So today marks a very important day, it is 130th birthday of Agatha Christie!
As always I review one of her mysteries. Last year I started going through the short stories from The Tuesday Club Murders AKA The Thirteen Problems.
I thought I would be done by now, but things happened so I’m still working through it. We are currently on the eighth book:
“The Companion” from The Tuesday Club Murder by Agatha Christie
Plot Synopsis:
So Miss Marple is an elderly woman who has lived in her village St. Mary Mead all her life. But even though she grew up in a small town, she has the observational skills of a hawk.
One night there is a gathering at Miss Marple’s home with: Miss Marple; Raymond West, Miss Marple’s nephew and a writer; Joyce Lempriére, an artist; Sir Henry Clithering, former commissioner of Scotland Yard; Dr. Pender, the elderly clergyman of the parish; and Mr. Petherick, solicitor.
They are enjoying themselves, when Raymond starts talking about unsolved mysteries.
Joyce decides they should start a club and meet every Tuesday and present a mystery, one they know they answer to and call it: The Tuesday Night Club. Every meeting Miss Marple blows them away as she figures out the solution before anyone else can.
So in the previous story, this is a new dinner party with the Bantrys (Dolly Bantry and Colonel Arthur Bantry), Sir Henry, Miss Marple, an actress Jane Helier, and a Dr. Lloyd. They discussed the previous mystery, The Blue Geranium, and Dr. Lloyd is asked to share another.
A few years ago on the Canary Islands, Dr. Lloyd went to recuperate from some health issues.
He was talking with someone who pointed out some very beautiful tango dancers and how they are full of life and things will happen with them. He points to a couple of women who he thinks are boring and destined to live boring lives.
Dr. Lloyd goes to look at the ladies who are English and forty. One is fair and plump, the other dark and lithe. No one would ever look at them twice, but Dr. Lloyd was amazed with how ordinary they are that he asked their names: Miss Mary Barton and Miss Amy Durrant of Little Paddocks, Caughton Weir, Bucks.
The next day the two ladies went swimming, one went out too far and got into difficulties-the other tried to save her but almost drowned herself and was just saved by a man boating.
Dr. Lloyd went to help the nearly drowned woman but didn’t recognize her until she was in her clothes. He then realized she was one the women he noticed the day before-a Miss Barton or Miss Durrant.
She cries out in anguish over the death of Amy Durrant, her companion. Ah, so she must be Miss Barton. Apparently, Amy Durrant was an orphan and has no family.
Dr. Lloyd wouldn’t have thought anything of it other than it being a sad story except a Spanish women said she saw the other lady go out to her and force her head under the water.
The doctor looked into Amy Durrant but she was just a nobody, no family, hardly any money, and the other lady didn’t seem angry or deeply invested in her death-why would she want to kill her?
There is no real “problem” with it, but the Doctor just continued to feel like something was off.
The other woman, Mary Barton, began to suspect the Doctor thought she did some kind of wrong doing. She grew plumper and committed suicide-leaving a note stating that she wished for Amy’s forgiveness. Her clothes were found by the shore but never her body.
Now Miss Barton had a lot of money, it would be suspicious if Amy Durrant had murdered her, but why would Mary Barton kill Amy? Miss Barton’s money went to her relatives in Australia and that seemed the end to a sad tale.
Or is it? The reveal is at the bottom.
Thoughts After Reading:
This is an interesting mystery, but I have to admit it wasn’t as good as her other ones as I figured out the ending right away. I feel like as a woman, I had a distinct advantage over Dr. Lloyd.
For more Miss Marple mysteries, go to The Blue Geranium
For more from The Thirteen Problems AKA The Tuesday Club Murders, go to The Thumb Mark of St. Peter
For more Agatha Christie, go to Motive v. Opportunity
For more short stories, go to Cat Crimes
For more strange occurrences at the full moon, go to Fool Moon
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