Character guide

Hercule Poirot

major

Also known as M. Hercule Poirot, M. Poirot, Mr. Poirot, Mr. Hercule Poirot, Moosior Poirot, Monsieur Poirot, Monsieur Hercule Poirot

A Belgian detective with waxed moustaches and unshakable method, who alone insists a four-headed criminal conspiracy is real while governments dismiss him as a monomaniac.

Captain Hastings

major

Also known as the good Hastings, M. le Capitaine, M. le Capitaine Hastings

Poirot's loyal English friend and chronicler, who watches his old ally chase a shadowy four-member conspiracy and wonders, at times, if the chase has become obsession.

Inspector Japp

supporting

Also known as the worthy Japp, Japp

A Scotland Yard man of blunt good sense, caught between professional loyalty to Poirot and the Yard's open scepticism about a criminal organization nobody can quite prove exists.

Abe Ryland

major

Also known as Mr. Ryland, Ryland, Mr. Abe Ryland, the real Ryland

An American multimillionaire of overpowering force and personality, whose casual contempt for Poirot and violent rages over misopened letters suggest a man with far more to hide than money.

Li Chang Yen

major

Also known as Chang Yen

A Chinese mastermind named as Number One of the Big Four, whose very existence is doubted by premiers and police until one quiet voice in the room says simply: I have heard of him.

Dr. Savaronoff

supporting

Also known as Savaronoff, the great Savaronoff

A world-renowned scientist whose brilliance makes him a target, and whose disappearance pulls Poirot and Hastings deeper into the reach of the Big Four.

Madame Olivier

major

Also known as Madame

Madame Olivier stands beside Abe Ryland and an empty mandarin's chair, her scarred face and white coif making her look more like a priestess than a modern scientist. Since her husband's death in a laboratory explosion, she has shut herself away and plunged with fanatical energy into research — a devotion that may be genuine, or may be the perfect cover. When Poirot names her as Number Three, a French premier bounds from his chair in disbelief, and that very outrage is what makes her so dangerous.

John Ingles

supporting

Also known as Mr. John Ingles, Mr. Ingles, Ingles

Ingles is an old acquaintance of Poirot's, present at the tense briefing where the detective lays out the Big Four's existence to skeptical officials. While a French premier dismisses the whole conspiracy as mania, Ingles' unexpected voice cuts through the disbelief with a single, steadying word of corroboration. His quiet reliability makes him exactly the kind of ally Poirot needs when the world's most powerful men refuse to believe what is coming.

Number Four

major

Also known as Number Two, Number Three, Meanwhile Number Four

Number Four is the Big Four's field agent — the one who appears in person while Li Chang Yen directs from afar and Ryland and Olivier lend wealth and genius. Poirot believes him to be Claud Darrell, an actor whose profession makes him a master of assuming any identity he needs. When the countess tears the moustaches from the man posing as Poirot, it is Number Four who snarls the death threat — and Number Four who must reckon with an adversary willing to die for success.

Robert Grant

supporting

Also known as Grant

Robert Grant moves through the case as a figure whose involvement is never quite what it seems, drawing suspicion even as he appears to cooperate. In a world where Number Four can wear any face and the Big Four's reach extends into submarines and aeroplanes, a young man with uncertain motives is a liability as much as an asset. His presence forces Poirot and Hastings to ask the question that haunts the whole investigation: whom can you actually trust?

Flossie Monro

supporting

Also known as Miss Flossie Monro, Miss Monro, Poor Flossie Monro

Flossie Monro belongs to the human cost of the Big Four's war on the social order — the ordinary lives caught and broken by an organization that treats people as instruments. The pity that clings to her name in the text suggests a fate that Poirot and Hastings cannot prevent, and that haunts them afterward. She matters because she makes the conspiracy personal: behind the submarines and aeroplane disasters are real people who pay for the Big Four's ambitions.

Halliday

minor

Also known as M. Halliday, This M. Halliday, John Halliday

A man whose death is linked to the Big Four conspiracy.

Mr. Paynter

minor

Also known as Paynter

An elderly gentleman who is targeted by the Big Four.

Gerald Paynter

minor

Also known as Young Gerald Paynter, Young Paynter, young Paynter

The nephew of Mr. Paynter, suspected of involvement with the Big Four.

Dr. Quentin

minor

Also known as Quentin, Doctor Quentin

A doctor who treats a key witness and aids Poirot.

