Black Coffee (novel)
Dust-jacket illustration of the first UK edition
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| Author | Agatha Christie |
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| Cover artist | Andrew Davidson |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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2 November 1998 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 188 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 40836795 |
Black Coffee is a novelisation by the Australian-born writer and opera expert Charles Osborne of the 1930 play of the same name by crime fiction author Agatha Christie.
The novelisation was first published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins on 2 November 1998 and in the United States by St. Martin's Press on 31 December 1998. It features Christie's famous literary creation Hercule Poirot, a London-based Belgian private detective.
Until the 1998 publication of the novel, the play on which it was based was one of the least known pieces in the Christie canon. The publication proved successful enough to warrant adaptations by Osborne of two other Agatha Christie plays, namely The Unexpected Guest in 1999 and Spider's Web in 2000.
Hercule Poirot and his friend Hastings are called upon to visit the home of the famous physicist Sir Claud Amory, who has devised the formula for a new type of explosive; but they learn that he has been poisoned (in his black coffee, hence the title) the night of their arrival. Poirot is now confronted with the challenge of figuring out which of the array of other people gathered at the Amory residence is the murderer. He questions every single person that was present at the night of the murder. He then concludes his investigation with the help of an old friend from Scotland Yard.
Sir Claud Amory calls Poirot and informs that someone in his own household is attempting to steal a formula of a new explosive being developed by him so he calls Poirot right away. Meanwhile, it is revealed that the formula has been stolen and the Amory household is unaware of the development. In the household, Lucia excuses herself from the dinner claiming to be feeling a bit ill. Caroline follows Lucia, but it is evident that the latter just wants to be left alone. Richard arrives as the women are talking, Caroline leaves the room. Richard and Lucia had a love marriage, but now he suspects her infidelity as he has seen her communicating secretly with Carelli. Lucia denies the allegation, but provides no further explanation.
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