Tina: One, Two, Buckle my shoe

Title: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe


Author: Agatha Christie


Copyright Date: August 5, 2005


Number of Pages: 294



Genre: Crime Fiction

The great Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is always neat, punctual, and organized, but he also has unusual ideas and sight of the world. He sees and memorize little details that people usually won't even notice. Ispector Japp is a good friend of Poirot and prices his fellows opinion although Japp tends to believe more to facts than to suggestions and assumptions. The inspector often says that his friend is making the investigation more difficult with his desire every case to be a murder. The victim is Mr Morley, a good dentist, a real professional in his job, quiet and inoffensive. He has no enemies, no worries, and no debts. Mr Morley is a popular dentist and has famous patients such as Hercule Poirot and the banker Mr Alistair Blunt whose name thrills for his importance. His vast wealth is inherited from his elder wife who has died. Besides his power in the financial world of England, Alistair is a very quiet and retiring man. He never appears on a public platform, nor does he make speeches.

The story takes place in London.

The storyline is based on a popular English rhyme:

One, two, buckle my shoe,

Three, four, shut the door,

Five, six, picking up sticks,

Seven, eight, lay them straight,

Nine, ten, a good fat hen,

Eleven, twelve, men must delve,

Thirteen, fourteen, maids are courting,

Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen,

Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting,

Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty...

Hercule Poirot visits his dentist, 58, Queen Charlotte Street, despite his deep fear. Everything seems gloomy to the great detective because of his nervousness. He even suspects a young man in the waiting room for a murderer. However, after the end of Poirot's appointment, everything goes back to normal.

Later that day the Belgian receives a phone call from his friend inspector Japp who wants him to come back at the dentists address- 58,Queen Charlotte Street. Imagine Poirot's frank surprise, when he learns that his dentist has shot himself short after his visit.

The case is convoluted from the beginning. Mr Morley isn't known to be stressed, have problems or any emotional dis balance. He is a careful man who spends wisely his money and has nothing on his mind; thus, he couldn't have a reason to do himself in as it seems to be the case from first sight. The dentist is also a quiet man with no enemies, so it couldn't have been a murder either. Poirot is eager to know the truth although he guesses that it wasn't a suicide with which assumption inspector Japp disagrees.

The great detective looks at the case from another sight. He asks himself who could have murdered Morley. There isn't again a satisfactory answer. It could have been anyone from his patients or visitors, his sister, his partner- Mr Reilly, his assistant- Gladys, or the housemaids, so Poirot and inspector Japp decide to check up on everyone. They begin their investigation with an absent-minded former actress of a respectable age. Her name is Miss Sainsbury Seale. She has a rather interesting personality and likes overreacting a bit.

Strangely on the day after the conversation Miss Seale has disappeared. After a long time, she is found dead in the flat of another woman- Mrs Chapman, whose man, Albert Chapman, is in the secret service known as Q.X.912. After the investigation it's understood that the body is actually of Mrs Chapman, whose face has been battered and made unrecognisable. Then the question stays- where is Miss Sainsbury Seale? Again everything is extremely complicated even for the strong ingenuity of Hercule Poirot.

The secret service is interfered in the business, so the inquiry of Inspector Japp is called off by the Foreign Office. Poirot, of course, doesn't give up and continues the investigation on his own. However, he receives a threatening and weird call from a woman, whose voice sounds familiar to Hercule Poirot. Although a lot of snares are laid for him, the skillful and intelligent detective solved the mystery.

The murderer is Alistair Blunt. He has been married for another woman- despite his rich wife Rebecca Arnholt. His first wife was an actress and was a close friend with Mabelle Sainsbury Seal. They haven't heard for a long time since Mabelle went to India. When she returns to England, she greets her friends husband. Accidentally Mabelle tells about the meeting to Mr Ambretious, a person who travels with her back to the UK and helps her on the ship. The latter guesses who is Mr Blunt and that Alistair will lose his wealth if it comes to public that he made a bigamy. Ambretious starts blackmailing the banker. Alistar Blunt and his first wife, Gerda Grant, decide they should silence Mabelle Sainsbury Seal and get rid of the blackmailer. Gerda, also known under the name of Mrs Chapman, poisoned Mabelle when she invited her for a tea in the flat. Her face was battered, so the only evidence of her identity was the dentist she visited and his charts. Then Mr Morley was murdered, so he wouldn't be able to recognise Miss Sainsbury Seal and the charts names were switched with these of Mrs Chapman's. Alistair Blunt shot Morley and pretended to be the dentist for the next patient- Ambretious. This was Ambretious first visit and he didn't know Mr Morley. Alistair explains that it is best to freeze the gum and injects him enough doze of procaine and Novocaine to kill. On the next day the blackmailer also dies. Hercule Poirot explains all this conclusions to Mr Blunt. The latter says that Mabelle was a damned fool woman and he doesn't care about her; also, Alistair believes that Ambretious deserved it. Mr Blunt confesses that he is sorry about Morley. He says that something had to be done. It wasn't only from his selfish point of view; he wanted to save England, his country. He tries to convince Poirot to let him free for the good of the nation. The detective agrees that Blunt is a great financier and ruler, but Hercule Piorot arrested him, for the love of power changed the famous banker, who sacrificed four lives and thought them of no account.

The book is an adorable crime novel. The plot is very complicated; thus, it's interesting and compelling. I couldn't guess who was the murderer and didn't know how he done the crime till the end. I was always excited what will happen next. Another remarkable thing for this novel is that also introduces the political life of England during the World War One- there are fascists, communists, and fighters against communism. It was incredibly interesting to compare their different values and worldviews. I recommend this novel to all Agatha Christie fans.