Problem at Sea: a Hercule Poirot Short Story

Hercule Poirot #0.33

by Agatha Christie

Previously published in the print anthology Poirot's Early Cases.

On a ship bound for Egypt, a woman is found stabbed to death in her cabin. Unfortunately for the murderer, Hercule Poirot is on board.

Genres: Agatha Christie, Mystery, Short Stories, Crime, Fiction, Audiobook, Classics

30 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who killed the obnoxious Mrs. Clapperton?
It should have been her henpecked husband, but he has an airtight alibi as he was on shore with two cute young women. It looks as though it was one of those dirty natives snuck into her room and killed the woman while she slept, then riffled her room looking for things to steal.
But that doesn't make sense to Poirot.



It's a sea voyage mystery, so you have an interesting group of people thrown together that wouldn't normally be in the same room, much less be mixed up in a murder. That's always cool.
But.
The conclusion to this thing is just off the wall and weird, and it makes as much sense as an old episode of Scooby Doo.

Her husband was a ventriloquist and threw his voice to make it sound like his wife was alive and answering him from outside of the locked room.



This isn't one of the better shorts, to be honest, and I'd skip it unless you're a Christie Completionist like myself.

Originally published in The Strand Magazine in 1936.
Read as part of the short story collection The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories.

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I will give a full review later.

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not a bad detective story as Detective stories go.

But I didn’t care for it. I hate to rate anything by Agatha Christie a two and originally I rated it to three, but I couldn’t finish this fast enough.

I didn’t understand anything that was going on, and they didn’t seem to be a large pool of suspects to pick from.

I did like that it took place on a ship, but the story was so short that it was over before it began, and it was incredibly difficult to follow.

I’ve never had that problem before with any of Christie’s work. This was probably my least favorite of anything I’ve read from her.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poirot is on a sea trip to Alexandria, Egypt, and, as usual, something wrong takes place. This time the wife of Colonel Clapperton, one of the passengers, is found dead. Of course, the little man is able to solve this little problem.
This one is the penultimate story from this collection and yet something memorable to come...

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were M. Hercule Poirot, I might think twice about taking a holiday... How terrible that every time he tries to relax, and rest those little grey cells of his, someone ultimately ends up dead. Such is the case in this short story by Agatha Christie. It is rather a quick read but that does not take away from the plot, interesting characters, or Poirot doing what he does best. I found some of the dialogue to be humorous. Our beloved detective has quite a few wonderful, even memorable exchanges with his fellow passengers. However, the overall atmosphere evokes a touch of sadness and leaves you to reflect on several thought provoking themes. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

[Brooklyn Tayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but very intense and gripping right up to and including the end. Left me feeling rather sad this one :(

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting plot with quite an imaginative criminal method. This one completely fooled me, not so much by who did it, but how it was done. An enjoyable story with a great cast of characters.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1936, this story sees Poirot taking a cruise down the Nile. As always, Poirot enjoys people watching and his attention is drawn to Colonel Clapperton, married to the odious – but incredibly wealthy widow – Lady Carrington. Rumoured to have been on the music hall stage before his marriage, Colonel Clapperton seems completely indifferent to his wife’s sniping and complaints – but is he? When a murder occurs, it is up to Poirot to solve the crime. This has a good setting, a cruise ship with lots of interesting characters, plus a nice twist at the end. Perfectly plotted and with Poirot at his best. At one point Mrs Clapperton asks him, “what would one be if one wasn’t alive?” to which he dryly replies, “dead.” However, despite his dislike of the victim, Hercule Poirot does not, “approve of murder” and can be counted on to see justice done.

[catherine ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

An enjoyable short story with a nice mystery and with Poirot being Poirot. It does feel a little rushed, but I find that in a lot of Agatha Christie short stories, that I wish they could have been developed more.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story! I love Agatha's writing style and I liked the characters in this one. I will definitely read more of her work.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. One of the more memorable Christie short stories involving the inimitable Hercule Poirot. Perhaps it's because I've seen it more than once on TV starring David Suchet. Enjoyed it thoroughly. It first came out in "This Week" in the US in January 1936; "Hercule Poirot The Complete Short Stories" carried it as one of 51 entries in 1999. Thirteen pages. Poirot performs another of his conjuring tricks to defeat a murderer who thought he / she was certain of success. I noticed that the written form was missing a few of the TV subplots, including the one in which Poirot and Hastings venture into the souk in Alexandria to examine trinkets and camels! Indeed Hastings is missing in the short story altogether. A completely unlikeable woman, the wife of Colonel Clapperton, is found stabbed to death in her locked cabin and the likely suspect, her husband, needed the porter to let him in. He didn't have the key! He and two young women were off the ship sightseeing in the city at the time of the dreadful deed. Can Poirot work through the clues? This time he even puts on a show for the passengers in the main lounge at 8:30pm. I should have gotten you a ticket! (March 2021)

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christie doesn’t disappoint

Hercule Poirot can’t go on a cruise without coming across a murder...with suspects and alibis. Hercule sees through everything with his usual panache.

