Agatha Christie's comic mystery centers on Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, a diplomat's wife with an overactive imagination who has long joked with friends about wanting a real murder to liven up her dull life in the countryside — only to have her wish granted when she discovers an actual dead body in her drawing room. Before her husband returns with important government guests, Clarissa must scramble to hide the corpse and unravel the mystery herself, roping her houseguests into an increasingly absurd cover-up. Blending traditional whodunit mechanics with broad comedy, the play pokes affectionate fun at the conventions of the murder-mystery genre even as it delivers a genuine puzzle. It showcases a lighter, more comedic side of Christie's stagecraft than her better-known straight thrillers.

​