I really enjoy what Hannah has done with Christie's character. It was a good mystery that kept me guessing and was totally unsolvable by the reader, so I didn't feel dumb at the end for not guessing ahead of time.
Inspector Catchpool's mother shows up at Poirot's London home, insisting he and Catchpool come at once to a house she's staying at in Norfolk. A man was murdered in the hospital in September, and the police haven't had any leads. Mrs. Catchpool's friend, Arthur, is dying and wants to check into the hospital after Christmas so he can solve the mystery himself, kind of like one last hurrah. She would like Poirot and her son to solve the crime first so Arthur can die peacefully at home. As an added twist, Arthur's wife, Vivienne, is convinced if Arthur checks into the hospital he too will be murdered.
The solution involved a lot of "wrong place, wrong time" and someone pretending to be someone they were not. And Catchpool's mother is awful. I wouldn't want to spend Christmas with her, either.
I know absolutely nothing about guitars, other than liking to look at them. This was a big book with lots of pictures of the Gibson Les Pauls from throughout the years. Some of those rare vintage guitars go for millions, which is just wild to me. But I still enjoyed hearing how they evolved over the years and how most musicians have heavily modified their guitars, no one leaves them the way they come from the factory. I had no idea.
On to some Perry Masons! I had to buy these two since the library I've been using didn't have them. "The Case of the Silent Partner" was an early one (1940). Mildreth owns three successful flower shops. She and her ill sister, Carlotta, own most of the stock, they issued five shares to a now former employee, who sold them to a competitor named Harry Peavis. Mildreth consults Perry and expresses concern about her brother in law, Bob. Bob took over all of Carlotta's finances when she got sick and he's a degenerate gambler. She finds out Bob was in a car accident that he lied about with a young lady named Esther. She wants Esther to meet Perry and tell him what she knows, but before Esther can come in she calls Perry's office to say she's been drugged by poisoned chocolates.
In typical fashion, a lot happens, although sadly without Paul, who only answered the phone once or twice, never actually showing up. Perry did everything on his own. I'm not sure when he had time to sleep. Lt. Tragg makes his first appearance here and is shamelessly flirting with Mildreth Faulkner, which was outstanding. Could we get a fanfiction about Tragg and Mildreth? That would be awesome.
And finally, "The Case of the Gold-Digger's Purse". I love this cover because it actually depicts a scene in the book.
Perry, Della, and Paul are eating dinner when a man comes over to talk to Mason about a goldfish. Perry is decidedly not interested, even when he sees the "dish" the man is dining with (Paul's words. Paul, you scamp). Sally Madison is a gold-digger (according to her dinner companion, Harrington Faulkner). Faulkner eventually persuades Perry to hear him out. He breeds a rare type of goldfish. They're sick, suffering from gill rot (sounds awful). Sally's boyfriend Tom has perfected a treatment for the fish, but Sally refuses to let Faulkner have it until he ponies up the money for Tom to get treatment for his own tuberculosis. As if that wasn't bad enough, Faulkner's business partner, Carson, won't let him take the fish tank out of their shared office space.
Missing goldfish, feuding business partners, too many ex-wives, and a gun in the gold-digger's purse...all in a day's work for Mr. Mason.
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