Characters in Hickory Dickory Dock

Supporting characters

• Hercule Poirot

  Drawn in by his concern for his secretary, he is fascinated by the irrationality of the thefts and trusts his sense that order has been disturbed

  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

• Miss Felicity Lemon

  Her rare lapse into error signals her worry over her sister and is what pulls Poirot into the case; an unusually prominent appearance for her in a novel

• Mrs Hubbard

  Miss Lemon's level-headed sister, whose anxiety over the strange thefts brings the problem to Poirot's attention

  Also in Murder on the Orient Express

• Mrs Nicoletis

  Volatile and secretive proprietor whose nerves and evasions suggest she knows more than she admits

• Celia Austin

  A shy young woman whose confession over the thefts only deepens the puzzle rather than resolving it

• Colin McNabb

  Earnest and theory-minded, he reads the disturbances through the lens of his studies

• Sally Finch

  Sharp and observant, she offers Poirot a candid outsider's read on the residents

• Valerie Hobhouse

  Cool and self-possessed, she becomes a focus of suspicion when a diamond ring surfaces in connection with her

• Nigel Chapman

  Quick-witted and provocative, he enjoys needling the other residents and resists conventional authority

• Patricia Lane

  Steady and protective, her attachment to a fellow resident shapes her actions during the investigation

• Mr Akibombo

  Conscientious and literal-minded, his careful account of a substituted powder supplies a telling clue

• Inspector Sharpe

  Methodical and patient, he conducts the official interviews and works in tandem with Poirot