Clocks are a recurring motif that underscore the psychological tension and danger of the investigation. Their first appearance comes after Gerry’s murder, as seven clocks are lined up by his bedside, with the eighth thrown out the window. This moment introduces The Weaponization of Performance, as the person believed to be the killer has seemingly turned the guests’ prank into a more ominous message. This event provides a clue that something more dangerous is at play, subverting the official ruling that Gerry died by suicide. When the novel’s denouement reveals that the clocks were a message to help find the murderer—not a message from the murderer—this fact adds yet another layer to the idea of performance and hidden perception.

When the attempted theft occurs at Wyvern Abbey, Christie once again invokes a clock to heighten the tension and create a mood of foreboding. As Jimmy waits in the library and hears a noise, he thinks, “Was there, or was there not, a soft patter of feet along the terrace? No—his imagination. […] In the distance a stable clock chimed two” (121). In this moment, the chiming clocks breaks the tense silence, allowing the narration to shift to Bundle and then Loraine. With each narrative shift, the same two o’clock chime interrupts their investigations and synchronizes the different accounts, creating a sense of foreboding.

Additionally, the clock masks of the Seven Dials members create a similar sense of danger, stressing that these are dangerous people who are performing anonymity, even to each other. In this way, clocks serve as a recurring visual and a psychological motif, reinforcing the tension between what is seen and what is understood and suggesting that the control of time itself is both a strategy and a deception.