A review by sharkybookshelf
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

4.0

An elderly spinster has a fall, ascribed to her terrier’s habit of leaving his ball at the top of the stairs, but she becomes increasingly convinced one of her family is trying to kill her - she writes to Poirot, but by the time he receives the mysteriously-delayed letter, she is dead…

This was a good mystery which was cleverly put together - although I picked up on a few clues and pieces of the puzzle, I did not figure it out. Poirot goes incognito at times, inventing back stories and prompting some amusing interviews.

But, given the title, I did expect the dog to be rather more pivotal to finding the solution, and that was a little bit of a disappointment. The human golden retriever that is Captain Hastings (on fine form as usual - irrepressibly enthusiastic but perpetually barking up the wrong tree) obviously doesn’t count.

A clever, enjoyable mystery, but could have done with far more dog, given the title.