It's 19 December 1931. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool are called to investigate the murder of a man in the apparent safe haven of a Norfolk hospital ward. Catchpool's mother, the irrepressible Cynthia, insists that Poirot stays in a crumbling mansion by the coast, so that they can all be together for the festive period while Poirot solves the case.
Cynthia's friend Arnold is soon to be admitted to that same hospital and his wife is convinced he will be the killer's next victim, though she refuses to explain why. Poirot has less than a week to solve the crime and prevent more murders, if he is to escape from this nightmare scenario and get home in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, someone else - someone utterly ruthless - also has ideas about what ought to happen to Hercule Poirot...
Sally and her sister Bridget are New Yorkers now – they’ve settled in and feel at home in the bustling city. Life in New York is exciting enough that the girls can rise above life with Catherine, their mean cousin. At work one day, Bridget finds a photograph of a young man between the pages of a book.
She shows it to her employer Miss Cameron who dismisses it, but her blush and flustered manner intrigue Bridget; she soon discovers he was a suitor, but not allowed by Miss Cameron’s family as he came from a poor background. Meanwhile, the girls’ friend Betty is sick. When she visited a free clinic the doctor suggested she move to a warmer part of the country, a prospect unimaginable to Betty, who can barely afford to feed and clothe herself.
When poor Betty commits a crime out of poverty and desperation the girls don’t know how to help. But can both stories have a happy ending?
Great for Ages 8-11.