Three Act Tragedy

Thirteen guests arrived for dinner at the actor's house. It was to be a particularly unlucky evening for the mild-mannered Reverend Stephen Babbington, who choked on his cocktail, went into convulsions and died. But when his martini glass was sent for chemical analysis, there was no trace of poison - just as Poirot had predicted. Even more troubling for the great detective, there was absolutely no motive...

Year: 1935
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Location: England

Cast of characters

Hercule Poirot, Mr. Satterthwaite. Also: Anthony Astor, Rev. Stephen Babbington, Sir Charles Cartwright, Doris Cocker, Superintendent Crossfield, Cynthia and Freddie Dacres, Margaret De Rushbridger, Aristide Duval, John Ellis, Colonel Johnson, Hermione "Egg" and Lady Mary Lytton Gore, Oliver Manders, Mrs. Milray, Violet Milray, Sir Bartholomew (Tollie) Strange, Angela Sutcliffe, Miss Temple, Muriel Wills

Publishing history

Publishing: First published in 1935 by William Collins Sons & Co. in London, and in 1934 as 'Murder in Three Acts' by Dodd, Mead & Co. in New York. Films: Adapted by Warner Brothers in 1986 into a 105-minute movie retitled 'Murder in Three Acts', starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot, Jonathan Cecil as Hastings and Tony Curtis as Charles Cartwright. The movie changed the setting from England to Acapulco, and Poirot uses a word processor to write his memoirs.

Notes and reviews

The novel pairs Hercule Poirot with Mr. Satterthwaite, a character usually found in the company of the mysterious Mr. Harley Quin.

Murder methods:

Three Poisonings.

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