Ling

minor

Also known as Ah Ling

A Chinese servant who works for Li Chang Yen.

Achille Poirot

supporting

Also known as Achille, M. Achille Poirot, Achille Poirot—or

Achille Poirot is the mirror image of his famous brother — same egg-shaped head, same strutting figure, same delicately plump build — but with dark eyes instead of green and a small scar on his upper lip where the moustaches are false. When the countess tears off the moustaches and cries that this man is not Hercule Poirot, Achille calmly admits the trick has succeeded, and that he is willing to purchase success with his life. His appearance is the hinge on which Poirot's most audacious plan turns, and it leaves the Big Four shaken.

Dr. Ridgeway

minor

Also known as Ridgeway

A doctor who examines a poisoned victim.

M. Desjardeaux

minor

Also known as Desjardeaux

A French official who helps Poirot in his investigation.

Mrs. Templeton

minor

Also known as young Templeton, the young Templeton

A woman whose son is involved with the Big Four.

Mrs. Pearson

minor

A housekeeper who witnesses a key event.

Sydney Crowther

supporting

Also known as The Right Honourable Sydney Crowther, Crowther, Mr. Crowther, M. Crowther

Crowther sits at the center of the novel's political world, the ranking English official Poirot summons when he needs the state to take the Big Four seriously. His loyalty to Poirot is genuine, but so is his caution: he calls the conspiracy credible yet suspects Poirot 'exaggerates a little,' and his slow, heavy hesitation is the sound of a reasonable man confronting something unreasonable. That measured doubt defines the early arc, where the question is not merely whether the Big Four exist but whether anyone in power will believe it in time.

Countess Vera Rossakoff

minor

Also known as the Countess Rossakoff, Rossakoff, Countess Vera Rossakoff, The Countess Vera Rossakoff

A glamorous Russian countess and former criminal associate.

Captain Harvey

minor

Also known as Harvey

A military man who is a suspect in the case.

Mr. Whalley

minor

Also known as Whalley, old Whalley

An old man who provides a clue to Poirot.

Mrs. Halliday

minor

Also known as Halliday

The wife of the murdered Halliday.

Mayerling

minor

A mysterious figure associated with the Big Four.

Gilmour Wilson

minor

Also known as Wilson, M. Gilmour Wilson

A scientist who assists Poirot with technical matters.

Claudie

minor

A French girl who becomes entangled in the Big Four's plot.

Claud Darrell

minor

Also known as Mr. Claud Darrell, Mr. Darrell, The poor Mr. Darrell, this Mr. Darrell

A man who dies under mysterious circumstances.

Ivan

minor

Also known as the honest Ivan

A Russian servant who provides information to Poirot.

Mademoiselle Daviloff

minor

Also known as mademoiselle, Mademoiselle

A Russian woman who is a suspect in the case.

Mr. Templeton

minor

The father of young Templeton, involved in the conspiracy.

Sonia Daviloff

minor

Also known as Sonia

The daughter of Dr. Savaronoff, who is kidnapped.

Betsy Andrews

minor

Also known as Betsy, the good Betsy

A maid who helps Poirot with information.

Miss Martin

minor

Also known as Arthur Leversham Miss Martin

A secretary who is involved in the case.

Dr. Treves

minor

A doctor who treats a poisoned character.

Inspector Meadows

minor

Also known as Inspector

A local police inspector who assists in the investigation.

Mr. McNeil

minor

Also known as McNeil

A Scottish lawyer who assists Poirot.

Dr. Bolitho

minor

Also known as Bolitho

A doctor who examines a body.

Abraham Biggs

minor

Also known as This Biggs, alias Biggs

A criminal who impersonates Number Four.

Captain Kent

minor

A sea captain who transports a key character.

James

minor

A servant who works for the Big Four.

Hanwell

minor

A man from an asylum who delivers a warning.

Inez Veroneau

minor

Also known as Inez, ÄúAnd Inez Veroneau

A woman who is a victim of the Big Four.

Mr. Appleby

minor

Also known as Appleby

A police officer who assists in the case.

George

minor

Also known as Mr. Lloyd George

A brief reference to the British Prime Minister.

Ernest Luttrell

minor

A man who is suspected of being an agent.

Nurse Palmer

minor

A nurse who cares for a poisoned character.