The best Christie mysteries, for me, are when the characters actually interact a great deal on the pages of the novel, and clues and telling statements are made in general gatherings. I love the fact that Poirot sees the significance of these facts, and bases his solution on what he deduces.
I think it is great that for so long we are puzzled by why the chair was moved, and wy the phone call was put through. Agatha distracts us with someone coming in with a piece of news. There is a SPOILER link, I bet nobody gets, when Poirot himself then describes a type of character who has a mild nature but a hidden weakness. We are almost told the solution, SPOILER, when Caroline goes off on one about her brother and his weakness. The clues are well planted and developed: the references to legacies. We readers are a bit stupid not to see that it is to do with who will first enter the room again after the murder. There is the fact that Poirot obviously thinks it could be the butler or one other person. There is the fact that the narrator says that there is a turning point in his story: after this point, Poirot is more cagey and secretive. I think the ending is a surprise, but, also, it is amazing to look back again at what you've read and see the way that tiny clues are allowed to show through like pin pricks as the narrative progresses.
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