First Published: May 1, 1942
SPOILERS!!!
Hercule Poirot receives the visit of Carla Lemarchant, an attractive woman in her twenties. Carla tells him that her real name is Caroline Crale, and she recently discovered that her mother Caroline Crale died in prison, accused of killing her husband and Carla's father, Amyas. When she turned 21, Carla got a letter from her mother in which she told her that she was innocent. Carla is engaged to be married, so she wants to know the truth because she doesn't want John to entertain any suspicion when she looks at him. Poirot agrees to investigate the crime that took place sixteen years ago, but he will find out the truth whatever it is.
Poirot starts talking with the solicitors and barristers who were hired by Caroline, and they all say that Caroline did not try to defend herself, but she was not found guilty due to the mitigating circumstances. We learn that Amyas was a womaniser and Caroline was a patient sufferer. Then he met Elsa Greer, a young woman whose portrait he was painting and he fell for her. It was understood that Amyas intended to marry the girl and divorce Caroline, and that is why she killed him.
When Amyas was killed, apart from Caroline there were five other people in the house, who Poirot calls the five little pigs like the nursery rhyme: Philip Blake (the pig that went to the market) is a stockbroker and Amyas's best friend, and he is very vocal in his bad opinion about Caroline. His friend, Meredith Blake (the pig that stayed at home) owns the house nexto Amyas's and he used to collect herbs as he was a an amateurish botanist. Elsa Greer (the pig that had roast beef) was in the house to have her portrait painted. Cecilia Williams (the pig that had none) was the governess of Caroline's sister. And Angela Warren (the pig that cried "Wee! Wee! Wee!" all the way home) is Caroline's sister. Caroline was very fond of her and felt guilty because she threw a paperweight at her and as a consequence Angela's eye is deformed.
The day before Amyas's death there was tension in the house because Elsa did not bother to hide the fact that Amyas intended to marry her. That day they all went to visit Meredith, who showed them a bottle of coniine which was the poison that killed Amyas. Caroline then admitted to having taken it because she wanted to kill herself. The next day Amyas was painting Elsa, and he was drinking beer that Caroline had brought her. Then everybody had lunch together except for Amyas who stayed in the garaden, and when Caroline went to check on him, he found him dead. Caroline always stated that he had committed suicide, but that argument didn't convince anybody.
Poirot questions all the witnesses and also asks them to write a report of what they remember from those days. They all describe Caroline in a different way. The governess Cecilia Williams admired Caroline and understood why she had been pushed to kill her husband, and she tells Poirot that something she didn't say back then was that she saw Caroline wipe the bottle of beer that Amyas had drunk.
Poirot summons everybody to the house, including Carla and her fiancé. He says that now he knows the truth. What Cecilia told him about Caroline wiping the bottle proves that she didn't kill her husband because the poison was in the glass, and not in the bottle. Poirot says that Caroline didn't try to defend herself because she thought that her sister, Angela, was the killer. Angela was known for playing tricks on Amyas when she was upset, and Angela was angry because Amyas was sending her to a boarding school. Caroline found her in the cellar, tampering with the beer bottles, so she thought he was the culprit. That is why she accepted to be accused. But Poirot announces that Angela was not the murderer, and Angela announces that she wouldn't have kept quiet if she had been guilty. Poirot says that Amyas was a man who loved women but then he got bored with them. With Elsa he found that she wanted more, but he couldn't send her packing because he needed her for the painting. He told Caroline that as soon as the painting was finished, he would send her away. Poirot is certain that Elsa heard that, and she was the one who poisoned the beer and killed him.
Elsa asks Poirot to talk to him in privacy, and she doesn't deny the accusation, but she knows that Poirot has no evidence. He says that he will do everything for justice to be done and Caroline's name to be cleared.
I really loved the book, and even though I knew who the killer was because I'd seen the film, I still loved it.
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