This edition published 24th September 2015 by Harper Collins.
Originally published in 1967.
From the cover of the book:
A perplexed girl thinks she might have killed someone…Three single girls shared the same London flat. The first worked as a secretary; the second was an artist; the third who came to Poirot for help, disappeared convinced she was a murderer.
Now there were rumours of revolvers, flick-knives and blood stains. But, without hard evidence, it would take all Poirot’s tenacity to establish whether the third girl was guilty innocent or insane…
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Hercule Poirot's morning routine of a cup of steaming chocolate and a brioche is disturbed by the arrival of a confused young woman who announces that she believes she may have committed a murder. When he tries to elicit some information from her, she flees his apartment, with the parting shot that he is simply "too old" to help her. His delicate feelings hurt by the early morning intrusion, and verbal assault, Poirot is at a loss, until his friend, the famous author, Ariadne Oliver, sheds some light on the matter.
Poirot and Ariadne discover that this troubled young woman, one Norma Restarick, has subsequently gone missing from the flat where she is the 'third girl'. Her flatmates, and family seem to have no idea where she has disappeared to, and Poirot is concerned for her safety. Ariadne is certain the whole affair has something to do with Norma's dubious artist boyfriend, who she has dubbed 'the peacock', but Poirot is not so sure...
This story is incredibly complex, with many conflicting storylines that Christie does her best to weave about Norma for some misdirecting red herrings, but at many points I actually found myself just as confused as Poirot in the presence of so many characters whose motivations were so wildly disparate - even with the best efforts of the lovely Hugh Fraser to keep me on track with his narration of the audio book.
Essentially, the story revolves around whether or not Norma has killed someone, as she believes, and it takes Poirot and Ariadne, working in tandem, a long time to get to the bottom of the mystery. At several points, Poirot himself declares that there is simply no pattern to it all, with everything that is going on, and so many people acting strangely around Norma - who may or not be insane. He is not wrong. In fact, quite how he manages to pull this one off is a miracle. Dodgy boyfriends, modern young things, and dysfunctional families add to the bizarre mix, and, ultimately, for me, it is all too busy to bring about that magical moment where everything falls into place.
However, there are still nuggets of gold that make it worthwhile. The 1960s setting is very atmospheric and Christie does an excellent job of showing quite how much times are changing on the social history front. This makes for a fascinating contrast between the behaviour and attitudes of the older characters, and the modern young things breaking away from the traditions of the past. I particularly loved Ariadne in this book, who carries the story with her eccentricities, and her fine line in quips about the 'youngsters of today' (such as their penchant for 'tight exotic trousers'). Her chaotic hairstyle is almost a character in itself too - especially since it proves to be the inspiration Poirot needs to crack the case!
This was my November pick for #ReadChristie2024, as one of Christie's books from the 1960s/70s, and the penultimate one on the trail through the decades with the Queen of Crime. I am looking forward to polishing off a fascinating year with Miss Marple in Nemesis, which was written in 1971 - it promises to be interesting!
Third Girl is available to buy now in multiple formats.
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