Death in the Clouds (Poirot)

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But is the method used as simple as that? What of the wasp flying around? And why didn’t anyone see a passenger putting a flute to their mouth? And which flute would it have been: we learn of several. Take note too of the details; the tiny clues which Poirot spots. The two coffee spoons. The nail clippers. The hypodermic syringe. A long cigarette holder. An empty matchbox. A blowpipe found pushed down the side of Poirot’s seat. The fact that Poirot offered his seat to someone so that she could sit and chat with her friend. Are any of these noteworthy? And that blowpipe scene? Suchet should've won awards for it. Side-splitting. I watched this episode with my Young Gentleman Caller and he made me pause the scene twice so he could get the laughs out.

An event experienced by Christie herself, shortly after her second marriage (to Sir Max Mallowan), and described in her Autobiography, is alluded to in Chapter 13. "Imagine, in a little hotel in Syria was an Englishman whose wife had been taken ill. He himself had to be somewhere in Iraq by a certain date. Eh bien, would you believe it, he left his wife and went on so as to be on duty in time? And both he and his wife thought that quite natural; they thought him noble, unselfish. But the doctor, who was not English, thought him a barbarian."

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The police together with Poirot discuss which of the passengers could kill Madame Moriso, but no one could go up to her unnoticed. Poirot notes that the pipe was placed under the seat, and not thrown away. He asked for a detailed list of belongings of passengers.

In Chapter 21, Poirot refers to a case in which all the suspects were lying, an allusion to Murder on the Orient Express.Poirot makes his dénouement of the case in the presence of Japp, Gale, and Clancy. Giselle's killer was Norman Gale, who sought her fortune. The murder was carefully planned: Gale had brought his dentist's coat on the flight, which he changed into after some time to pose as a steward, knowing no-one would pay attention to such a person. Under the guise of delivering a spoon to Giselle, he stabbed her with the dart, then removed his coat and returned to his seat before the body was found. Anne's murder was part of the plan – Gale married her when he learned she was Giselle's daughter, intending to kill her at a later date in Canada, after she had received her mother's estate, and having ensured that he would in turn inherit the money from her. However, he had to kill her earlier than planned because she claimed her inheritance on the same day that Poirot met her.