Now, the story complete, Poirot gathers the suspects together and reveals the murderer – Robin Upward.

The character of Jessica Fletcher is thought to be based on a combination of Miss Marple, Agatha Christie herself, and another Christie character, Ariadne Oliver, who often appears in the Hercule Poirot mysteries.

* " Ariadne Oliver ", a friend of the detective Hercule Poirot in many of his detective mysteries written by Agatha Christie.

The book features the recurring characters of Hercule Poirot, Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle and the bumbling crime writer Ariadne Oliver, making her first appearance in a Poirot novel ( she previously had a role in the Parker Pyne short story The Case of the Discontented Soldier ).

Upon arrival at Shaitana's house on the appointed day, Poirot is joined by three other guests: mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver, Scotland Yard's Superintendent Battle, and Colonel Race of His Majesty's Secret Service.

Roberts, Meredith, Lorrimer, and Despard play in the first room, while Poirot, Oliver, Race, and Battle play in the next ; Shaitana settles himself in a chair in the first room and thinks of how wonderfully his party is going.

There are delightful passages when Poirot anxiously compares other moustaches with his own and awards his own the palm, when his lips are forced to utter the unaccustomed words ' I was in error ', when Mrs. Oliver, famous authoress, discourses upon art and craft of fiction.

* In chapter 2, Anne Meredith tells Poirot that she knows Ariadne Oliver from her book The Body in the Library, which was the title of a book later written by Agatha Christie and published in 1942.

ITV adapted the story into a television programme in the series Agatha Christie's Poirot starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot and Zoë Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver, which aired in the US on A & E Network in December 2005 and, in the UK, on ITV1 in March 2006.

* In Chapter 12 of a later Poirot novel, Mrs McGinty's Dead ( 1952 ), Christie's alter ego, Ariadne Oliver, refers to a novel of hers in which she made a blowpipe one foot long only to be told later that they were six feet long.

The novel features her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver.

Mrs. Oliver repeats to Poirot Joyce's comment that she had once witnessed a murder ; Mrs. Oliver now wonders if Joyce might have been telling the truth, which might provide someone with a motive for killing her.

Poirot sends Mrs. Oliver to get Mrs. Butler and Miranda safely away from the village as soon as possible, but when they stop for lunch, Miranda is abducted by Michael Garfield, who takes her to a pagan sacrificial altar and tries to kill her.

* Ariadne Oliver, a writer of detective novels and a friend of Poirot

The case is also recollected by Poirot in Chapter 3, when Poirot recalls Mrs. Oliver getting out of a car and “ a bag of apples breaking ”.

The novel was adapted as part of the twelfth season of Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchet, with Zoë Wanamaker reprising her role as Ariadne Oliver.

Mrs Oliver often assists Poirot in his cases through her knowledge of the criminal mind.

In many of her appearances, Oliver — and her feelings toward Hjerson — reflect Agatha Christie's own frustrations as an author, particularly with the Belgian Hercule Poirot ( an example of self-insertion ).

In The Pale Horse, Mrs Oliver becomes acquainted with the Rev and Mrs Dane Calthrop, who are friends of Miss Marple ( The Moving Finger ); thus establishing that Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot exist in the same world.

Even in the one novel in which she appears without Poirot ( The Pale Horse ), Mrs Oliver does not function as a detective, in that she rarely participates in the investigation and contributes only tangentially to the solution.

A 1986 adaptation of Dead Man's Folly starred Jean Stapleton as Ariadne Oliver, opposite Peter Ustinov as Poirot.

Poirot and Battle race to Anne Meredith's cottage, fearing that she might strike again.

Despard, who has been visiting Anne and Rhoda, both of whom fancy him, is a few steps ahead of Poirot and Battle.

Poirot and Battle see Anne suddenly push her friend into the water.

Despard suggests that one of the gathered party murder Poirot, and then watch his ghost come back to solve the crime.

* In chapter 15, Major Despard asks Poirot if he has ever had a failure.

( The omission of Rhoda and Colonel Despard is probably due to the fact that in the Agatha Christie's Poirot adaption of Cards on the Table, Rhoda dies in place of Anne Meredith and Colonel Despard falls in love with Anne instead.

He testifies that he saw Roberts inject Lorrimer with a syringe ; a syringe, Poirot reveals, full of a lethal anaesthetic.

It is also revealed that the " window cleaner " was actually an actor in Poirot's employ, though Poirot brags that he did " witness " Roberts kill Mrs. Lorrimer in his mind's eye.

Holtorf ’ s description of the archaeologist as a detective is very similar to Christie ’ s Poirot who is hugely observant and is very careful to look at the small details as they often impart the most information.

In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot operates as a fairly conventional, clue-based detective, depending on logic, which is represented in his vocabulary by two common phrases: his use of " the little grey cells " and " order and method ".

Poirot had been forcibly retired from the Belgian police force prior to the time he met Hastings in 1916 as a refugee on the case retold in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

) His first case was " The Affair at the Victory Ball ", which saw Poirot enter the high society and begin his career as a private detective.

Poirot is less active during the cases that take place at the end of his career.

There is certainly a case for saying that Crooked House ( 1949 ) and Ordeal by Innocence ( 1957 ), which are not Poirot novels at all but so easily could have been, represent a logical endpoint of the general diminution of Poirot himself within the Poirot sequence.

Poirot dies from complications of a heart condition at the end of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case.

Poirot was buried at Styles, and his funeral was arranged by his best friend Hastings and Hastings ' daughter Judith.

In the film, Thirteen at Dinner ( 1985 ), adapted from Lord Edgware Dies, the role of Japp was taken by the actor David Suchet, who would later star as Poirot in the ITV adaptations.

The Poirot books take readers through the whole of his life in England, from the first book ( The Mysterious Affair at Styles ), where he is a refugee staying at Styles, to the last Poirot book ( Curtain ), where he visits Styles once again before his death.

He appeared again as Poirot in three made-for-television movies: Thirteen at Dinner ( 1985 ), Dead Man's Folly ( 1986 ), and Murder in Three Acts ( 1986 ).

A 1945 radio series of at least 13 original half-hour episodes ( none of which apparently adapt any Christie stories ) transferred Poirot from London to New York and starred character actor Harold Huber, perhaps better known for his appearances as a police officer in various Charlie Chan films.

The other Rutherford films ( all directed by George Pollock ) were Murder at the Gallop ( 1963 ), based on the 1953 Hercule Poirot novel After the Funeral ( In this film, she is identified as Miss JTV Marple, though there was no indication as to what the extra initials might stand for ); Murder Most Foul ( 1964 ), based on the 1952 Poirot novel Mrs McGinty's Dead ; and Murder Ahoy!

* Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles ( 1920 ) introduces Hercule Poirot.

Suchet appeared as Inspector Japp in the 1985 film adaptation of Lord Edgware Dies, screen-name Thirteen at Dinner, with Peter Ustinov portraying Poirot.

* Agatha Christie publishes her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introducing the long-running character detective, Hercule Poirot.

* Agatha Christie — The Mysterious Affair at Styles ( first Hercule Poirot mystery )