Old Sins Cast Long Shadows is a favourite theme and plot device which features in a number of Christie stories. The idea is that events in the distant past, perhaps deeply buried secrets, could have relevance far into the future. For some, the consequences of a past crime come back to haunt the perpetrator who is forced to go on and on. In other situations, a determined attempt is needed to recover lost history in the interests of justice. But stepping into the past is not to be taken lightly. One must first consider if one is ready to face what one might learn.
A subset of this theme is the idea of murder in retrospect. In a sense almost all murder investigations are in retrospect because they take place some time after the murder itself. But there are a number of Christie stories where the detective has to investigate a murder long after the events and the "trail is cold".
Christie works where "old sins cast long shadows"[]
- Sleeping Murder
- Nemesis
- Elephants Can Remember
- Postern of Fate
- Dead Man's Folly
- Hallowe'en Party - Poirot says this to Elizabeth Whittaker
- Mrs McGinty's Dead
- A Caribbean Mystery - there is a chapter with this title
Murder in retrospect[]
- Dumb Witness
- Death Comes as the End
- Five Little Pigs (the original US title is Murder in Retrospect)
- The Dead Harlequin
- Someone at the Window (play)
- Go Back for Murder (play)
Adaptations where "old sins cast long shadows"[]
- A Pocketful of Rye (Miss Marple episode) - Miss Henderson says this to Detective Inspector Neele referring to events in Rex Fortescue's past.