"The Bride" from C'rysta Winter

The Protagonists

Site of the Murder 

Lower Saxony in Germany

Crime Scene

Wedding celebrations in the idyllic, yet deadly landscape of heather and moorland sheep

 

Dramatis Personae

Achille Perrot

Hercule Poirot’s grandson, who not only inherited the predilection for a moustache, but also the excellent grey cells from his cherished ancestor.

John Harold Jeff, the Younger

investigating descendant of the legendary Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard who was drawn to the State of Heather Queens out of love for a woman.

Lady Lucy Atterberry

the ravishing bride, who is doomed by her love

Sir Henry Atterberry  

devilishly handsome groom prone to theatrics.  

Lady Joanna Hampton  

who travels to Germany not only to attend her daughter Lucy’s wedding, but also to settle an old score.

Mayor Wilhelm Baden

who pulls an unconventional wedding speech out of his jacket pocket

Sophia, the lady with the apricot-coloured sunhat

who confronts someone she really shouldn’t have

Three other ladies

who are all guarding the same secret

Magda

a young woman who asks Perrot’s assistance

Waitress Florence Thomson

who uncorks various bottles of wine but who herself prefers to drink Barista Stout

Anna

who for good reasons withholds her second name as well as her surname

Finnegan 

an inquisitive child on the brink of a discovery.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A pipe-smoking gentleman

who focuses his special attention on the contents of a certain pocket

Detective Constable Lisa Langeloh

who is actually a German police officer, but she and her boss prefer to address each other with their English job titles

Detective Constable Dirk Weidenthal

also a German police officer and endowed with a maverick sixth sense

Eighty British wedding guests

although the happenings take their toll, they do not adversely affect their British disposition.

Twenty wedding guests

living locally but not all of them are entirely beyond reproach

Benn Airedale terrier

who is eager to learn but has difficulties in understanding

Three further Airedale terriers

of the genus Canis lupus plus the appendix familiaris, which isn’t always accurate

Welsh Corgi Cardian

who has got the most beautiful blue eyes, which are usually closed

C.W.

who has succumbed to the great Hercule Poirot’s brilliant mind and who is of the opinion that this magnificent character simply cannot be without descendants

A.C.

who will hopefully look positively on this whole endeavour