It’s been sixteen years since Caroline Crale has been convicted of murdering her husband, famous painter Amyas Crale, and died in prison. Now her daughter Carla receives a letter from her mother claiming innocence. The daughter charges Poirot to establish the truth.
Poirot discovers there were five people in the house at the time of Amyas’ death, and he dubs these the Five Little Pigs. He interviews each of the five, and cannot unravel any obvious motive. He then assembles all of them at the scene of the crime, and reviews the case.
Caroline took the blame, since she believed her younger sister Angela was guilty. But Angela was innocent; it was actually the painter’s model, Elsa Greer who poisoned Amyas. He had promised to marry her, but was only stringing her along so his masterpiece could be finished. Of course, since the statute of limitations had passed and there is no physical evidence, nothing comes of the case, but Carla is convinced of her mother’s innocence, which was the end goal anyway.
Poirot manages to piece together exactly what had occurred by putting together the pieces of everything that was said in the interviews of the “Five Little Pigs”, much like a jigsaw puzzle. This part was very clever, but it did not make the case obvious. Everyone seemed equally innocent or guilty. The key evidence is apparently the painting itself; Poirot understood the victim’s mentality by examining the painting. Even for an expert art critic, this seems rather far-fetched. Still, quintessential Christie. Well worth reading.