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Peril at End House

cat1234 11 Nov 08 at 10:50 p.m. GMT

I have just finished reading Peril at End House for the third time. I loved the book and the whole atmosphere but one or two things left me wondering:

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a) Nick invited Maggie to End House on Tuesday. After Poirot's suggestion she asked her to come on Monday instead, but that was her initial plan anyway, otherwise why buy the black dress to wear on that specific day? What puzzled me is how could she possibly know that Seton's death would be announced on that specific day?

b) About Seton's letters. Poirot explained that Nick took the letters from Maggie (after she heard of Seton's death on radio) and she hide some of them in her drawer. It seems to me very unlikely that Maggie would carry all Seton's love letters on her and anyway where did Nick hide the rest of them?

c)But what kept me wondering the most (and Poirot didn't give any explanation either) is the second box of chocolates!! Who ordered it?? What was the purpose of it? And wy have two boxes anyway..one was enough!

Any suggestions?

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6 replies

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kieranlandregan 17 Jul 11 at 5:51 p.m. GMT

My favourite story, not only as it is set in Cornwall, but it is Christie's most surprising and satisfying conlusion after The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. 

StJohnSmythe 08 Dec 08 at 6:01 a.m. GMT

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And interestingly, in the film version with Suchet, they changed the scene with the bullet. Here Poirot finds the bullet after Nick has left the terrace. I think it is really a major goof in the book version.

cat1234 13 Nov 08 at 10:35 p.m. GMT

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StJohnSmyhte you are so right! That incident with the bullet and the bee confused me a lot. Obviously Nick fired the bullet before her meeting with Poirot so I can't believe how could possibly Poirot fell for that trick? But, back to the chocolate boxes puzzle....OK, I understand that Nick phoned to Fredie asking for a box of chocolates, that was the second box, but who sent the first one? Eatables were banned and nobody admitted of buing it and Poirot didn't explained that either in the end. I think that the first box was totaly pointless and didn't add anything to the plot.

StJohnSmythe 13 Nov 08 at 12:51 a.m. GMT

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I think the major goof in 'Peril at End House' is right in the beginning, in the scene with the bee and the bullet. It seems that Poirot picks up the bullet before they meet Nick for the first time, hence before the 'bee' flys past Nick's head. For me this gives away the whole solution, because from that point on it is clear that no shot was fired when Nick was on the terrace with Poirot and Hastings. Christie should have let him find the bullet after the conversation with Nick. Anybody agree?

Marc_Anton 12 Nov 08 at 12:17 p.m. GMT

I think we also had this discussion on the 'old Forum'. Peril at End House is a favourite novel of many readers (including myself). It has strong characterisation, a fascinating murderer and murder motive and lots of sinister and threatening atmosphere. Still, there are various plot holes that raise quite a few questions when you look at them closer. I remember a very vivid discussion about the terms of the Seton will and who would get the fortune if there wasn't one. The timing of the murder is a bit awkward, it demanded very quite action by the murderer. But for some reason these little inconsistencies don’t detract from enjoying the book. I find the novel very well constructed. Though there is ‘only’ one murder, the pacing of the investigation is one of Christie’s better efforts. There is a nice sub plot with a fake will and various irresponsible ‘bright young things’ from the early 1930s. I rate it among Christie’s five or ten best from the 1930s.

GKCfan 12 Nov 08 at 5:15 a.m. GMT

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Here are my thoughts. I could be wrong on certain points, so please correct me if I have not remembered something properly. SPOILER WARNING! A) First of all, at the time, Nick didn't know for sure that Michael Seton was dead, but she knew that his wealthy relative had died, pasing a fortune on to him, and that there was a very good chance that Seton was also dead. Maggie was worried about her fiancé, and was known for dressing in black when she was distraught. She didn't know Seton's death would be announced then, but it was a gamble. I think she planned on committing the murder during the fireworks, when a gunshot would be well disguised. B) A lovestruck young woman like Maggie could very well keep all of her lover's letters in a bundle and keep them close to her and read them frequently. I certainly believe that Maggie would bring them, although maybe Nick suggested that she bring them for some reason. Nick took all of the letters that had no mention of a name, and probably destroyed the rest. C) The solution to the second chocolate box was revealed during the investigation. Someone phoned Freddie, claiming to be Nick, and asked her to bring a box of chocolates. In fact, it WAS Nick who called Freddie, but she disguised her voice a bit to make Freddie think that it could have been someone else pretending to be Nick. Nick called Freddie because she knew Freddie would deliver the chocolates, plus she wanted to set up Freddie as a potential fall guy. Nick wanted chocolates to further create the impression that someone was trying to kill her, so she put some cocaine in a few of them and ate one tainted sweet– chocolates were easier to doctor than other foods. Anyway, the first box of chocolates was probably thrown out because Poirot warned her against poison, that's probably where she got the idea, anyway.