First published in Great Britain: Bodley Head, 1920.

With impeccable timing Hercule Poirot, the renowned Belgian detective, makes his dramatic entrance on to the English crime stage. Recently, there had been some strange goings on at Styles St Mary. Evelyn, constant companion to old Mrs Inglethorp, had stormed out of the house muttering something about 'a lot of sharks'. And with her, something indefinable had gone from the atmosphere. Her presence had spelt security; now the air seemed rife with suspicion and impending evil. A shattered coffee cup, a splash of candle grease, a bed of begonias all Poirot required to display his now legendary powers of detection. Review: "Almost too ingenious ... very clearly and brightly told." Times Literary Supplement "Very well contrived." Sunday Times "Altogether a skilful tale and a talented first book." Daily News "The most ingenious and absorbingly interesting tale of sensations and mystery we have read for a long time." Bookman "Well written, well proportioned, and full of surprises. Lovers of good stories will, without exception, rejoice in this book." The British Weekly