''The Mystery of Three Quarters'' is a work of

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

Sophie Hannah Sophie Hannah (born 1971) is a British poet and novelist. From 1997 to 1999 she was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge, and between 1999 and 2001 a junior research fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She lives with h ...

. It is the third in her series of

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

novels, after being authorised by the estate of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

to write new stories for the character. The previous two are ''

The Monogram Murders ''The Monogram Murders'' is a mystery novel by British writer Sophie Hannah, based on characters created by Agatha Christie. It is the first in her series of Hercule Poirot novels, after being authorised by the estate of Agatha Christie to wr ...

'' (2014) and ''

Closed Casket ''Closed Casket'' is the fourth studio album by Esham, released on November 22, 1994, and distributed by Reel Life Productions/ Warlock Records. Lyrics and music Because of the Satanic themes of his earlier work, Esham had been accused of ...

'' (2016).

Plot

Four people receive

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

purporting to be from Hercule Poirot and accusing them each of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, a ninety-something businessman who drowned - accidentally, it seems - in his bath. Poirot has no knowledge of the letters, nor yet of the late Barnabas Pandy, until he is accosted by one of the recipients, society woman Sylvia Rule, before finding another,

market trader A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...

John McCrodden, in his

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...

. As he begins to investigate the source of the letters with assistance from his young friend Edward Catchpool, a

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

detective, he comes into contact with the family of Pandy, which seems to be hiding secrets.

Explanation of the novel's title

Poirot refers to the case as "the mystery of three quarters" because, of the four people who received letters purporting to be from him, three are in some way connected to the late Barnabas Pandy, whose murder the letters accuse each one of. The fourth, however, is seemingly unconnected. Poirot, then, must figure out the relevance of the fourth person, or quarter. To symbolise the four quarters Poirot uses a slice of Church Window Cake, whose fourth square is separated from the other three.

Characters

Main characters

, private detective *Edward Catchpool, inspector from

Recipients of the letters

*Hugo Dockerill,

housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care o ...

to Pandy's great-grandson *John McCrodden, seemingly unconnected to Pandy *Sylvia Rule, mother of a boy in the same school house as Pandy's great-grandson *Annabel Treadway, Barnabas Pandy's granddaughter

Other characters

*Kingsbury, Pandy's

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

and closest friend *Ivy Lavington, Treadway's niece *Lenore Lavington, Ivy's mother *Timothy Lavington, Lenore's son *Rowland "Rope" McCrodden, John's father, a solicitor nicknamed "Rowland Rope" due to his preference for

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

*Freddy Rule, Sylvia's son and Timothy's classmate *Mildred Rule, Sylvia's daughter

References

External links

''The Mystery of Three Quarters'' on the official Sophie Hannah website''The Mystery of Three Quarters'' on the official Agatha Christie website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mystery Of Three Quarters 2018 British novels HarperCollins books Hercule Poirot novels