This is classic Christie---the country house, the discreet servants, and Hercule Poirot gathers them all in the library to expose the culprit. As usual, Dame Agatha has her way with us, sending us off in the wrong direction, maddeningly obscure clues, and a thoroughly suspicious bunch of characters.
Roger Abernethie's heirs are gathered to hear the will when flighty sister Cora drops the bombshell, "He Was murdered, wasn't he?" The next day Cora is found axed to death in her little cottage. We have a raft of suspects and Ms. Christie is careful not to give any of them a satisfactory alibi.
"After the Funeral" is vintage Christie. She was at the height of her powers (1953). The characterizations were surprisingly deft (usually not her strong suit.) Uncle Timothy, the malingerer, was overdone, but George, the clever ne'er do well had some great malicious lines. She has a marvelous sketch of a private detective, Mr. Goby who was "--small and spare and shrunken. He had always been refreshingly nondescript in appearance and he was now so nondescript as practically not to be there at all. Mr. Goby was not looking at Mr. Poirot because Mr. Goby never looked at anybody----he emphasized his last point by nodding significantly at the sofa."
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