The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah Narrator: Julian Rhind-Tutt
Series: New Hercules Poirot Mysteries #3
Published by HarperAudio on August 28, 2018
Genres: Historical Mystery
Length: 9 hours, 58 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon,Ā Audible,Ā Libro.fm
Hercule Poirot returns home after an agreeable luncheon to find an angry woman waiting to berate him outside his front door. Her name is Sylvia Rule, and she demands to know why Poirot has accused her of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, a man she has neither heard of nor ever met. She is furious to be so accused, and deeply shocked. Poirot is equally shocked, because he too has never heard of any Barnabas Pandy, and he certainly did not send the letter in question. He cannot convince Sylvia Rule of his innocence, however, and she marches away in a rage.
Shaken, Poirot goes inside, only to find that he has a visitor waiting for him -- a man called John McCrodden who also claims also to have received a letter from Poirot that morning, accusing him of the murder of Barnabas Pandy...
Arriving at the third installment in the New Hercule Poirot Mysteries series, Iāve settled in for a comfy listen and a visit with Sophie Hannahās Hercule Poirot and her engaging original detective creation, Scotland Yard detective, Edward Catchpool.Ā A blend of historical, cozy mystery, and a nod to Agatha Christieās detective creation, the light humor and clever twists blend for a delightful listening experience.
Mystery of the Three Quarters is the third standalone mystery in the series.Ā The story opens with an outraged Poirot confronted by four diverse people who received letters purportedly from him where he accuses them of murder.Ā Two are angry, one thinks heās in error, and the fourth is dripping misery and took him at his word he had not sent any letters nor heard of the people or the man they were accused of murdering.
I just love how Sophie Hannah whacks the reader-listener upside the head with the oddest mysteries.Ā In this case, Poirot must not only figure out if a murder happened, but why those letters were written and sent to those people in the first place.Ā He learns the man mentioned was an old man who did indeed die, but not under mysterious circumstances.Ā Nothing much seems to be connected.Ā At first.Ā But Poirot and Catchpool interview the interested parties, learn of others who might know something, track down evidence, and eventually arrive at a surprise ending.
Mystery of the Three Quarters was nice and I was happy to listen as I went about other activities.Ā The characters were quirky enough, but the case didnāt have a feel of urgency so once introductory matters were over, I felt the gentle pace across the middle and Poirot and Catchpool pieced together the picture.Ā I wouldnāt go so far as to say I was bored, but I wasnāt captivated, either.Ā Until the end.Ā Now, there were some good surprise reveals and a fascinating ending.
I love the interaction between Poirot and Catchpool.Ā Catchpool is the one narrating and his opinions and observations about Poirot are funny at times.Ā Poor Catchpool gets reamed out by his boss when Poirot upsets the manās friend and Poirot gives him the thankless assignments on the case.Ā But, Catchpool is game and respects Poirotās skill even if half the time he has no idea what Poirot is thinking or why he does what he does.
All in all, a moderately good historical cozy with a good amount of suspects, motives, and a surprise finish that I can recommend to others who want more Poirot or a lighter historical mystery.
Narration:
Julian Rhind-Tutt has been an adjustment for me over the course of the series, but finally, Iāve arrived at the point where I had no quibbles and was well-satisfied with his narration work.Ā In fact, his narration work carried the story over the slower sections.
Listen to the clip: HERE
About Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of crime fiction, published in forty-nine languages and fifty-one territories. Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide. In 2014, with the blessing of Agatha Christieās family and estate, Sophie published a new Poirot novel,Ā The Monogram Murders, which was a bestseller in more than fifteen countries. She has since published three more Poirot novels:Ā Closed Casket,Ā The Mystery of Three QuartersĀ andĀ The Killings at Kingfisher Hill, all of which were instant Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers. Her next Poirot novel will be published in October 2023.
Sophieās murder mystery musical,Ā The Mystery of Mr EĀ ā co-written with her friend and composer Annette Armitage ā is currently being filmed and will be released as a movie in 2023. The film is directed by Martyn Tott and produced/made by Landrigan Entertainment Ltd. In 2013, Sophieās novelĀ The CarrierĀ won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards. She has also published two short story collections and five collections of poetry ā the fifth of which,Ā Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A Level and degree level across the UK. She has published a self-help book calledĀ How to Hold a Grudge: From Resentment to Contentment ā The Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life.
Sophie has recently helped to create aĀ Masterās Degree in Crime and Thriller WritingĀ at the University of Cambridge, for which she is the main teacher and Course Director. She is also the founder of theĀ DREAM AUTHORĀ coaching programme for writers.Ā She lives with her husband, children and dogĀ in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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Poirot !!!!
Oh yes!!!! š
Agatha Christi is iconic and I have yet to read one of her books. š
One day.
You have a treat in store for you, Robin. š Some are better than others. I think her best writing was done earlier to mid-career for her.
Haven’t read this one! :O
One to look forward to, Ani! š
I was more a fan of Miss Marple. The new mysteries sound interesting though.
Same here! These are fun for when I wanted more cases for Poirot.
An odd mystery, how fun.
Yeah, it had me scratching my head at first. It was a fun one, Mary. š
I haven’t read any Poirot books – only seen a few in movie format. I do enjoy a quirky mystery that makes me think, but I don’t love odd evidence/clues that are red herrings or just tossed in for fun.
You could enjoy these as separate from Christie’s Poirot books because they don’t connect to Poirot’s earlier history at all. Yeah, some of the oddest things do at least make sense once all the facts are on the table at the end.
I think this was one of my very favorite Hannah/Poirot books. I think I’ve missed one or two books in this series and need to catch up.
I had a blast getting caught up with these earlier this year. š
I love Agatha Christie’s Poirot. I wonder how I’d like Sophie Hannah’s continuation of his character. I should give her a try.
There is a slight adjustment, but not much. The biggest change is, of course, the writing style and the style of the mysteries. Both take some getting used to, but I’ve ended up enjoying this series.