Mystery Detective fiction Crime solving Justice Human psychology
The Hunter's Lodge Case is a Hercule Poirot short story by Agatha Christie, first published in 1924. It's set around a shocking country-house murder at a remote hunting retreat.
When a wealthy guest is shot under mysterious circumstances, a snowbound household produces conflicting accounts and a rumor of a masked intruder who vanishes without trace. Laid up in London with a bad cold, Poirot directs the inquiry from afar while his friend on the scene gathers clues.
The investigation peels back a web of carefully manufactured alibis, misleading telegrams, and deliberate disguises. Timetables, clothing, and small slips of behavior begin to contradict the official narrative, hinting at a staged crime designed to look like a random attack.
In classic Christie fashion, the solution rests on noticing the smallest domestic details. Poirot’s method exposes a calculated plot hiding in plain sight and restores order to the seemingly baffling case.
"Coming from a convalescent influenza patient, I hailed the remark as showing a beneficial optimism. I myself had been the first sufferer from the disease. Poirot in his turn had gone down. He was now sitting up in bed, propped up with pillows."
#77 in Mystery (this month)
#211 in Short Stories (this month)
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Copyright info
The Hunter's Lodge Case by Agatha Christie is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading The Hunter's Lodge Case in PDF or ePub.
Snow, distance, and a country house turn time itself into a suspect. Christie uses isolation to stress-test alibis and to show how props, clothes, and rumor can stage a false certainty. Poirot’s tidy method restores proportion without dulling the thrill; the satisfaction lies in how fair the solution feels once seen.
Think of it as a tutorial in misdirection literacy—spotting performance, testing logistics, and asking what would have to be true for a story to work. Useful far beyond murder mysteries.
Weather and distance shape alibis.
Notice what is staged, not said.
Swift, fair, re-readable.
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Ingenious plots and fair play clues that set the standard for mystery with crisp comedy.
We have 18 books by Agatha Christie in the AliceAndBooks library