Conversely, Jan Herman stated in a 1991 review for "Los Angeles Times" that "The Real Inspector Hound" "is little more than a mannered cuckoo clock of a comedy". Deriding the script as "overdone", Herman argued, "What humor allusions still have depends less on recognition of the particular details he has borrowed from Christie’s play than on a more general idea of the traditional conventions of the well-made thriller." Jess M. Bravin of "The Harvard Crimson" judged the character development and story to be less impressive than the dialogue, and criticized the way that a 1987 Dunster House production "ponderously every twist in the script." Kay Kipling of "Sarasota Magazine" called the play "clever" but stated that "I found "Hound" wearing out its welcome just about five minutes before it actually came to an end. Maybe there’s only so much laughter one can take before tiring."