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| Dumb Witness (Hercule Poirot) | 
| Author: Agatha Christie
Publisher: Berkley
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy Used: $1.43
You Save: $5.56 (80%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 221001
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0425098540
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780425098547
ASIN: 0425098540
Publication Date: October 15, 1986
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 17 | | NEXT » |
 The Avenging Nemesis April 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The 'silent witness' in this case is Miss Emily, not Bob; he couldn't speak in court. Agatha Christie dedicated this book to her most faithful friend and dearest companion. This book was also titled "Poirot Loses a Client", misleading since Emily did not personally talk to Poirot.
The death of Miss Emily Arundell was not a surprise, she had been in delicate health. Chapter 1 tells of the events in the preceding weeks. Emily's nieces and nephew came for a visit. One asked for a loan, but Emily refused. Do old people know what it is to live? These young ones have run through their inheritance. [Why do those who squander money think they know better than those who save money? Is it just a psychological problem?] Charles shows his personality at the bureau drawer (Chapter 2). The children of the wealthy are unhappy in their work. What if they inherited a large sum of money? [Does an elderly relative with money attract relations like chum attracts sharks?] At night Emily stumbled and fell down the staircase (Chapter 3). How could this happen? A few days later Emily wrote a letter to Hercule Poirot (Chapter 4). Emily asked Poirot for his counsel on her condition. But it didn't go out until 2 months after Emily's death (Chapter 5)!
Poirot and Hastings visit and learn of Emily's will: her companion Miss Lawson inherited the house and the fortune. Nothing for her relatives! Posing as a buyer, Poirot pumps the servant to learn all about Miss Emily's last years and the people who visited her (Chapter 8). Poirot learns something about the stairs where Emily fell (Chapter 9). [Note the cover stories used by Poirot to gather information.] The interview with Miss Peabody provides background information on the Arundell family (Chapter 10). Poirot believes nothing unless it can be corroborated (Chapter 12). Poirot interviews Theresa and Charles (Chapters 13, 14). In Chapter 15 Poirot speaks with Miss Lawson. Poirot interviews Bella and her husband Dr. Tanios (Chapters 16, 17). Then Poirot reviews the statements (Chapter 18).
Poirot visits the lawyer (Chapter 19), then revisits the Littlegreen House. Poirot learns something from the gardener (Chapter 20). In spite of the medical opinion Poirot is sure Emily was murdered (Chapter 22). There is a crisis in Chapter 23. [Did you catch the clue in Chapter 24?] Can a person die of a genuine disease that was artificially induced (Chapter 25)? The pace and drama speed up in Chapter 26. A telephone call brings surprising bad news (Chapter 28). All the people involved in the case were assembled at Littlegreen House (Chapter 29). Poirot goes over the events and eliminates the suspects until the guilty is named. People who always want what they can't get are miserable.
The idea of receiving a message from the dead was used in John Le Carre's first novels.
An average Poirot book, plus a dog! April 11, 2008
I am a Poirot fan, so I enjoyed this mystery as I expected. The little dog in the story is precious and adds a new element to the plot. I don't remember an animal being featured this way in another Christie book. While I was reading, I kept thinking that the plot reminded me of another Christie book but couldn't remember which one. I thought I had guessed the killer but I was wrong. Which makes me like it more!
Pleasant page-turner March 12, 2008
Typical Agatha Christie novel. "Typical" here meaning classic. This book is definitely a page-turner, with many great characters as well as great clues and a great setting. Highly recommended. Mysteries don't get much better than this.
 Quintessential Christie/Poirot December 17, 2005
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A classic wealthy-relative-murdered-for-her-money plot, witty dialogue between Poirot and Hastings, and a gripping denouement make DUMB WITNESS one of the most quintessential of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot detective novels, along with THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES and AFTER THE FUNERAL. Highly recommended.
 Not one of Christie's best, but not bad. August 3, 2005
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
The story itself is fairly routine (and bears more than a couple of similarities to "Murder on the Links", one of Christie's earliest works). However, the reader is advised to avoid the Berkley editions at all cost; they are sloppily edited and are full of mistakes that anyone with even a basic knowledge of Agatha Christie (or, for that matter, the English language) wouldn't make. The St. Martin's Press editions are much better.
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