Hickory Dickory Dock (Poirot)

Description

The story begins with a rare occurrence: the normally infallible Miss Lemon makes three mistakes in a single letter. The cause of her distress is her sister, Mrs. Hubbard, who is the warden of a student hostel on Hickory Road where a bizarre series of “kleptomaniac” thefts has broken out. The list of stolen items is utterly nonsensical: a stethoscope, some lightbulbs, a box of chocolates, a slashed rucksack, and a diamond ring found in a bowl of soup. Poirot is delighted by this “unique and beautiful problem,” but his amusement quickly turns to concern. He realizes that while the thefts seem petty, the atmosphere in the hostel is one of genuine terror. When the first body is found, Poirot must peel back the layers of student politics, international smuggling, and long-buried identities to find a killer who thinks they are cleverer than a nursery rhyme.