Third Girl characters

Appears from the start

The Belgian private detective approached by a young woman who says she may have committed a murder, then leaves before explaining. Stung by her judgement that he is too old, Poirot nevertheless treats her uncertainty as a serious clue.

Appears from the start

A troubled young heiress who calls herself the third girl in a London flat shared by three women. She fears that she has killed someone but cannot give Poirot a coherent account of a victim or crime.

First appears in chapter 2

The celebrated detective novelist and Poirot's friend. She recognises Norma from a recent gathering, investigates the younger generation through her own social contacts, and supplies the practical lead Poirot's unidentified visitor failed to leave.

First appears in chapter 4

The first and principal tenant of the flat Norma shares. Efficient, self-possessed, and employed in a responsible position, she appears more firmly established than either of the other two girls.

First appears in chapter 4

The second young woman in the shared flat, stylish and associated with the art world. Her modern appearance and easy social manner make her seem at home in the London life that unsettles Norma.

First appears in chapter 5

Norma's father, recently returned from years abroad after having left his first wife. He is alarmed by his daughter's behaviour and wants her instability treated as an illness.

First appears in chapter 5

Andrew Restarick's much younger second wife. She tries to present a calm welcome to Norma despite the pain caused by Andrew's earlier abandonment of Norma's mother.

First appears in chapter 5

Norma's elderly great-uncle, a retired man with past connections to intelligence work. He provides a family home for Andrew and Mary but is preoccupied by suspicion that private papers have been searched.

First appears in chapter 5

Sir Roderick's young secretary, efficient and attentive to the elderly man's needs. Her foreign background and access to his papers make her the object of his mistrust.

First appears in chapter 6

A young artist and Norma's boyfriend, unconventional in dress and contemptuous of her family's expectations. His influence worries the Restaricks, while Norma sees him as an escape from their control.

First appears in chapter 8

A woman whose death after a fall from a London window supplies a possible reality behind Norma's confused fear that she has committed murder. Her earlier relationships become part of Poirot's inquiry.

First appears in chapter 9

The police officer who exchanges information with Poirot about the death linked to Norma's story. He investigates the physical crime while Poirot concentrates on identity, memory, and the pressure being applied to Norma.