西塔佛秘案 (1931)

《西塔佛秘案》（英语：The Sittaford Mystery）是阿加莎·克里斯蒂所著的推理小说，1931年出版。

这是克里斯蒂首度融入超自然元素的小说，此外有部分的情节参照了柯南·道尔小说《巴斯克维尔的猎犬》。

情节概要

在一个下着大雪的夜晚，位于达特穆尔荒原的边缘上的西塔佛村，几名居民在西塔佛别墅内玩起桌仙游戏，岂料桌仙最终拼出了崔夫霖上校（西塔佛村的地主）被谋杀而死的字样，在场的约翰·伯纳比少校按耐不住，决定涉雪前往六里外的艾克汉普顿探看崔夫霖上校。两个半小时后，伯纳比少校与警察发现崔夫霖上校已死于自己的住屋内。崔夫霖上校的侄子吉姆·培生因为当日曾与崔夫霖见面而被警方认定为疑凶而逮捕，吉姆·培生的未婚妻爱蜜莉·翠西弗丝小姐为了证实他的清白，而与《每日电讯报》记者查尔斯·恩德比联手查案……。

改编作品

2006年，被改编为英国电视剧《马普尔小姐探案》第二季的第四集，侦探成了马普尔小姐。

The Sittaford Mystery is a mystery novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1931 under the title of The Murder at Hazelmoor and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on 7 September of the same year under Christie's original title. It is the first Christie novel to be given a different title for the US market. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).

Mrs Willett and her daughter host an evening of "table-turning" (a séance) on a snowy winter's evening in Dartmoor. The spirit tells them that Captain Trevelyan is dead. The roads being impassable to vehicles, Major Burnaby announces his intention to go to the village on foot to check on his friend, where he appears to find the prediction has come true. Emily Trefusis, engaged to Trevelyan's nephew, uncovers the mystery along with the police.

The novel was well received, with praise for the character Miss Emily Trefusis. The references to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, no longer alive when the book was published, and the elements of the setting that hearken to The Hound of the Baskervilles (published in 1902) were also noted and appreciated.

Plot summary

Sittaford is a tiny village on the fringe of Dartmoor. Mrs Willett and her daughter Violet are the newly installed tenants of Sittaford House, a residence owned by Trevelyan, a retired Navy captain. They invite four people to tea on Friday afternoon: Captain Trevelyan's long-standing friend, Major Burnaby, Mr Rycroft, Mr Ronnie Garfield, and Mr Duke. At the suggestion of Mr Garfield, the six of them decide to play a game of table-turning. During this séance, at 5.25 pm, a spirit announces that Captain Trevelyan has just been murdered. Concerned for the Captain's safety in Exhampton, Major Burnaby says that he intends to walk the 6 mi (9.7 km) there. There is a thick layer of snow on the ground and further heavy snowfall is forecast for later that evening. There is no telephone in Sittaford, and cars cannot manoeuvre in these conditions.

Two and a half hours later, just before 8 pm, in the middle of a blizzard, Major Burnaby is trudging up the path to the front door of Hazelmoor, the house in Exhampton where Captain Trevelyan now lives. When nobody answers the door, he fetches the local police and a doctor. They enter the house through the open study window at the back, and find Captain Trevelyan's dead body on the floor. Dr Warren estimates the time of death at between 5 and 6 pm. A fracture of the base of the skull is the cause of death. The weapon was a green baize tube full of sand.

Captain Trevelyan's will states that, apart from £100 for his servant Evans, his property is to be equally divided among four people: his sister Jennifer Gardner, his nephew James Pearson, his niece Sylvia Dering, and his nephew Brian Pearson (the three children of his other, deceased sister). Each of these four will inherit approximately £20,000. James Pearson is arrested for murder because he was in Exhampton at the time of the murder, trying unsuccessfully to get a loan from Captain Trevelyan.

While the official investigation is led by Inspector Narracott, James Pearson's fiancée Emily Trefusis starts sleuthing herself. She is assisted by Charles Enderby, a Daily Wire journalist who, after the murder, presented a cheque for £5,000 to Major Burnaby for winning the newspaper's football competition in Exhampton. Emily and Charles stay with Mr and Mrs Curtis in Sittaford, searching for clues. Mr Dacres, James Pearson's solicitor, tells Emily that things look much worse than they already imagined. James has "borrowed" money from his firm to speculate in stocks without the knowledge of the firm.