Three Act Tragedy (Miss Marple Mysteries)

by Agatha Christie

Poirot gently uncrossed his knees, withdrew his gaze from the ceiling, and looked the young man full in the face. “My name is Hercule Poirot,” he said quietly, “and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.

Christie, Agatha. The Mystery of the Blue Train: Hercule Poirot Investigates (Hercule Poirot series Book 6) (p. 149). William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.

Sir Charles Cartwright, a famous actor, is holding a dinner party at his country house when the local parson has a fit and dies. He suspects murder but everyone believes him to be letting his imagination run amok. And then weeks later, a second guest dies in the exact same manner.

Although Poirot does attend the dinner party, for much of the book he is absent, leaving the detection up to Sir Charles Cartwright, his friend Mr Satterthwaite (who apparently appears in Christie's Harley Quin series) and his young neighbour, Miss Lytton "Egg" Gore.

I really enjoyed this one. I loved the use of the three acts. The format was used very effectively to convey the story and it was rather an unique way to do so. I adored the way in which Charles took on and discarded his various roles, particularly when Mr Satterthwaite commented. I liked Mr Satterthwaite - he was amusing and observant (I'll have to make sure to pick up the Harley Quin books) - I would've liked to see more of him and Poirot working together - I'm sure it'd be very entertaining. Egg was a good egg (yeah I couldn't resist). I enjoyed her determination and manoeuvring to get her man.

The murderer was unexpected. I didn't see it coming. If I hadn't of read another book The Murder of Roger Ackroyd I'm sure it would've felt very original, but it kind of felt repetitive. That's not to say it wasn't good - it was and I enjoyed everything up until that very much - but it felt familiar in a way it probably shouldn't have. The motive for the murder was also pretty unexpected - I was pretty dumbfounded when Poirot explains that the first murder was a dress rehearsal. Oh the dramatics of actors. The motive though was kind of strange - I feel like he might have been better off killing the committed wife, then his friend. I mean one has one murder. The other has two.

Overall it was an enjoyable and well plotted mystery with intriguing characters and an unexpected culprit. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.