Book 159 - Sophie Hannah - Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot in The Mystery of Three Quarters

Love Agatha Christie…from Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple to David Suchet’s Poirot…the journey to the celluloid screen has at times been incredible. But I have always struggled to get into any of the novels, when my Father-in-Law suggested trying a Poirot not even written by Christie…I hesitated..but then again…I have read James Bond books not by Fleming and Sherlock Holmes books not by Doyle…mostly they were good…some fantastic. So it was a with a certain amount of trepidation I sat down to read this one…wow…it was magnificent and like most of Poirot’s adventures…the hook of the novel caught me within a chapter..probably…if I’m honest…within a page.

Poirot is accosted in the street by someone claiming he, Poirot, has written them a letter…accusing them of murder…within 24 hours…three more people…tell him the same thing…that Poirot, himself has accused seemingly unconnected people of murdering the same man…a gentleman in his 90s who apparently drowned in his own bathtub…months earlier. Therefore there is no crime…but Poirot’s reputation has been tarnished…’J’accuse’…and Poirot will not let this go.

What follows is a wonderful mystery, worthy of Dame Agatha herself…connections between the receivers of the letters are uncovered…alibis are shown to be false and danger lies at every corner of a grand house typical of 1930s England. We visit gentlemen clubs..idyllic homes in Wales and back to the scene of the ‘crime’ in a brilliant romp around the British countryside in the company of the erudite Belgian. You can hear the accent drip from the pages.

As for the outcome…well…far be it from me to ruin a magnificent mystery…a diabolically devious…complex conundrum but I will say this, as layers are peeled back and as the book reaches its climax a thoroughly satisfactory ending is revealed…totally didn’t see it…didn’t guess it but absolutely adored the writing…

I will definitely be returning to this new world that has been developed so well by Sophie Hannah. Brilliant…c'est magnifique ( )

In Sophie Hannah's "The Mystery of Three Quarters," master detective Hercules Poirot is startled to learn that four people have received letters signed by him, accusing them of having murdered ninety-four year old Barnabas Pandy. According to the police, however, Mr. Pandy's death was accidental. He drowned when he fell asleep while taking a bath. Poirot had never heard of Pandy before, and although he did not compose these letters, the recipients believe that he did. Two angrily confront him. The third and fourth are more puzzled than angry. Although Poirot would like to wash his hands of this irksome affair, his curiosity is piqued, and he decides to investigate the strange case with the help of Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard.

It turns out that three of the four men and women accused of killing Pandy had a direct or indirect connection to him. Sylvia Rule's son, Freddie, attends the same school, Turville, as the deceased's grandson, Timothy Lavington. Pandy raised two granddaughters; one of them, Annabel Treadway, received a letter. The third recipient, Hugo Dockerill, is a housemaster at Turville. The anomaly is number four: John McCrodden. Since John has no obvious link to Pandy, why would anyone think that he drowned the old man? McCrodden is the unexplained "fourth quarter." Poirot's little gray cells receive a vigorous workout as he ponders this difficult puzzle, with little concrete evidence to guide him. Instead, he uses his keen understanding of human nature to make sense of what he learns.

Poirot and Catchpool conduct interviews to find out what various individuals know and to uncover carefully hidden secrets that may be relevant to the investigation. Eventually, Poirot comes up with a possible solution, and he summons all concerned to a large gathering, where he intends to unveil who did what to whom and why. Hannah uses Christie's traditional conventions to fine effect. There are colorful characters, each of whom has a well-defined personality, and numerous red herrings to throw us off the scent. Poirot keeps mum as he studies every aspect of the inquiry, and eventually makes surprising inferences that lead him to the identity of the culprit. The author's dialogue, descriptive writing, and settings work well, but the story culminates in a fanciful conclusion that is not particularly convincing. Hannah's central theme is that stubbornly clinging to old grudges is not just futile, but may also end in tragedy. "The Mystery of Three Quarters" is amusing, subtle, and intriguing, but the far-fetched finale weakens the novel's overall impact.
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Full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2018/08/30/book-review-saga-volume-two-by-brian-k-v...

Written in the style of Agatha Christie, Hannah has captured the style and attraction of Christie--and also the flaws. The plot is delightfully simple, and yet complex and confusing, and is tied up nicely in the end. But, like Christie, a lot of the details are childishly (ignorantly?) innacurate. The tale satisfies as a light interlude between reading more 'meaty' tomes--but is not recommended for nit-pickers. ( )