Spider's Web by Agatha Christie

This is a book review on "Spider's Web" by Agatha Christie. The characters are Henry and Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, Sir Rowland Delahaye, Hugo Birch, Jeremy Warrender, Pippa, Miss Peake, Miss Wilkinson, Elgin and his wife, Oliver Costello and Miranda, Inspector Lord, and Constable Jones.

The scene is set in Henry and Clarissa's house. Pippa is Henry's daughter by his first wife, Miranda. Oliver Costello is married to Miranda. Henry has custody of Pippa.

Henry and Clarissa have three guests at their house. They are Sir Rowland Delahaye, Hugo Birch, and Jeremy Warrender. Clarissa has made sandwiches because Henry has gone after a very important foreign diplomat. While he is gone, Clarissa stays home to prepare the house and food for her company. That day, she has an unexpected guest. Oliver comes to see Clarissa about giving up Pippa. Miranda wants her daughter to come and live with them instead of her father. Clarissa is against the idea because she wants Pippa with her. Pippa is happy living with her father and doesn't want to live with her mother. Oliver leaves the house. She doesn't want to be around her step-father. Pippa does have a good relationship with her step-mother, Clarissa. Finally, Oliver leaves and tells her that he'll be back.

The suspense builds when Clarissa is moving about the living room. She stumbles across a body on the living room. Clarissa realizes the person is dead. She is stunned and knows that she has to do something to remove it before her husband returns with the company. She decides to talk to the three guests and convinces them to help her hide the body. They plan on putting the body in his car and taking him to the woods. However, their plans are disrupted. They hear the doorbell and see two policemen outside. They hide the body and let the police in the house. The plot thickens when they find out the policemen are there to investigate a murder.

During the investigation, the suspects tell their side of the story. This is where some humor comes into the story as well as more suspense. The inspector questions each suspect alone. As he questions them, they change their story. They will say something and then contradict themselves. This adds to the suspense and humor because the inspector catches them and questions them further. Clarissa changes her story several times.

Here are some questions for you to think about: Why do these suspects change their story? What are they hiding? Who killed the stranger? Who was the stranger? The inspector is also trying to figure out these questions as he continues his investigation.

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