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2000s: The legendary Poirot is back under the care of Sophie Hannah in book number 3
2000s: The legendary Poirot is back under the care of Sophie Hannah in book number 3
Returning home after lunch one day, Hercule Poirot finds an angry woman waiting outside his front door. She demands to know why Poirot has sent her a letter accusing her of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, a man she has neither heard of nor ever met.
Poirot has also never heard of a Barnabas Pandy, and has accused nobody of murder. Shaken, he goes inside, only to find that he has a visitor waiting for him — a man who also claims also to have received a letter from Poirot that morning, accusing him of the murder of Barnabas Pandy.
Poirot wonders how many more letters of this sort have been sent in his name. Who sent them, and why? More importantly, who is Barnabas Pandy, is he dead, and, if so, was he murdered? And can Poirot find out the answers without putting more lives in danger?
This is the London that Sophie Hannah has recreated for the new Poirot mystery. It takes place mainly in the city within the streets, inns and alleyways of the big smoke. There are details such as Kemble’s coffee House, Pleasant’s Coffee House and of course the alleyways which seem to contain cobbles as well as red herrings to trip you up.
The cast of characters here is nice – their names are of the time and genre – Euphemia Spring, Hugo Dockerill and the man at the heart of the mystery – Barnabas Spring. The policeman helping on the case from Scotland Yard – Charlie Catchpool. The streets around Drury Lane and Henrietta Street are where solicitors involved in the case are located.
Of course there is a country house – named Combingham Hall and a boarding school which is very apt for Christie’s novels. And a typewriter with a dodgy letter ‘e’!
Destination : London Author/Guide: Sophie Hannah Departure Time: 1930s
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