Book: The Mystery of Three Quarters
Autor: Sophie Hannah
Country: U.K.
Format: Print
Pages: 384
Publication: 2018
Sophie Hannah was the author who re-ignited my passion for Agatha Christie’s books. I was in a bookstore casually checking the mystery section when I saw the Queen of Crime’s famous signature in a novel, along with the words “The New Poirot Mystery.” I was immediately curious.
The Mystery of the Three Quarters brings Poirot to a strange situation: outraged people keep knocking on his door, insisting that he sent them a letter saying they’ve killed a certain Barnabas Pandy. The problem is that Poirot never sent the letters and has no idea who the supposed victim is. And between you and me, we know that he would never send such letters, and instead would gather all the suspects in a room to explain the crime.
As you can imagine, the more Poirot dives into it, the more confusing the whole scenario becomes. Who is Barnabas Pandy? Was he indeed murdered? Who sent the letters? And why? The four letter recipients seem to be all connected in a strange way, except one – why do we have three-quarters and one left out?
“He was now firmly of the view that if you wanted to see clearly how one person’s character diverged from that of another, the most efficient method was to place both in identical situations.”
The Mystery of Three Quarters
I had several theories along the reading and wrote them all down with the number of the page I was currently at. In the end, I got 6 of my 9 guesses wrong, 2 almost right and only one right. The real culprit was someone that, again, I was not able to figure out. I guess that’s the sign of a good mystery book.
The book’s narrator is Edward Catchpool, a Scotland Yard inspector who is a mix of Captain Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp and assists Poirot with his investigations. He’s a little bit more clever than Hastings and usually tends to keep his assumptions to himself, letting his Belgian colleague shine. Along with him, there’s also a clever waitress called Fee Spring, who is also part of the new Poirot universe.
“My experience as a police inspector has taught me that many people are able to regard themselves with inordinate fondness, no matter what heinous crimes they have committed. They care only about how they look to others, and whether they can get away with it.”
The Mystery of Three Quarters
Sophie Hannah was already a mystery crime writer when she received the mission to write the next Poirot mystery. The idea was pitched by her agent and had the approval of Christie’s family, something they had never done before. The task is not easy – Agatha Christie wrote 80 crime novels and is the most read author around the world after Shakespeare.
As expected, there’s a lot of critique from Agatha Christie’s fans towards Hannah, saying her books lack Christie’s simplicity or that she’s not portraying Poirot well. I disagree. I think that in The Monogram Murders, there was an unnecessary amount of plot twists and conspiracies, but I don’t feel that as much in The Mystery of Three Quarters.
Despite that, this was the book I least liked (that means she got a 4.5 score, and not a 5 or 4.75). I think the solution at the end was a little bit too far-fetched. But again, this would happen in Agatha Christie’s books as well. Or maybe it’s just the initial awe for Hannah is now fizzing out.
Regardless of that, it was a great read – I devoured the book in a week – and I recommend her mysteries to all Agatha Christie’s fans.
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