The Mystery of Three Quarters is a novel written by Sophie Hannah and is her third effort to feature the Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie, Monsieur Hercule Poirot.
The story has an intriguing start when no less than four people come to Poirot and claim to have letters written by him that accuse each of them of murdering a elderly man named Barnabas Pandy. Poirot has no idea how Barnabas Pand died or even what sort of life he had lived. He certainly has never written letters accusing people of murder. Poirot gains the aid of Scotland Yard Inspector Edward Catchpool as they try to find typewriters and connections between the recipients of the letters.
I am not sure what Christie’s reaction would be to this latest effort to provide new additions to Poirot’s casefiles, but I think the estate has found a competent enough writer to pull it off. I rather like that Hannah has created her own Scotland Yard inspector as an ally to the fastidious Belgian. She also seems to respect the original author’s presentation of Poirot. Not much new ground is discovered, but that was fine with me. Poirot’s sense of justice and his ego are quite intact.
I don’t feel as if I can say that Hannah’s efforts are a match for Dame Agatha’s, I will say that this particular effort is strong enough for me to appreciate a new story with Hercule Poirot.
Earlier this year, I was in Ireland and came across a little bookshop where I picked up what is to be my next reading indulgence. I will see what Richard Killeen thinks I need to know about the Emerald Isle in his book, Ireland: 1001 Things You Need to Know.
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