But later Christie says the distance between the wings can be covered via a jump. I pictured an entire single-story building (the common area) between the two wings, both of which are two stories.

The author plays fast and loose with the setting. And the order of the thefts matters, as Poirot suspects a chain of cause and effect. While Celia stole some of the items on the list Hubbard compiles for Poirot, she didn’t steal all of them. I love the layers in “Hickory.” Characters’ actions sometimes come from multiple people pulling their strings. Amusingly (and central to the plot), young and dim pharmacist Celia wants to get the attention of young psychologist Colin, so she pretends to be a kleptomaniac.īut - as Poirot, reliable Inspector Sharpe and some of the residents notice – Celia is not clever enough to come up with this scheme on her own. “Hickory” shows the positive and negative ways different personalities rub against each other, from deadly conflicts to sweet romances. It’s impressive how Christie writes Akibombo’s speech in stunted fashion yet he’s totally understandable. I find his efforts to speak English entertaining.

It’s difficult to keep up with what’s PC nowadays, so it’s possible African student Akibombo is not well-regarded anymore. Also published as: “Hickory Dickory Dock”

Hickory dickory death agatha christie