Problem at Sea by Agatha Christie. Short summary

5 seconds

Poirot goes on a sea cruise, but there is a job waiting for him. A murder is committed on board the ship — Mrs. Clapperton, a rich old lady, is stabbed with a dagger in her own cabin.

1 minute

A story in the series «Hercule Poirot». Hercule Poirot has gone on a sea voyage to Egypt. The cruise does not make him particularly happy — the little detective suffers from seasickness. Among the passengers of the steamer there is General Forbes, who is contemptuous of Colonel Clapperton, considering that he is on the pay of a rich lady. Clapperton’s wife is an insufferable old lady who annoys everyone.

While a cruise ship is anchored in the port of Alexandria, Mrs. Clapperton is found stabbed to death in her own stateroom. Money and jewelry are stolen. The merchants of trinkets, who wandered about the ship during the anchorage, are under suspicion.

Poirot was quick to look into the matter. That same evening he indicted Colonel Clapperton, who immediately died of a heart attack. The colonel killed his wife, left the cabin, and pretended, using his ventriloquist talents, that Mrs. Clapperton refused to go on the excursion. Upon returning to the steamer, the colonel «found» his wife dead.