The Case of the Discontented Soldier

Parker Pyne was an interesting early Christie figure, using intelligence and background to effect life transformations to all that would apply to his simple advert about happiness. It's a fabled tale with added intelligence and comes across well on those bases. We get to see Miss Lemon, whom we assume to be the future M. Poirot's faithful secretary, and mystery writer, Adriane Oliver, no less. That makes it fun for those who have read the later works first. While I agree that this Parker Pyne is not as quixotic and personable as the one from the written story, he does the job.

The good major's current life status of boredom and lack of adventure is allayed, his core need intrinsically met in a most entertaining fashion. I thought Miss Oliver justified her stereotypic methods in this by her assertions that people liked the traditional and time worn dilemmas which were employed here.

Good fun. (We trust the Major came to the realization that "a man" did not in fact "owe him 50 quid."