Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie * * * *

The Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie is a Poirot novel that was first published in 1934. Christie plays with a theatrical structure in Three Act Tragedy, dividing the mystery like a stage play. 

The story begins with a party at Sir Charles Cartwright’s house. We are introduced to the cast of characters and you immediately start to wonder who is going to die. It’s really best to go into the rest of the story blind, as it has surprising twists and turns from the beginning. The story itself is rather slow-paced and feels meandering at some points, more focused on the characters than the mystery, but in the end it all comes together.

Although this is a Poirot story, he appears very little in it. He’s there when the first murder takes place, briefly mentioned in the second act, but only returns for the third act to solve the mystery and dazzle everyone with his little gray cells.

The majority of the sleuthing is done by Mr Satterthwaite and Hermione “Egg” Lytton Gore. Mr Satterthwaite is one of Christie’s recurring characters, but he’s mostly prominent in the Harley Quin Stories. He’s a supporting detective here, throwing in his own ideas and doing some investigating with Egg. Sadly, Egg herself doesn’t appear elsewhere, which is a shame. She’s a smart, modern young girl that really stands out in the story. I would have very much liked to see more of her. Sir Charles is also investigating mainly with Egg and their connection is apparent straight away, in spite of the age gap.

Overall, one of Christie’s more memorable stories. It stands out with the strong character building and the surprise ending. However, if you want to read a book that focuses on Poirot, I don’t recommend it, because he’s in it very little.