The Monogram Murders

 The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah (2014) 302 pages

Author Sophie Hannah was given the blessing to use Agatha Christie's character Hercule Poirot by  Agatha's family. What results is a very believable Poirot. Instead of Hastings as his sidekick and narrator, Hannah uses a young Scotland Yard policeman named Edward Catchpool. He comes off as rather green and sometimes rather prudish, but his narration is thorough, reminiscent of that of Hastings.

In this story, Poirot is retired and living in a London boarding house owned by Mrs. Blanche Unsworth. Catchpool lives there as well. Poirot has spoken to a nervous woman in a coffee shop who indicates that she believes she will be killed, that she deserves it, and that no one should try to look for her killer. Her final words before she runs away, "Oh please let no one open up their mouths!" are mystifying.

When Poirot and Catchpool meet at the boarding house that night, Catchpool is having a difficult time dealing with three murders that have occurred in the Bloxham Hotel. The weird thing is that the victims were found in separate hotel rooms, but were all laid out in a particular way, and they each had a monogrammed cufflink in their mouth. Poirot sees a connection immediately, thinking of the woman's plea, but Catchpool doesn't think it's likely. What follows is an investigation that feels very much like Christie's Poirot, as he uses his gray cells to assemble the facts that they learn.