An elderly lady writer of detective stories, Mrs. Oliver, with a marvelously directionless and unexpected turn of mind, and the presence, Hercule Poirot, collaborate independently to find out why many years ago the mother and father of Mrs. Oliver's goddaughter ended their lives in a suicide-murder or a double suicide. It is not the most substantial case Hercule has had to contend with but one reads it with predisposed pleasure and certainly this audience will fred it ever so nice — ever and ever so nice.