot and Hastings trip to London while visiting with Inspector Japp. Additionally, Japp also hearkens back to the “strange affair at Fernley Park” that he missed (a reference to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd). Poirot also alludes to a past failed case in 1893, dubbed “the affair of the box of chocolates.” After Poirot told Hastings about the case, he instructed Hastings to use the phrase “chocolate box” if Poirot ever grows too conceited in the future (apparently Hastings used the phrase mere minutes later). As far as I know this is not a reference to any of the previously published Poirot novels. Also, in an apparent continuity error, Hastings briefly names his wife Bella instead of Dulcie (even though Bella was her sister, as established in The Murder on the Links). And lastly, I felt compelled to note an amusing little recurring joke in which Poirot mentions Hastings’ hairstyle a few times. He tries to convince Hastings to part his hair down the middle in order for symmetry –ha!
If you can ignore some minor moments of cultural prejudice, Peril at End House presents a dazzling, heart-pumping murder mystery, particularly in the last couple chapters. It comes highly recommended from me.
Solution (Spoilers Ahead)
CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS
During the final gathering at End House, Poirot asks Charles to read Nick’s will aloud to the group in which it is shockingly revealed that Nick will be leaving her entire estate to the Crofts. Everyone in the room seems stunned except for Mildred Croft. At this point, with everyone believing Nick has died of cocaine poisoning, Poirot and Hastings concoct a faux Séance ceremony in which the lights are turned out, and in the darkness, the ghostly figure of Nick appears in the doorway and exposes the Crofts. When the lights are turned back on, and Nick is shown to be very alive, Inspector Japp appears on the scene and announces that Mildred Croft is actually “Milly Merton” –a notorious forger. Earlier, during his questioning of the Crofts, Poirot managed to sneak away a greasy thumb print of Mr. Croft while he was cooking and send it off to Inspector Japp. Later, after learning of Nick’s death, the Crofts had fabricated a forged will and sent it off to Charles Vyse. In Nick’s true will, she declared that End House would be left to Charles Vyse and everything else would be given to Frederica Rice. The Crofts are then arrested –but that’s not all.
Just then, a gunshot explodes from the window, with a bullet grazing Frederica’s arm. It turns out to be Poirot’ mysterious “J Suspect” in the case. Frederica’s estranged husband is actually a “drug fiend” who is always demanding money and it was he who wrote the torn letter to Frederica insisting on more money.
But this still leaves the murder of Maggie unsolved… at last Poirot reveals his “K Suspect.” It was actually Nick who shot her cousin Maggie! Why would Nick do such a thing? As it turns out, both “Nick” and “Maggie” share an original name –Magdala. And Maggie was actually the one who was engaged to the rich heir mad airman, Michael Seton. However, by killing her cousin, Nick could easily adopt the same name and pretend as if she was the rightful inheritor of the Seton wealth. Recall at the beginning that Nick complained about having little money and having inherited a mortgaged property (End House) that needed to be rented out. On the night of the fireworks show, Nick stashed her gun in the secret panel inside End House and instructed Maggie to wear her shawl when leaving the house, thus setting up a clever ruse in which it appeared to be yet another assassination attempt on Nick. That night, Nick knew her cousin would be wearing black (to honor her deceased fiancé) and so Nick also wore a black dress. And inside the nursing home, it was actually Nick who filled her chocolates (delivered by Freddie) with cocaine. Being a casual cocaine user, Nick would know just how much to take to cause a minor emergency without killing herself. With all of this, Nick tried to frame her friend Frederica. Nick had been concealing cocaine in a wristwatch which was supplied by Commander Challenger. Together with his unsavory uncle, Commander Challenger has been dealing drugs (he voluntarily exits End House where he is arrested by the authorities). Now that Nick’s ploy has been exposed, she will likely take the full dose of cocaine to kill herself, Poirot guesses. What finally gave Nick away? It was the series of letters between Michael Seton and Magdala Buckley (he was actually writing to Maggie). In the letters, Michael never references nor seems concerned by Nick’s appendicitis despite exchanging several letters around that timeframe, and also in the letters, Maggie references an unusual urgency requested by her cousin Nick to visit her at End House (dated prior to when Poirot requested that Nick have someone watching over her to prevent further assassination attempts).
In the end, Jim Lazarus and Frederica Rice to be wed and as they all depart, Poirot inquires as to why Mr. Lazarus had offered fifty pounds for the portrait of “Old Nick,” despite it being worth only twenty pounds. Mr. Lazarus shares that once Nick got the portrait appraised, she would see it was only worth twenty pound and would eagerly sell him other paintings –for example, the picture on the far wall inside End House is worth at least five thousand pounds.
“But yes! How often the simple explanation is the true one! N’est ce past?” (218).
Christie, Agatha. Peril at End House. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY (1932). Christie dedicated the novel to fellow author Eden Philpotts “To whom I shall always be grateful for his friendship and the encouragement he gave me many years ago.”