84 pages • 2 hours read
Agatha ChristieA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
The entirety of the novel is told in hindsight through Charles’s eyes. As he already knows the outcome of the case when he begins telling his tale, he can reflect key moments with the benefits of afterthought, noting when the investigation was off track. Using Charles’s reflections as well as carefully placed bits of dialogue, Christie foreshadows the novel’s conclusion throughout the story. Several moments that initially seem insignificant become, in hindsight, important clues to the truth behind Aristide’s murder.
The profile of a murderer outlined by Arthur in Chapter 12 perfectly fits Josephine’s character. In fact, she is the only one who fits the description exactly, but Charles fails to make the connection. Arthur advises Charles to keep an eye on Josephine because she “may know a little too much for somebody’s safety” (98). Charles interprets this as meaning that Josephine’s life is in danger. In fact, Arthur’s quote is correct, but the somebody who is in danger is not Josephine but her nanny Janet. Josephine knows too much because she is the murderer, not a potential victim. Josephine even directly hints that she is about to commit a second murder in Chapter 16, but because Charles doesn’t consider her a suspect, he misses her warning.
By Agatha Christie
A Murder Is Announced
A Murder Is Announced
Agatha Christie
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
Agatha Christie
A Pocket Full of Rye
A Pocket Full of Rye
Agatha Christie
Death On The Nile
Death On The Nile
Agatha Christie
Murder at the Vicarage
Murder at the Vicarage
Agatha Christie
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie
Poirot Investigates
Poirot Investigates
Agatha Christie
The ABC Murders
The ABC Murders
Agatha Christie
The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap
Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Agatha Christie
The Pale Horse
The Pale Horse
Agatha Christie
Witness for the Prosecution
Witness for the Prosecution
Agatha Christie