The Mousetrap
Agatha Christie

A group of snowbound guests arrives to the news that a murder has occurred. A clue at the crime scene suggests someone at the guesthouse will be next…but who?

In her own inimitable style, Dame Agatha Christie has created an atmosphere of shuddering suspense and a brilliantly intricate plot where murder lurks around every corner. It is based on her short story "Three Blind Mice," published in the US only in 1950 and based on a radio play from 1947.

The play is set in Berkshire, in an old manor house converted to a hotel and cut off from the outside by a snowstorm; the characters realize that one of their number is the killer.

The characters include Millie and Giles Ralston, the inexperienced innkeepers; Christopher Wren, an effeminate architect; Mrs. Boyle, a bossy matron; the mysterious foreigner Mr. Paravicini; and Detective Sergeant Trotter, who arrives on skis. Several guests are other than they appear to be, and the plot links most of them with certain past events.