Three Act Tragedy (aka Murder in Three Acts)

The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspensecreator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable charactersbrings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks. In her classic Three Act Tragedy , the normally unflappable Poirot faces his most baffling investigation: the seemingly motiveless murder of the thirteenth guest at dinner party, who choked to death on a cocktail containing not a trace of poison. Review There has never been, and probably never will be, a P.I. more fun to observe and listen to, than Hercule Poirot. (Joseph Wambaugh, New York Times bestselling author ) Makes uncommonly good reading. (New York Times ) Mrs. Christie at the top of her form. (Dorothy L. Sayers, Sunday Times (London) ) From the Back Cover Sir Charles Cartwright should have known better than to allow thirteen guests to sit down for dinner. For at the end of the evening one of them is deadchoked by a cocktail that contained no trace of poison. Predictable, says Hercule Poirot, the great detective. But entirely unpredictable is that he can find absolutely no motive for murder.

Sir Charles Cartwright should have known better than to allow thirteen guests to sit down for dinner. For at the end of the evening one of them is dead—choked by a cocktail that contained no trace of poison.

Predictable, says Hercule Poirot, the great detective. But entirely unpredictable is that he can find absolutely no motive for murder....

The Reverend Stephen Babbington seldom imbibes, but at a gala thrown by actor Sir Charles Cartwright, he indulges in a cocktail and falls over dead. Since there is no trace of poison or foul play, the case is closed . . . until an identical death at a London party arouses the suspicions of Hercule Poirot. Also published as Murder in Three Acts. Reissue.

The novel opens as a theatre programme, with this telling credit: 'Illumination by HERCULE POIROT.' Light must be shed, indeed, on the fateful dinner party staged by the famous actor Sir Charles Cartwright for thirteen guests. It will be a particularly unlucky evening for the mild-mannered Reverend Stephen Babbington, whose martini glass, sent for chemical analysis after he chokes on its contents and dies, reveals no trace of poison. Just as there is no apparent motive for his murder. The first scene in a succession of carefully staged killings, but who is the director? The New York Times: 'Makes for uncommonly good reading.' In Agatha Christie’s classic, Three Act Tragedy, the normally unflappable Hercule Poirot faces his most baffling investigation: the seemingly motiveless murder of the thirteenth guest at dinner party, who choked to death on a cocktail containing not a trace of poison. Sir Charles Cartwright should have known better than to allow thirteen guests to sit down for dinner. For at the end of the evening one of them is dead—choked by a cocktail that contained no trace of poison. Predictable, says Hercule Poirot, the great detective. But entirely unpredictable is that he can find absolutely no motive for murder.... Thirteen guests arrive at the actor's house for dinner. Reverend Stephen Babbington chokes on his cocktail, goes into convulsions and dies. But when his Martini glass is sent for chemical analysis, there is no trace of poison - just as Poirot had predicted A cocktail party ends in murder, but who did it? Why? And for that matter, how? No real cause of death has been established. It's a real baffler and it's prompting Hercule Poirot to ask another question...who's next? Hercule Poirot is a guest a weekend house party, given at the Cornish clifftop home of the celebrated actor Sir Charles Cartwright