New Hercule Poirot mystery coming in 2014

Sacrebleu!

It’s been 38 long years since eccentric detective Hercule Poirot last starred in his very own page-turner — and 37 years since Poirot’s storied creator, Agatha Christie, died under mysterious circumstances of natural causes. But that won’t stop HarperCollins imprint William Morrow from publishing a brand-new Poirot next fall — one that “will feature Hercule Poirot in a diabolically clever murder mystery sure to baffle and delight Christie’s fans, and those who have never read her work,” in the words of a press release.

Best-selling British author Sophie Hannah (The Carrier; Kind of Cruel) has stepped into Christie’s formidable shoes to pen the upcoming novel, which has been fully authorized by the Christie estate. “It is almost impossible to put into words how honored I am to have been entrusted with this amazing project — in fact, I still can’t quite believe that this is really happening! I hope to create a puzzle that will confound and frustrate the incomparable Hercule Poirot for at least a good few chapters,” she said in a statement.

The novel will be published worldwide in September 2014. In the meantime, let’s speculate about what to expect — and wonder whatever happened to Disney’s proposed Miss Marple movie, starring Jennifer Garner.