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{{work}}
{{Infobox book
{{quote| Come away, come away, death, and in sad cypress let me be laid; fly away, fly away, breath; I am slain by a fair cruel maid. My shroud of white, stuck all with yew- oh, prepare it! My part of death- noone so true did share it.}}▼
| title = Sad Cypress
| image =
| caption =
| author = Agatha Christie
| central theme =
| elevator pitch =
| genre = Crime novel
| franchise = Hercule Poirot
| preceded by = Hercule Poirot's Christmas
| followed by = One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
| publication date = March 1940
| wiki URL =
| wiki name =
}}
▲{{quote|
{{quote|
Murder mystery novel by [[
▲{{quote| "Mrs Welman, whose money went to Elinor Carlisle, was murdered by morphine; Mary Gerrard, who stood between Elinor Carlisle and her fiance, was murdered by morphine. And nobody in the world had the slightest motive to commit these murders other than the accused; noone had the slightest opportunity other than the accused."}}
▲Murder mystery novel by [[Agatha Christie (Creator)|Agatha Christie]]. Elinor Carlisle seems to be the only possible suspect for the murders of her wealthy aunt, Laura Welman, and her [[Murder the Hypotenuse|romantic rival]], Mary Gerrard. However, doctor Peter Lord, who is in love with Elinor, asks [[Hercule Poirot]] to [[Clear Their Name|clear her name]], insisting she can't be guilty, [[Love Makes You Dumb|despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary]]. Poirot points out that there's an extremely strong case against her, but still he agrees to investigate the case and find out the truth.
The novel opens with a prologue where we get to see part of Elinor's trial and follow some of her thoughts, and proceeds with a series of flashbacks which tell the story in three parts. It contains [[Courtroom Drama]]; it's one of the two times Christie used the lovely-woman-in-the-docks plot (the other being ''[[Five Little Pigs]]'', to a much lesser extent.) Interestingly, instead of having a [[Summation Gathering]], the solution is presented at court at the end of the book. The novel has been criticized for its abrupt ending and lack of plausible suspects, but it has received positive reviews as a suspenseful and well-written detective story.
The novel has been adapted for radio in 1992 by BBC Radio 4 with John Moffat as Poirot. It has also been [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402444/ adapted for TV] by London Weekend Television as part of the ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' series in 2003 starring David Suchet as Poirot and Elizabeth Dermot-Walsh as Elinor Carlisle.
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{{tropelist}}
▲=== Warning: unconcealed spoilers ahead. ===
* [[Adaptational Angst Upgrade]]: In the original novel, Elinor's innocence is proved at court thanks to the clues gathered by Poirot. However, in the adaptation, Elinor is found ''guilty'' and sentenced to be hanged in five days after her appeal is denied. Poirot does manage to acquit her, but it's much more [[True Art Is Angsty|angsty]] that way.
* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: Dr. Lord is in love with Elinor, who's in love with Roddy. Roddy is fond of Elinor but has fallen head-over-heels for Mary Gerrard. Mary finds Roddy's attentions annoying and keeps telling him to go back to Elinor. Meanwhile, Mary has Ted, her boyfriend in the village. She likes him, but has ambitions that are likely to take her away from him. (However, after about two hundred and fifty pages of this, a [[Subverted Trope|subversion]] is implied in the end with Elinor and Dr Lord. D'aw.)
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* [[Courtroom Drama]]
* [[Emotionless Girl]]: Roddy thinks (read: deludes himself) that Elinor is this, when in fact her feelings for him are much stronger/more passionate than his for her.
* [[Frame
* [[Funny Foreigner]]: More so than in other Poirot books. He has to fake an interest in the royal family to get one of the villagers to talk to him.
* [[Green-Eyed Monster]]: Miss Carlisle is not above this.
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* [[Kissing Cousins]]: Though not related by blood, Elinor is the daughter of Laura Welman's brother, while Roddy was the nephew of her late husband, and the two were raised as cousins. Roddy lampshades this by pointing out that they have all the advantages of being cousins without the potential downsides of a blood relationship.
* [[Love Makes You Crazy]]: Peter Lord. Just listen to him.
{{quote|
** Also true of Elinor's love for Roddy and implied about Mrs. Welman's experiences. The one thing love definitely does not make anyone in this book is happy.
* [[Love Triangle]]: Or something. Granted, Mary's not even interested Roddy in and Elinor has the grace to break up with him once she realizes he's not in love with her. But it's still two women, one man and a major source of drama for the greatest part of the book.
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* [[Pull the Thread]]: Poirot is set on the right path when a character tells a seemingly pointless lie.
* [[Rock Bottom]]: When Poirot warns Dr. Lord that he will reveal any evidence he finds in the investigation, even if it makes the case against Elinor look worse, Dr. Lord informs him that the case against Elinor [[Tempting Fate|can't possibly get any worse]].
* [[She
* [[Troubled Backstory Flashback]]
* [[Unwanted Harem]]: It's not exactly a harem, strictly speaking, but Mary shows no interest at all in any of the men passionately in love with her.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Law Procedural]]
[[Category:The Forties]]
[[Category:Detective Literature]]
[[Category:Mystery Literature]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Literature]]
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