[Ajmatarazza · Rating 4 out of 5]

aj sez

Although I have watched the entire Poirot series on Netflix I still enjoy reading the books. In a time of graphic sex and violence in all types of media reading AC's books allows my mind's eye and imagination to add as much as I want.

[Shelby Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Problems at Sea

A really good Hercule Poirot book. He always has to solve a mystery even when he's trying to enjoy himself on a cruise.

[Anna Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Poirot in short form! Also love that Agatha Christie addresses serious problems, like verbally abusive, manipulative folks in a pretty swift timeframe.

[Jovana Vesper · Rating 4 out of 5]

In risk of sounding like a broken record I have to say that once again, this case was much better done in the show. Yeah the story at least has better developed characters than the previous one (there’s a reading order, you know) but it still feels rushed.

However the way the crime is committed is interesting, I mean the idea itself is wild.

[Noella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Op een boottocht naar Alexandrië maakt Poirot kennis met het echtpaar Clapperton, juffrouw Ellie Henderson, generaal Forbes, en de jonge meisjes Kitty Mooney en Pamela Cregan. Als op een dag mevrouw Clapperton vermoord wordt gevonden in haar hut, terwijl de deur op slot is, staat men voor een raadsel. Het lijkt erop dat een lokale snuisterijenverkoper door de dame binnengelaten is, want naast haar bed wordt een snoer barnsteen gevonden. Poirot onderzoekt de zaak.

Dit verhaal vond ik nogal voorspelbaar. Er wordt volgens mij bijzonder veel nadruk gelegd op eigenschappen en gedrag van de persoon die later de dader blijkt de zijn. Misschien ben ik bevooroordeeld, want ik heb dit verhaal ook op tv gezien in een aflevering van de serie 'Poirot'. Hier vond ik voor een keer eens de tv versie beter (uitgebreider) dan het geschreven verhaal.

[Tahlia Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little short story boasts of probably one of my favorite Poirot exchanges.
“But really, M. Poirot, what would one *be* if one wasn’t alive?”
“Dead,” said Poirot.

And then, later, in quintessential Poirot fashion:
“I do not approve of murder,”
said Hercule Poirot.

It is an enjoyable short story, but I couldn’t help but wish it was a bit longer. It almost felt rushed to me. I would have liked to see the story and the suspense built up more.

It only loses one star for it’s rushed feel, though. At the end of the day, it is still an cozy Agatha Christie mystery with her leading man M. Poirot. And bonus points for Hastings not being there to somehow complicate things!

I would definitely recommend for a quick, enjoyable read.

[Rizwan Khalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love a good cruise-ship mystery (example: কালো হাত), even more so when its a cruise-ship murder mystery (example: Death on the Nile). Though this short story of course nowhere near in a league with those two masterpieces, and the culprit was easy to guess, the HOWdunnit much more than WHOdunnit made up for a pretty enjoyable little locked-room murder mystery on a cruise-ship. The ultimate answer is definitely on the side of creepy.

[Valerie Hash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit short.

The story felt like it was not developed enough. It seemed as though many details had to be presumed. Made me wonder if Mrs. Christie had developed the story further in a different novel.

[Gayatri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable.

[Richard Mellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Story

A real good short story ... Quick easy read with all the Poirot antics you love ... Great to begin with or to reread just for enjoyment ...

[Heidi Kirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the right length. Cute characters and one of my favorite endings so far. I'm so glad Agatha Christie only wrote about murder

[Jolie Pellegrino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy and quick read

I always enjoy Christie’s stories and appreciate a simpler time in history and the travels that Poirot goes on sea and rail.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 2020

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 This one is set on a ship is one of my favorites for Masterpiece/BBC.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Dennis Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could have been a great story in a longer format, double the original length, or even a whole novel unto itself. The twist was creepy, & I would have liked to see it developed more! What a Dummy I was for not seeing it... lol 4/5

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poirot takes a cruise! (Very surprising since he gets seasick.)

He meets a married couple as well as a woman and two girls, and an older man.

When the wife is murdered, she is found in a locked cabin with the window open. The husband had an alibi because people, including Poirot, heard her say she had locked the door so as not to be disturbed, and her husband went ashore with the two girls.

Poirot puts on a show that flushes out the murderer.

Who done it? The husband. He had been a performer and he tries to hide that he was a ventriloquist by making it seem he was a conjurer. He killed his wife before he left with the girls and made it seem she was still alive.