Hercule Poirot excitedly accompanies Captain Hastings on a weekend shooting party in "The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge," because apparently whatever they're shooting is going to make a very special meal.
However, Hercule catches the flu and, with his penchant for the dramatic, is very ill indeed. When the host of the weekend, Harrington Pace, is shot dead, Poirot attempts to help Inspector Japp, even if that means he has to question one of the possible suspects while still in bed.
Turns out Pace was an abysmal human being, treating his illegitimate brother like a servant -- in fact, he was the gamekeeper -- and refusing to lend him money to get married and buy his own home. His two nephews didn't like him. The only one who saw the murderer enter was the housekeeper, Mrs. Middleton, and she has disappeared. Poirot knows one thing -- if they can find Middleton, they can solve the case.
In the end, Poirot takes on a hunting dog as a partner to help unmask a killer.
I really liked this, and I loved Poirot acting so ill, babying himself and asking others to do the same. Very funny. A delightful episode, some of it a little transparent, but still clever and entertaining.