Closed Casket

Once again, we have a Hercule Poirot novel written not by Agatha Christie herself, but the modern writer Sophie Hannah. Hannah's first Poirot book, The Monogram Murders, was well-written but over-plotted. How does her second Poirot story, Closed Casket, fare?

...Basically the same.

Alright, in fairness to Hannah, the mystery in Closed Casket isn't over-plotted. But it's still bad; it's just bad for totally different reasons than The Monogram Murders.

Athelinda Playford, a prolific author of children's detective stories, has invited several guests, including Poirot and detective Edward Catchpool (Hannah's replacement for Hastings), to her home, where she unveils the terms of her new will. Murder ensues. (Really, you'd think a writer of crime fiction would see it coming.)

So what makes Closed Casket special? The murder is directly witnessed, for one. No shenanigans with disguises or anything; the witness clearly sees and is able to identify the murderer (or so they claim). The only issue is that the witness' account of the (alleged) killer's movements seem impossible, and the witness claims to have heard the victim speak when they should have been long dead. Another guest overhears a conversation—prior to the murder—insisting that there must be an open casket. The victim's head is bashed in, however, all but ensuring a closed casket funeral. What explains the eyewitness' testimony, and why did the murderer require an open casket funeral for the victim and then ensure it'd be closed casket?

Both of these mysteries are trash. I'd go so far as to say that the explanation behind the eyewitness account is insulting to the reader. It is something that I think could possibly happen in real life—but it's abysmal as a solution to a mystery novel.

While the explanation behind the casket question is not nearly as bad, it feels almost like a cop-out. The entire mystery is based on an overheard conversation, and not something the culprit intentionally did or revealed, which prevents the scenario from feeling like it was something that was pointless for the culprit to do, like much of the plot in The Monogram Murders. Yet the reason why the culprit said they needed an open casket still feels artificial and contrived. (I want to note here that I'm drawing a distinction between why the culprit says they need an open casket and why the culprit actually needs an open casket; I have a much bigger problem with the former than the latter.) Suffice to say, Closed Casket provides nothing even approaching a clever answer to the questions its title seems to pose.

I know Hannah is far from the first author to name a book after one of the weaker plot elements, but I still find it surprising and disappointing every time it happens.

Closed Casket also tries to set up the victim as some inscrutable, enigmatic figure, but... I just didn't care. The victim's nature is obvious from a mile away, especially when you take into account that Hannah is trying to replicate a Christie novel. The characters act like the victim's actions are the greatest mystery the world has ever seen, when I figured it could all be explained with some sort of pathological compulsion. You can certainly have a mystery where the victim's true self is a major, compelling question, but Closed Casket ain't one. I suppose the issue is that there isn't actually much doubt as to the actions and true nature of Closed Casket's victim; the question is why they did what they did, but their actions, while unorthodox, were not anything that I felt needed some sort of deep reason, and so I never bothered to look for one.

So as you can see, Closed Casket has some issues. But one issue it doesn't have is a pointlessly complicated murder plot, which was my main complaint with The Monogram Murders. The culprit's core plan is refreshingly simple. I did roll my eyes at the solution—but with an accepting smirk. I think there's something to be said and commended in not repeating the same mistakes. Of course, Hannah made a whole bunch of other mistakes, but still... progress?

I also have to admit that Closed Casket is well-written. The characters—or rather, their interactions—are genuinely entertaining and often funny. But do they make up for all the other flaws and make the book worth reading? I don't think so.