The Mystery of Three Quarters

The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah

Published by Harper Collins

23rd August  2018

The world’s most beloved detective, Hercule Poirot – the legendary star of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and most recently The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket—returns in a stylish, diabolically clever mystery set in 1930’s London.

Returning home after lunch one day, Hercule Poirot finds an angry woman waiting outside his front door. She demands to know why Poirot has sent her a letter accusing her of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, a man she has neither heard of nor ever met.

Poirot has also never heard of a Barnabas Pandy, and has accused nobody of murder. Shaken, he goes inside, only to find that he has a visitor waiting for him — a man who also claims also to have received a letter from Poirot that morning, accusing him of the murder of Barnabas Pandy.

Poirot wonders how many more letters of this sort have been sent in his name. Who sent them, and why? More importantly, who is Barnabas Pandy, is he dead, and, if so, was he murdered? And can Poirot find out the answers without putting more lives in danger?

Hercule Poirot is back and yet again written by the wonderful Sophie Hannah.  Now I know that some die-hard Agatha Christie fans have hated the fact that Sophie has written these Poirot novels, but as a total fan of the queen of crime fiction I love them totally and you should too!  I can hear Poirot as I read these books, and I do think that Sophie Hannah has captured him on paper perfectly.  I also love the fact that in these books he has a new side-kick in the guise of Edward Catchpole who is the author of these novels and is always there at hand to lend a role in the police proceedings.

This book starts with a letter - one which accuses a woman of murdering a man she has never heard of, a Mr Barnabus Pandy, who apparently died whilst in the bath.  The author of this letter is one Mr Hercule Poirot!  After being accosted by this rather angry lady, Poirot finds himself blamed for the sending of not one, not two but four letters in total; all saying the same thing - that the recipient has murdered Barnabus Pandy!

This is enough for Poirot to investigate the case, despite the police ruling it an accidental death initially, and with Catchpole at his side, he visits the home of Mr Pandy to find out more about his demise from the women who lived with him - his daughters and granddaughter and to find out the truth.  But of course, as more seemingly unrelated characters are brought into play, we soon learn that not everyone is being honest with Poirot.

Did my own "little grey cells" work out whodunnit in this cleverly crafted plot?  No of course they didn't, but Poirot did in his own determinable style!  I can't wait for the next installment!

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x