Cat Among the Pigeons

Lore & Background

The story begins with a revolution in the Middle Eastern city-state of Ramat. Prince Ali Yusuf, knowing he will not survive, entrusts his best friend and pilot Bob Rawlinson to smuggle a fortune in jewels out of the country. Rawlinson hides the gems inside the hollow handle of a tennis racquet belonging to his niece Jennifer Sutcliffe, without telling her. A mysterious woman watches him from a neighboring balcony.

Both the Prince and Rawlinson die in a plane crash while fleeing. Three months later, Jennifer is set to attend Meadowbank School, a prestigious girls' independent school in England. The staff includes founder and headmistress Miss Bulstrode; co-founder and mathematics teacher Miss Chadwick; senior teacher Miss Vansittart; English literature teacher Miss Rich; matron Miss Johnson; new French teacher Miss Angèle Blanche; new gym teacher Grace Springer; new secretary Ann Shapland; and new gardener Adam Goodman.

Miss Bulstrode is nearing retirement and deciding between Miss Vansittart and Miss Rich as her successor. One night, Miss Chadwick and Miss Johnson see a light in the sports pavilion and hear a gunshot; they find Miss Springer murdered. Adam Goodman reveals to Inspector Kelsey and Miss Bulstrode that he works for British Intelligence, tracking the gems by monitoring Prince Ali Yusuf's cousin Shaista, who attends the school. Jennifer complains to her friend Julia Upjohn that her racquet feels unbalanced, and they swap.

A strange woman later gives Jennifer a new racquet, claiming it is from her Aunt Gina, and takes the old one. Julia finds this suspicious, and Aunt Gina later writes that she did not send a new racquet. The following weekend, Shaista is kidnapped by someone posing as her uncle's chauffeur. That night, Miss Vansittart is murdered with a sandbag in the Sports Pavilion.

After many students are fetched home, Julia investigates the racquet she swapped with Jennifer and finds the smuggled jewels. When someone tries to enter her room at night, she flees to tell her story to Hercule Poirot, whom she knows from stories told by her Aunt Maureen (Mrs. Summerhayes from Mrs. McGinty's Dead). While Poirot investigates, Miss Blanche is murdered with a sandbag. Poirot learns from Miss Bulstrode that Julia's mother, Mrs. Upjohn, who once worked in British counterintelligence during the war, recognized a fellow agent at the school on the first day of term.

Poirot reveals that the Shaista at Meadowbank was an imposter; the real Shaista had been kidnapped by a group seeking the jewels. When the imposter did not find them, the group extracted her. Poirot focuses attention on Miss Rich as a potential suspect to put the true murderer at ease. He then reveals that Miss Springer was killed because she caught the killer searching for the tennis racquet.

Miss Blanche was killed when she attempted to blackmail the killer. Through Mrs. Upjohn, Poirot exposes Ann Shapland as a ruthless espionage agent known as "Angelica." She had been in Ramat three months earlier and witnessed Rawlinson concealing the gems. Before she is arrested, she attempts to shoot Mrs. Upjohn.

Miss Chadwick steps in to protect Miss Bulstrode and is fatally wounded. Poirot then reveals that the second murder was committed by Miss Chadwick, who was jealous of Miss Vansittart's better qualifications as Miss Bulstrode's possible successor. Miss Chadwick came upon Miss Vansittart alone in the Sports Pavilion and struck her down in a fit of madness. In the aftermath, Miss Bulstrode appoints Miss Rich as her partner and successor.

Poirot turns over the gems to a Mr. Robinson, who turns them over to Prince Ali Yusuf's secret wife; they had married and had a son while Yusuf was a student in England. Julia Upjohn receives an emerald as a reward.

Reader's Guide

The central mystery involves a fortune in jewels smuggled out of Ramat in a tennis racquet, leading to a series of murders at Meadowbank School. The investigation structure begins with the murder of Miss Springer, followed by the kidnapping of Shaista and the murder of Miss Vansittart. Poirot is brought in by Julia Upjohn, who flees the school after finding the jewels and being threatened. He interviews Miss Bulstrode and learns of Mrs. Upjohn's past in counterintelligence.

Red herrings include Miss Rich, who Poirot briefly focuses on to put the true killer at ease. The social-drama puzzle revolves around the succession at Meadowbank: Miss Bulstrode is choosing between Miss Vansittart and Miss Rich. Miss Chadwick, the co-founder, is jealous of Miss Vansittart's qualifications. The reveal turns on Mrs. Upjohn recognizing Ann Shapland as a fellow agent from Ramat.

Poirot's method involves waiting for the right moment to expose the killer, using Mrs. Upjohn's identification as the key. The murders are solved: Miss Springer was killed for catching the killer searching for the racquet; Miss Blanche was killed for attempting blackmail; Miss Vansittart was killed by Miss Chadwick in a fit of madness over the succession; and Miss Chadwick was fatally wounded protecting Miss Bulstrode from Ann Shapland.

Did You Know?

• The UK edition of Cat Among the Pigeons retailed at twelve shillings and sixpence (12/6), and the US edition at $2.95.
• The 2008 British TV adaptation changed the setting to the 1930s to match the series, requiring many scenes referencing the Middle East, World War II, and the British Secret Service to be rewritten or eliminated.
• Filming for the 2008 adaptation took place primarily at Joyce Grove in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, with some shots inside the marble hall of Elveden Hall.