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SUE: "The
Real Captain Hastings." 
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01/03/05
293kb |
Poirot/Hastings.
Poirot has some bad news for Captain
Hastings. Who is this strange young man from South America and
what does his violent death have to do with Hastings? |
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No
indeed, Miss Lemon, it is as you say," he
replied, wandering off back into his sitting room in his very best and
gentlest humour. It was always very rewarding to work with him when he
was in such a mood, and it augured well for the rest of the week.
Sometimes when Captain Hastings is away M. Poirot becomes rather
withdrawn and morose, but it seemed as if this time the days would pass
pleasantly and the working atmosphere would remain calm. |
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But
things are never that straightforward in our business, and it was
naïve of me to think that they would be.
It was only half an hour later that Chief Inspector Japp telephoned to
enquire if M. Poirot was at home, and if so whether he could come round
and see him, and that telephone call could fairly be said to have put
the cat amongst the pigeons in the most disastrous way possible. From
that moment on, none of us would ever be quite the same again; not M.
Poirot, not Chief Inspector Japp, not myself, and least of all our poor
dear friend Captain Hastings. |
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This
story is, for me, the quintessential comfort food of slash. I've
been reading Agatha Christie since I was 10 and when I was sick,
there's nothing I loved more than to curl up in my misery and read one
of her mysteries; there was something about them that was comforting to
me, that gave me a sense of safety that I still treasure today.
This story gave me the slash equivalent of that and I was blissfully
content through every word of this story. I adored the portrayal
of Hastings, Japp, Miss Lemon and Poirot - their affection for each
other shone clearly through the text without any gooey
sentimentality. And I particularly adored the way Poirot looked
after Hastings in his grief - that was just SO incredibly sweet I
nearly melted. This mightn't be everybody's cup of tea but I
loved it. I loved the romanticism, the affection between the four
main characters, the scenes where the penny finally dropped for
Hastings, and I particularly loved the parts where Poirot and Hastings
gently teased each other. <blissed out sigh>
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