Hello food lovers and crime readers! Welcome to the first Dining with the Dame of 2023! We are celebrating the new year with a classic Champagne Cocktail and the final story from the Murder in the Mews Collection. I improvised here as there is no food mentioned in Dead Man’s Mirror. However, the sound of a cork popping features in the story so a Champagne cocktail feels fitting. Besides, who doesn’t love a Champagne cocktail?
Dead Man’s Mirror- The Plot
Hmm…we have a dead man in a locked room. If it sounds familiar is because it is also kinda, sorta what happened in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas which was last month’s read. This time the patriarch who meets an untimely end is Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore. Sir G as we will call him because if I have to type Sir Gervase Chevenix -Gore every time I name him, I’ll be writing this into next year summons Poirot to his home at Hamborough Close. Much like Simeon Lee from last month, Sir G is obsessed with not having an heir to carry on the family name. He is also a bit of a martinet when it comes to timeliness. For instance, dinner is announced by a gong which is sounded twice – the bangs being seven minutes apart. Guests who are late for dinner are not invited back! On this night Sir G himself does not appear by the second gong. He is found, shortly thereafter, in his locked study, with a bullet in his brain and a pistol lying on the carpet by his body. A piece of paper with the word “Sorry” written on it lies on the desk in front of him. A clear-cut case of suicide.
Or is it?
We have
- For the bullet to have smashed the mirror, Sir G must have shot himself at a very odd angle
- As in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, we have a woman picking up something from the floor of the crime scene
- Ruth, Sir G’s adopted daughter. Sir G was keen for her to marry her cousin Hugo Trent which would keep the family line going. Only Ruth has some secrets.
- A lack of footprints in the flower bed
Luckily we have Poirot around to solve the mystery of the Dead Man’s Mirror!
Dead Man’s Mirror – The Covers
As expected, many of the covers feature a broken mirror. I particularly like the one in the top which shows the dead man in the mirror, holding the note in his skeleton hand. However, my absolute favourite is the one on the far right which shows the Egyptian head and scarab beetle, in reference to Vanda, Sir G’s wife who believes she is the reincarnation of the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut and a priestess from Atlantis. It’s such a minor plot detail but makes an amazing cover! The broken mirror around her eye also gives it a bit of a steampunk look, decades before there was such a thing!
The Recipe – Champagne Cocktail
I am using the from a book called Fantastic Cocktails and Mixed Drinks. I have added a garnish of an orange wedge and a maraschino cherry to make it look prettier!
“You see, I thought the first gong had gone, so I hurried up with my dressing, came dashing out of my room, heard, as I thought, the second gong and fairly raced down the stairs. I’d been one minute late for dinner the first night I was here and Hugo told me it had about wrecked our chances with the Old Man, so K fairly hared down. Hugo was just ahead of me and then there was a queer kind of pop-bang and Hugo said it was a champagne cork but Snell said “No”to that.
Dead Man’s Mirror – Agatha Christie
Links to The Christieverse
Mr Satterthwaite, who we last met in Three Act Tragedy makes an appearance in this story. He not only mentions that case but also that he has seen Mary Lytton Gore recently.
Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Dead Man’s Mirror
- None
If you are wondering why this post is unusually early, it is because later today we are going to see The Arctic Monkeys, then tomorrow we are flying to Darwin for a week to celebrate the Fussiest Eater in The World’s birthday. Neither of us has been there before so it will be an exciting trip for us. It is by far the farthest north in Australia we have ever been! Also, just to put the distance in perspective, Darwin is about 400km closer to Singapore than it is to Melbourne! I am expecting some delicious seafood, tropical fruit, and some spectacular scenery
I may have to delay next week’s post due to the holiday. However, we have all the more time now to get stuck into February’s read – Appointment with Death.
