The King of Clubs

  • Hercule Poirot
  • Short Story
  • 1923

A woman, covered in blood, interrupts a family playing cards. She shouts “Murder!” before collapsing. From Poirot’s Early Cases and The Under Dog and Other Stories.

More about this story

When a game of bridge is interrupted by a woman claiming “Murder”, Poirot is soon on the case. This is one of the few cases (like Murder on the Orient Express) where Poirot considers all the facts and makes a moral exception.

It first appeared in book form the US collection The Under Dog and Other Stories in 1951. It was not until 1974 that the story featured in a UK collection, Poirot’s Early Cases.

This story was adapted for the TV series Agatha Christie’s Poirot in 1989 and starred David Suchet in the title role. He was accompanied by Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) and Miss Felicity Lemon (Pauline Moran) in many of the cases, regardless of whether or not they appeared in the original text.

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