MRS. McGINTY'S DEAD AGATHA CHRISTIE

FIRST USA EDITION, WITH SCARCE DUST JACKET, pp.243. The novel features the characters Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. The story is a "village mystery", a subgenre of whodunit which Christie usually reserved for Miss Marple. The novel is notable for its wit and comic detail, something that had been little in evidence in the Poirot novels of the 1930s and 1940s. Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of Mrs. McGinty, a charwoman, whose lodger, James Bentley, is convicted of the crime. Suspicious of Bentley's guilt, Superintendent Spence enlists Poirot's help to uncover the truth. Poirot discovers Mrs. McGinty's snooping had unearthed a dangerous secret, leading to her death. 188 text pages.