Fiction featuring Care Experience

Mrs McGinty's dead

Agatha Christie

1970

Mrs McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion fell immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes revealed traces of the victim’s blood and hair. Yet something was amiss: Bentley just didn’t look like a murderer. Not obvious on first reading but there is a very interesting conversation between one of the minor characters, Maureen Summerhayes and Poirot. Maureen Summerhayes is the landlady of the dilapidated guesthouse Long Meadows in Broadhinny who is married to Major Johnnie Summerhayes. She was adopted. Mrs McGinty was her cleaner, and went to Long Meadows twice a week--on Mondays and on Thursdays. Maureen mentions a newspaper article about how adoption gave a child advantages. She says, 'I was an adopted child. My mother parted with me and I had every advantage, as they call it. And it's always hurt – always – always – to know that you weren't really wanted, that your mother could let you go.'