In a new kind of two-for-one, I pulled out a treat to celebrate the holidays (and to ignore packing boxes for a while). I thought it had been given to me by my daughter a while back, but she claims not to remember, so it may have been someone else who knows my penchants for Agatha Christie and for jigsaw puzzles. (If it was one of you, you may let me know and receive my thanks.)
The jigsaw puzzle is based on Agatha Christie’s short story “The Theft of the Royal Ruby” starring everybody’s favorite Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. The story is a mere 81 small pages with a typical Poirot story line. The trick is that one is supposed to read the story first – to page 65 where the instructions are, “Stop here. Assemble the puzzle and help Poirot solve the mystery.” Now the 1,000 piece puzzle, in a zippered bag with no picture, formed a bonus challenge in addition to the mystery.
I fit the rule-following habits of a typical oldest child so I put my bookmark in the book and got busy. I’ve read enough Christie to rule out the obvious choice, but other than that, I still don’t have a clue – not that I think Poirot needs my help. I could cheat and read ahead, but that would take away part of the fun. I first thought I needed to finish before I wrote this blog, but that might take away your fun should you decide to get this treat for yourself. (The oldest child in me also hates spoilers.)
I’m hoping the rest of the puzzle gives me a clue that will satisfy my pride in being Poirot’s helper. If not, I have another 16 pages to enjoy as I find out the solution.