In Sophie Hannah’s third “new” story featuring a certain little Belgian detective with magnificent moustaches and an egg-shaped head, Poirot finds himself confronted by four people who have all received a letter accusing them of murder - a letter signed by one Hercule Poirot. Who is Barnabas Pandy, and has he or hasn’t he actually been murdered? Poirot’s investigations, assisted by Scotland Yard detective Edward Catchpool, encompass a country house complete with aged retainer, a boys’ boarding school, a solicitor with a passion for the death penalty known unaffectionately as Rowland Rope, and - in a very Christie-ish touch - a typewriter with a dodgy letter ‘e’.

You wouldn’t actually mistake it for Christie - it’s definitely Sophie Hannah’s own take and while set in the past, has a more modern feel - but Poirot is very recognisably Poirot (and apparently protects his moustaches with a net at night. Did we know this?) Captain Hastings is nowhere to be seen, but Catchpool is a worthy substitute, as is waitress Euphemia (Fee) Spring, though she doesn’t have a great deal to do here.... though her Church Window Cake (Battenberg, surely?) provides a source of inspiration.

Liked the chapter titles.... Proper chapter titles aren’t really a thing any more in most modern novels. Stuff like “Poirot Returns to Combingham Hall” and “The Typewriter Experiment”. They should be. Bring back the chapter title, modern authors!

I enjoyed the various renderings of Poirot’s name (Porrott, Prarrow) which reminded me of first reading the books as a child back in ye olden days and not knowing how to pronounce it ( I think Pworrot was as close as I got, and I had no idea what the M. - for Monsieur - stood for. I asked my mum, but she didn’t know either).

I think this is my favourite of Sophie Hannah’s three Poirot novels so far... neatly plotted and characterised, and though nobody can entirely recreate the spirit of the originals (and nor should they), Sophie does a very good job. I really enjoyed it.

A fairly easy book to read in a few settings. AS with the real Agatha Christie there are many twists and turns in the story. A few too many 'coincidences' but with a murder mystery such as this to be expected. I did not feel so drawn to this version of Poiroit as I have done in the past.

Simply put, this was absolutely brilliant. I loved the depth of the characters, the mystery and intrigue. I loved the pace of the story and it was a pleasure to read. I'd definitely recommend it!

Sophie Hannah again demonstrates that she is a very suitable successor to the Queen of Crime. She takes on Hercule Poirot's manners and methods within her books and each is better than the last! As with Christie, Hannah treads the line between Poirot's very serious crime-solving skills and the sometimes Panto-esque conversations that occur between characters (for example, here at the Law Society dinner). Further, the pace of the books and le grand révélation are always a joy.

The skill of an author of a book such as this is to make you believe as the reader that you are extremely clever when you're one step ahead of Poirot. That needs to be balanced so that the reader also does not find the conclusion too obvious. That balance is cleverly-struck here. I did feel that there was perhaps one more minor revelation to be uncovered at the conclusion relating to the parentage of one person, but I cannot say more without giving too much away...

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and Sophie Hannah for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent addition to the Poirot stories. Atmospheric and delightfully nostalgic. Could easily believe it was written by Christie herself.

I probably would have rated this higher, if it weren't for the ending. I hadn't known about Hannah's resurrection of Poirot previously, so this was my first exposure to her version of him. I wondered if I'd hate it, and I started the book a little nervously because I do love the real, original Poirot. But actually, I enjoyed it for the most part. It was always better when Poirot was on the scene, and a little less interesting when he wasn't.

Unfortunately it was the plot that I felt let the story down. The ending unravelled so slowly that I found myself almost bored by it, and I was just wishing Poirot would get on with it!

Four letters are received by four individuals, all purporting to be from Hercule Poirot, and all accusing the recipient of the murder of a Barnabas Pandy - but Poirot does not know of Barnabas Pandy, and he didn't pen the letters. Of course he cannot resist the mystery, and his little grey cells are soon hard at work. Classic Poirot, loved it.

I was intrigued to read Sophie's style of writing as opposed to Agatha Christie's as I didn't think anything could beat Agatha but I was pleasantly surprised. Her style has a bit of humour in It which was nice and her version of Hercule was altogether a bit more playful. I would definitely recommend this book.

I have enjoyed Sophie Hannah’s take on Hercule Poirot. I found myself laughing out loud in some places, something I have never done when reading Christie’s stories.
Hannah’s detective doesn’t seem to have quite as many foibles as Agatha Christie’s but he is essentially the same person. The plot is appropriate, set as is partly in a stereotypically English country house and Prep boarding school, with over-the-top eccentric English characters – apart from Poirot himself, that is.
I have no hesitation in recommending this book.

This book is a welcome return for Poirot. I doubt anyone could really take Agatha Christie's place, but Sophie Hannah comes really close to doing just that. What a plot twist, which I will not reveal because it would spoil the story for readers, but so superbly set up and executed bh Sophie. I commend you to reading this book if you are an Agatha Christie fan and if you are not, try it anyway and then read the rest when you are hooked.

Sophie Hannah is a worthy successor to Agatha Christie. She is not trying to be a facsimile of the Queen of Crime. Hers is a playful Hercule Poirot, capable of playing a trick on someone with a wink.
Four people are sent a letter, supposedly from Poirot, accusing them all of a murder. The dead man, Barnabas Pandy, has been thought to have died of natural causes. Or has he? All four have skeletons in their closet. Poirot is drawn into the mystery, curious of who has taken his good name in vain.
There are the usual colourful characters. Like most Christie novels, it is preoccupied with class. Poirot and his male peers prefer to be bachelors, and they find women a mystery. Inspector Catchpool is determined to stay single and Rowly McCrodden finds his secretary very vexing indeed.
Sylvia Rule is very defensive, and Annabel Treadaway has some secret sadness. Not for the first time, a dog and a large country house play an integral part in the story.
There is an amusing side plot with a cake, that provides the frame for the solving of the larger mystery. The reader gets to see Hercule’s little grey cells in action, and observe his belief that character will explain who does what and why. Very enjoyable.

Four people receive letters accusing them of the murder of Barnabus Panby. The letters are signed by Hercule Poirot but there's one small problem... he didn't write them! Poirot is drawn into what he titles "The Mystery of Three Quarters" where he attempts to unravel the mystery of who wrote these letters and why.

Overall, the novel is an enjoyable tale and Sophie Hannah has performed well in her ability to bring back Agatha Christie's famous character. On the whole, Hannah has captured the personality of Poirot. The plot is well written, clever and unpredictable - this is a decent contribution to the murder mystery genre.

Like the Agatha Christie Poirot novels I have previously read, The Mystery of Three Quarters is written by a 'sidekick' - in this case, the author is Inspector Edward Catchpool. However, many of the chapters recount events that Catchpool wasn't present for, including the thoughts and feelings of Poirot, as well as other characters. Although it was intriguing to see some of Poirot's thought processes in more detail than I am used to, this didn't quite work for me.

It's a hard ask for an author to write a novel using such a well known character but Hannah should be applauded. The comparisons with Christie and whether this reaches the heights of her best novels will naturally persist, but one thing is certain to me: this was an enjoyable read.

If you come to this expecting the resurrection of Christie and her Poirot then this might disappoint – instead, Hannah offers a homage to Christie/Poirot but with her own overlay of irony and humour. This isn’t as twisted as Hannah’s own books but offers a convoluted case that only Poirot could solve. The characterisation is zany in parts (the housemaster!) but the story comes together in a satisfying way.

Light and exuberant entertainment - one to pack for the beach.