The House of Lurking Death

A wealthy young woman receives a box of poisoned chocolates and approaches Tommy and Tuppence to take on her case. Could it really have been someone in her own house?

For this case the Beresfords adopt the methods of Inspector Gabriel Hanaud, the great detective of the French Surete. Hanaud, who first appeared in a book in 1910, is the creation of Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (1865-1948). Hanaud’s style tends toward straightforward police detection. Tuppence’s role is to be his sidekick. In Mason’s novels the sidekick is Ricardo who is characteristically left in the dark until the last moment as to the solution of a case.

This story was published by Collins in the collection Partners in Crime, 1929. It was adapted for radio in 1953, starring Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim. It also featured in the 1983 TV series Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime, with Francesca Annis and James Warwick.