One Two Buckle My Shoe

Are Your Little Grey Cells a Match for Poirot’s?

One Two Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie was first published in the U.S. with the title of The Patriotic Murders and again 12 years later as An Overdose of Death.

A perfect introduction to the golden age of detective fiction. As well as a story, the book is a puzzle. The challenge is to collect the clues and solve the crime before the denouement.

Synopsis

After Hercule Poirot visits his dentist, the dentist was found lying dead in his surgery. There was a bullet in his head and a pistol on the floor. A visitor from Greece was the last patient to see Dr Morley alive. When Hercule Poirot and the police tracked him down at his hotel, they discovered he was also dead. He had received an overdose of adrenaline and novocaine, causing his heart to stop.

Clearly, Dr Morley had delivered an anaesthetic that was too strong. He had made a mistake and, upon realising it, rather than facing professional ruin, committed suicide. An open and shut case, or so the police tell the inquest. Poirot is not so convinced.

So begins an investigation into the death of a London dentist just before the start of the second world war.

Review

Agatha Christie tells an intriguing tale of deception and bluff as Hercule Poirot searches for the murderer. Her writing is clear and precise, with exquisite attention to the characters, all described with quintessentially human disdain.

They were going down the steps of the house when a car drew up in front of it. It was a car of sporting build – one of those cars from which it is necessary to wriggle from under the wheel in sections. The young woman who did so appeared to consist chiefly of arms and legs.

Christie neatly weaves clues into the story. The buckle on a shoe is both Poirot’s first insight and the book’s title. The rest of the nursery rhyme, from which Christie purloined the title, is also subtly dropped into the story. So too, was the political situation of the time, just before the start of the second world war. Hercule Poirot oversees all in his deliciously pompous and opinionated way.

Mrs Olivera clacked on. She was, thought Poirot, ratherr like a hen. A big, fat hen! Mrs Olivera, still clacking, moved majestically after her bust towards the door.

Despite the book’s sophistication, I can’t help but think that the ending was just a little too tidy. Agatha Christie’s One Two Bucke My Shoe is an intricate puzzle, not a credible crime, but if you read the book looking for a mystery to solve, you won’t be disappointed.

Excerpt

‘Did he get on well with his partner, Mr Riley?’

Miss Morley replied acidly: ‘As well as you can ever hope to get on with an Irishman!’

‘What do you mean by that Miss Morley?’

‘Well, Irishman have hot tempers and they thoroughly enjoy a row of any kind. Mr Reilly liked arguing about politics.’

‘That was all?’

‘That was all. Mr Riley is unsatisfactory in many ways, but he was very skilled in his profession — or so my brother said.’

Japp persisted: ‘How is he unsatisfactory?’

Miss Morley hesitated, then said acidly: ‘He drinks too much — but please don’t let that go any further.’

‘Was there any trouble between him and your brother on that subject?’

‘Henry gave him one or two hints. In dentistry,’ continued Miss Morley didactically, ‘a steady hand is needed and an alcoholic breath does not inspire confidence.’

One Two Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie