The Mystery Of The Three Quarters

By Sophie Hannah Harpercollins, 400pp, £18.99

Sophie Hannah’s third act as an Agatha Christie resurrectionist is a piece of cake – but only for Hercule Poirot. Four people accused of murdering a man called Barnabas Pandy each receive a letter purportedly written by Poirot.

Who is pretending to be Poirot and has murder truly been committed? Over to Hannah, a perfect choice of ventriloquist who captures the infuriating precision and baffling brilliance of Christie’s famous detective in a novel that is mostly told through dialogue and builds to a head-scratching denouement. Poirot again taps and totters across the pages in precise little clockwork circles. A lovely slice of mystery.