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"Five Witnesses" (1942), also known as Murder in Retrospect in some editions, is a crime novel by Agatha Christie in which Hercule Poirot investigates a 16-year-old murder. According to critics, it is one of Agatha Christie's best novels.
Young Carla Lemarchant hires Poirot to investigate the death of her father, the painter Amyas Crale, for which her mother Caroline was convicted and died in prison. Carla believes in her mother's innocence, and Poirot agrees to investigate the case.
Amyas was poisoned with conidia while painting in the garden of his estate. Caroline, jealous of Amyas's affair with model Elsa Greer, was the obvious culprit. Poirot questions five witnesses - the "five little pigs" of the nursery rhyme: Philip Blake, the victim's friend; his brother Meredith, the pharmacist; Elsa, Amyas' lover; Angela, Caroline's younger sister; and Cecilia, the governess. Each witness gives his own version of events, revealing complex relationships, jealousies, and ulterior motives.
Poirot reconstructs the day of the murder through interviews and psychological analysis, revealing that the truth is more complicated than it seems. The novel is notable for its five-point-of-view structure, which heightens the suspense. The denouement brings an unexpected twist, revealing a killer whose motive lies in deeply hidden emotions.
One copy is available
- Slight damage to the cover
- Traces of patina
