Agatha Christie pokes fun at herself in this first novel featuring the mystery writer Ariadne Oliver. Ms. Oliver is one of eight guests at a party hosted by Mr. Shaitana. The party includes four people that Shaitana suspects of murder and four people who could solve a crime, including Ms. Oliver, Hercule Poirot, and recurring characters Inspector Battle and Colonel Race. After dinner Shaitana splits the group in two with one group in the main room with him and the four crime-solvers in an adjoining room, each group playing bridge. Shaitana himself sits before the fire enjoying his secrets. After a few hours of playing, however, the groups come together and find that Shaitana has been stabbed. The crime-solving quartet never left their room, so they are above suspicion, and they work with the police to investigate the other four who are considered suspects. This requires looking into their backgrounds to see why Shaitana suspected them of murder in the past, then trying to figure out which one was spooked enough to murder Shaitana to prevent it coming to light. This was a good read and kept me guessing to the end.
Again, there are some gratuitous slurs, such as referring to Mr. Shaitana, of unspecified Middle Eastern or Asian origins, as a Dago.
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