Murder in the Mews and Other Stories is a collection of four novellas by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club on 15 March 1937.The Observer, 14 March 1937, p. 6. In the US, the book was published by Dodd, Mead and Company under the title Dead Man's Mirror. in June 1937. with one story missing (The Incredible Theft); the 1987 Berkeley Books edition of the same title has all four stories. All of the tales feature Hercule Poirot. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6). and the first US edition at $2.00.
Plot summaries
Murder in the Mews Japp asks Poirot to join him at a house in Bardsley Garden Mews where a Mrs Barbara Allen shot herself the previous evening – Guy Fawkes Night – the moment of death being disguised by the noise of fireworks. Once there, they find that the doctor thinks there is something strange about the death of the fine lady, a young widow. Mrs Allen was found by a housemate, Miss Jane Plenderleith, who had been away in the country the previous night. The victim was locked in her room and was shot through the head with an automatic, the weapon being found in her hand. However, the doctor points out that the gun is in her right hand while the wound is above the left ear – an impossible position to shoot with the right hand. It looks as if this is a murder made to look like suicide – and by an unusually incompetent murderer with a very low estimation of the intelligence of police investigators. They interview Miss Plenderleith and find out that Mrs Allen was engaged to be married to Charles Laverton-West, an up-and-coming young MP but, although the pistol was the dead lady's, she cannot think of a reason why she should use it to commit suicide.
Japp and Poirot find further clues: the gun has been wiped clean of fingerprints, and large sums of money have been withdrawn from Mrs Allen's bank account on several occasions, but there is no trace of money in the house. They also learn from a neighbour that Mrs Allen had a gentleman caller the previous evening whose description doesn't match her fiancé. Feeling that Miss Plenderleith is keeping something back, they ask her about this male visitor, and she suggests that it was Major Eustace – a man that Mrs Allen had known in India and whom she had seen on several occasions in the past year. She felt that Mrs Allen was afraid of the man, and Japp and Poirot suggest that Major Eustace was blackmailing her – an idea that meets with approval from Miss Plenderleith. Poirot points out that it is unusual for blackmailers to kill their victims: normally, it's the opposite way round. As part of his look around the house, Japp searches a cupboard under the stairs which contains items such as umbrellas, walking sticks, tennis racquets, a set of golf clubs, and a small attaché-case which Miss Plenderleith hurriedly claims is hers. The two men sense Miss Plenderleith's heightened tension.
Miss Plenderleith proves to have an impeccable alibi for the time of the death, and Poirot and Japp interview Charles Laverton-West. He is stunned to find out that a murder investigation is taking place and admits that he himself has no sound alibi. When trying to reach Miss Plenderleith by phone, Japp and Poirot hear that she has gone off to play golf. The mention of this suddenly makes Poirot see everything clearly. Managing to get hold of Eustace, they notice that he smokes a brand of Turkish cigarette whose stubs were found in the mews house, even though Mrs Allen smoked a different kind. They also prove that he wore a set of cufflinks, a damaged part of which was found in the room where Mrs Allen died, and Japp arrests him for murder.
On a pretext, Poirot makes Japp call at the mews house. While they are there, Poirot sneaks another look at the cupboard under the stairs and sees that the attaché-case is gone. As Miss Plenderleith has just come back from playing golf at Wentworth, they go there and learn that she was seen on the links with the case. Later investigations show that she was seen to throw the item in the lake there. The police retrieve it but find nothing in it. Poirot asks Japp and Miss Plenderleith to call at his flat, and they tell her of Eustace's arrest. Poirot then tells her of his real conclusions. From clues concerning missing blotting paper, Poirot deduces that Mrs Allen had written a letter just before she died, which, if she killed herself, would indicate a suicide note. He postulates that Miss Plenderleith came home, found her friend dead, driven to kill herself by the actions of her blackmailer, and was determined to avenge her – this wasn't a murder made to look like suicide but a suicide made to look like murder, thereby entrapping the blackmailer. Miss Plenderleith placed the gun in Mrs Allen's right hand, even though she was left-handed, and the purpose of her trip to Wentworth was to hide there the dead lady's golf clubs – left-handed clubs, the attaché-case being a red herring to put the police off the trail. Convinced by Poirot that Major Eustace will be imprisoned for his other crimes, she agrees to tell the truth and save the man from the gallows.
The Incredible Theft A house party is underway at the home of Lord Mayfield, a rising politician and a millionaire whose riches came from his engineering prowess. With him are Air Marshal Sir George Carrington, his wife and son (Lady Julia and Reggie); Mrs Vanderlyn, a beautiful brunette American; and Mrs Macatta, a forthright MP. Mr Carlile, Lord Mayfield's secretary, joins them for dinner. The reason for the house party becomes obvious when all but Lord Mayfield and Sir George leave the dinner table, as they will discuss the plans for a new fighter aircraft that would give Britain supremacy in the air. They discuss Mrs Vanderlyn, who is involved in espionage. Lord Mayfield invited her to tempt her with something big – the plans for the new fighter – to trap her once and for all.
