Three Act Tragedy by
Agatha Christie
pbk out April 02
(HarperCollins)
Theatrical references abound in this splendid mystery, not least because
one of the main characters is a famous actor, Sir Charles Cartwright.
Cartwright hosts a house-party at which one of his guests, a vicar called
Babbington, dies after drinking a cocktail. The general assumption is that
the death was from natural causes, but Cartwright suspects foul play. When
his old friend, the doctor Sir Bartholomew Strange, is poisoned in oddly
similar circumstances, Cartwright is sure that the two deaths are
connected. But if this theory is correct, what could the motive be?
Babbington, in particular, seems to have led a blameless life and no-one
appears to benefit from his passing.
Hercule Poirot, a guest at the original party, is baffled. As he later
admits, "I was looking at the crime from an entirely false angle."
Considered from the right angle, Babbington's murder suddenly becomes
explicable. The reason for the killing is almost uniquely cold-blooded, and
although the reason for the murder of Sir Bartholomew is so difficult to
guess that this novel does not rank as one of Christie's fairest puzzles,
it is nevertheless a compelling read.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
