The case bears an inscription reading: 'From D, Paris, November, 10th Sweet Dreams'. A mysterious gold case with the sleeping powder in it is found among her possessions. On the same morning Lord Edgware's murder is discovered, comedienne/actress Carlotta Adams, known for her uncanny impersonations, is found dead due to an overdose of Veronal. So the police are, at first, baffled with the case, as is Poirot. Among the guests is an actor named Donald Ross, who spent a lot of the evening speaking with Jane. One guest mentioned that thirteen people at table means bad luck for the first guest to rise from the table (hence the alternative title of the book, Thirteen At Dinner) and Jane Wilkinson was the first to rise.

But in that morning's newspaper, they discover an article about a dinner party that was held the previous evening where Wilkinson was a guest.Īt the party, there were thirteen guests at the dinner table. Numerous friends and acquaintances of Jane have described her as amoral, someone who only thinks of herself and would certainly commit a crime if it would help her get what she wants, without a care for others. The next day, Lord Edgware is found murdered and Chief Inspector Japp tells Poirot all about it. On the night of the murder, Wilkinson supposedly goes to the Edgware house, announces herself to the butler, and goes into her husband's study. Lord Edgware is portrayed as a rather unsympathetic character. When Poirot reports this to Jane, she denies ever having received such a letter. When Poirot reluctantly does so, Edgware says that he has already agreed to a divorce and written a letter to Jane informing her of the fact. The plot begins with Jane asking Poirot to convince her husband to agree to a divorce. Jane Wilkinson, an actress, is suspected of murdering her husband, the fourth Baron Edgware, so that she can marry the Duke of Merton.

Poirot the death of lord edgware