All guests retire for bed except Lord Mayfield and Sir George. Carlile is sent to get the plans for the fighter from the safe, so he set off for the study, colliding with Mrs Vanderlyn who wants to retrieve a book she had forgotten in the drawing room. The two men walk along the terrace, when Lord Mayfield is startled by a figure leaving the study by the French window, although Sir George sees nothing. When they enter the study, Carlile has the papers out but Lord Mayfield quickly sees that the plans of the fighter itself are gone. Carlile is adamant that they were in the safe and he put them on the table. He was distracted when he heard a woman's scream in the hallway and ran out to find Leonie, Mrs Vanderlyn's maid, who claimed that she had seen a ghost. Carlile had not otherwise left the study. Sir George suggests calling in Hercule Poirot immediately.
Poirot arrives in the middle of the night. They tell him the sequence of events and their suspicions regarding Mrs Vanderlyn. Investigating the grass leading off the terrace, Poirot confirms that there are no footprints, which means that someone in the house committed the theft and the papers are still there. He questions each person in turn. He understands that Leonie saw no ghost; she screamed because Reggie sneaked up on her to snatch a kiss. Poirot suggests to Lord Mayfield that he end the party so that his guests will leave the house. The next morning the guests begin to leave. Lady Julia believes that her son Reggie stole the plans since he is very short of money and was not in his room for a period the previous evening. She promises Poirot that they will be returned within twelve hours if no further action is taken. Poirot agrees to this and they all depart.
Poirot tells Lord Mayfield of Lady Julia's offer but that she is mistaken, as she does not know that her son was busy with Leonie at the time in question. Poirot explains that Mrs Macatta was heard snoring in her room, Mrs Vanderlyn was heard to call for Leonie from upstairs, and Sir George was with Lord Mayfield on the terrace. Everyone is accounted except for Carlile and Lord Mayfield. As Carlile has access to the safe at all times and could have taken tracings at his leisure, only Lord Mayfield is left. Poirot has no doubts that Lord Mayfield put the plans in his own pocket. His motive is linked back to a denial given some years earlier that he was involved in negotiations with a belligerent foreign power. As he was indeed involved in such activities he must now have been blackmailed to hand over the plans via Mrs. Vanderlyn. Poirot has no doubt that the plans she holds are subtly altered so as to make the design unworkable. Lord Mayfield confesses to the deception but insists that his motive, refusing to be derailed from leading Britain through the coming world crisis, is pure.
Dead Man's Mirror When Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore writes to Hercule Poirot to unceremoniously summon him down to the Chevenix-Gore ancestral pile, Poirot is initially reluctant to go. However, he arranges for an encounter with socialite Mr. Satterthwaite and learns from him enough about the baronet and his family to intrigue him. On arrival at the Chevenix-Gore home, Poirot meets the latter's wife Vanda (an eccentric who believes she is a reincarnation of an Egyptian queen), his adopted daughter Ruth and her cousin Hugo, a Miss Lingard, who is helping Sir Gervase research the family history, and various other friends who are staying at the house. It is clear that no-one was expecting Poirot, and for the first time in memory, Sir Gervase himself, who is always punctual, is missing. Poirot and guests go to his study and find him dead, apparently having shot himself. Poirot is not convinced, however, and soon starts to prove that Sir Gervase was murdered because of various suspicious factors, including the position at which the bullet appears to have struck a mirror.
It is revealed that before Poirot arrived, all the guests and family were dressing for dinner, and after they heard the dinner gong, a shot rang out. No one suspected that anything is wrong, believing that either a car had backfired or champagne was being served. As Chevenix-Gore was not a popular man, there are any number of suspects, including his own daughter and nephew. It is revealed that Hugo is engaged to Susan (another guest at the house) and Ruth has already married Lake (Chevenix-Gore's agent) in secret.
In the end, Poirot assembles everyone in the study. He reveals that Chevenix-Gore intended to disinherit Ruth if she did not marry Hugo Trent. However, it was too late, as she was already married to Lake. Poirot accuses Ruth of killing Chevenix-Gore, but Miss Lingard confesses to the murder.
After everyone else leaves, Miss Lingard explains everything. The bullet which killed Chevenix-Gore hit the gong (as the door to the study was open), which made Susan think that she heard the first gong (dinner was usually served after the butler would strike the gong twice). It was Miss Lingard who smashed the mirror and arranged the room to look like suicide. She popped a paper bag to fake a shot in order to confuse the timeline. Poirot pretended to accuse Ruth because he had no real evidence but suspected the truth: that Miss Lingard was Ruth's real mother, and would save her daughter by confessing. Miss Lingard asks Poirot not to tell Ruth that she is her real mother. Poirot agrees, as Miss Lingard is terminally ill, and Ruth ends the story wondering what could have driven Miss Lingard to commit murder.
Triangle at Rhodes