Written by Agatha Christie
SUMMARY:
Per its original title, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, this Hercule Poirot murder-mystery by Agatha Christie was first published in the United Kingdom in 1940. Retitled overseas for American audiences as The Patriotic Murders, it was subsequently released in the U.S. the following year. This 228-page Berkley paperback reprint was distributed in 1984.
In London (the exact year is indeterminate), Hercule Poirot’s mid-morning dental appointment with the respectable Dr. Henry Morley occurs as expected. Yet, within two hours, Morley is shockingly found dead by gunshot in his private office.
Later that same day, one of Morley’s other patients is also discovered dead from an evidently accidental yet lethal injection of dental anesthetic. Inspector Japp and Scotland Yard are left to conclude that Morley chose to rashly commit suicide out of intense guilt, but Poirot isn’t convinced. Too many prospective witnesses were present, not to mention too few other indications, to corroborate Morley’s fatal mistake.
Soon afterward, yet another of Morley’s patients from that day vanishes upon leaving her hotel without a trace. Unable to locate the elusive Miss Sainsbury Seale, even Japp must begrudgingly acknowledge that all may not be what it seems. The confounded Belgian sleuth, meanwhile, ponders how these ominous events are linked to multiple assassination attempts on a fourth Morley patient: the wealthy and illustrious Alistair Blunt.
As England’s most influential banker and the symbolic crux of its old-school economic system, Blunt has a whole slew of potential enemies lurking out there. Including his own niece’s potential fiancé, few, if any, would likely have any qualms seeing the banker eliminated to herald the United Kingdom entering a new financial age.
A curious Blunt also wants the truth behind Morley’s inexplicable death exposed. Hence, he quietly recruits Poirot to navigate a shadowy conspiracy scheme against Blunt entangled by impersonation, espionage, extortion, and England’s increasingly quarrelsome conservative and liberal factions. Treating a familiar nursery rhyme more like a riddle, the legendary Belgian sleuth must persevere, if he is to unravel one of the most baffling whodunnits of his career.
Notes: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is accessible in multiple formats, including digitally. Its second alternate title is An Overdose of Death. Regarding this book’s gimmickry, ten lengthy chapters are divided into and titled as verses of the traditional nursery rhyme. For no apparent reason, this mystery is Inspector Japp’s final appearance in a Poirot novel. The 1992 televised feature-length adaptation is Poirot: Season 4, Episode 3, including Doctor Who’s Christopher Eccleston among its guest stars.
REVIEW:
As compared to iconic Hercule Poirot mysteries in Agatha Christie’s formidable repertoire, The Patriotic Murders is a middling entry. Unlike some other disappointing Poirot whodunnits (i.e. The Hollow; Elephants Can Remember; There is a Tide …, etc.), it isn’t necessarily boredom or even exceedingly bad taste (as in the instance of Hallowe’een Party) stalking readers in The Patriotic Murders. Rather, it is Christie’s outlandish plotting that ruins the novel’s otherwise intriguing premise.
Intermingling her political and economic commentaries with the plot, Christie’s storytelling (including tidbits of humor) holds up well at least pass the mystery’s halfway point. Unfortunately, that’s when a series of sinister twists start converging at a rapid pace leaving Blunt to wryly assess that Poirot’s series of conjectures sound too far-fetched. Such skepticism is all too ironic projection upon Christie’s audience.
Despite some initially reliable entertainment value, this Poirot caper relies upon too much eye-rolling contrivance to finally link all of its ‘big reveal’ details together. The Patriotic Murders makes for a decent read for those preferring tidy, cookie-cutter solutions, no matter the lack of plausible loose ends. For all others, the novel is readily forgettable afterwards.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
A table of contents is provided. The nursey rhyme’s traditional lyrics are presented prior to the novel’s first chapter.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5 Stars
