Characters in After the Funeral

Supporting characters

• Hercule Poirot

  Enters late, posing as a foreign representative interested in the house, and relies on noticing small discrepancies others overlook.

  Also in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Big Four, Mystery of the Blue Train, Black Coffee, Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, Murder on the Orient Express

• Mr Entwhistle

  Loyal, discreet, and uneasy; his instinct that Cora's remark mattered drives the first two-thirds of the investigation.

• Richard Abernethie

  His unexpected end and the division of his fortune set every suspicion in motion.

• Cora Lansquenet

  Tactless and seemingly simple, her blurted question at the funeral proves fatal.

• Miss Gilchrist

  A self-effacing former tearoom owner who overheard household talk and later becomes a target of poison.

• Helen Abernethie

  Composed and observant; a half-formed memory of the funeral nags at her.

• Susan Banks

  Sharp and business-minded, she plans to use her inheritance and resembles her uncle in drive.

• Gregory Banks

  Nervy and devoted to Susan, with access to drugs and a fragile temperament.

• George Crossfield

  Smooth and evasive about his finances and his movements.

• Rosamund Shane

  Appears empty-headed but is unexpectedly blunt and the first to see through Poirot's disguise.