Main •
Hercule Poirot. The famous
private investigator. Having tired of his life in England and dealing with trivial matters, he is tempted to move to Brazil. He has received a monetary offer too good to refuse. •
Arthur Hastings. Poirot's
sidekick in two earlier novels and two short stories. He briefly works as a secretary of Abe Ryland under the alias
Arthur Nevill. •
Inspector Japp. He is an inspector of
Scotland Yard.
The Big Four A multiethnic gang of four persons working towards world domination. They have a secret hideaway in a
quarry of the
Dolomites. It is owned by an Italian company, which is a
front company for Abe Ryland. The quarry conceals a vast subterranean base, hollowed out in the heart of the mountain. From there they use
wireless communications to transfer orders to thousands of their followers across many countries. The characters comprise typical
ethnic and national
stereotypes of 1920s British fiction. They are: •
Abe Ryland – Number Two, the so-called American Soap King. He is stated to be richer than
John D. Rockefeller and being the richest man in the world. Early in the novel, Ryland attempts to hire Poirot and invites him to Rio de Janeiro, allegedly to investigate the goings-on in a big company there. Poirot is offered a fortune and is tempted to accept. He eventually declines and the plot point is no longer elaborated. Presumably Ryland intended to recruit him for the organization. He dies when the hidden base of the Four explodes. He represents the power of wealth. She is said to look more like a priestess out of the past than a modern woman. She dies when the hidden base of the Four explodes. She represents
scientific research devoted to political goals. •
Li Chang Yen – Number One, the Chinese leader and mastermind of the group, said to have the finest criminal brain ever known. He is an
unseen character who never sets foot out of China, but is discussed often by other characters. He controls a "scientific force more powerful than the world has dreamed of". It is said that "the men who loom most largely in the public eye are men of little or no personality. They are marionettes who dance to the wires pulled by a master hand, and that hand is Li Chang Yen's". He is the
power behind the throne of the East. He is said to be behind the
October Revolution in Russia,
Lenin and
Trotsky being his puppets. He is the embodiment of
Yellow Peril. His plots are said to include worldwide unrest,
labour disputes in every nation, and
revolutions in some of them. Elsewhere it is explained that he is a
mandarin and lives in a palace of his own in Peking. He oversees
human subject research on
coolies, with no regard for the death and suffering of his research subjects. He commits suicide at the end. •
Claude Darrell – Number Four, known as the
Destroyer. He is an obscure English actor and a master of disguise. He is the chief assassin of the group. He appears with ever-changing faces and multiple identities throughout the novel. He can totally transform his physical appearance and his persona. Many of the novel's characters are known or suspected to be among the roles Darrell plays. Darrell is described as being around 33 years old,
brown-haired, having a fair complexion,
gray-eyed. His height is given at . His origins are mysterious. Darrell has one weakness that can give his real identity away: when he dines, Darrell habitually rolls pieces of bread into little balls. He apparently dies when the hidden base of the Four explodes, though his body is unrecognisable. He is also effectively a spy and represents the
secret services and
intelligence agencies.
Others These characters are described by Zemboy. Most are also described by Bunson. •
Achille Poirot, Hercule's supposed twin brother. Achille lacks a mustache and is described by Hercule as being less handsome. Achille is later revealed to be Hercule Poirot himself in disguise. (Modeled on
Mycroft Holmes, brother of
Sherlock Holmes. ) •
Countess Vera Rossakoff. A flamboyant, eccentric and devious Russian aristocrat who currently has no personal fortune. She is employed as a secretary by Madame Olivier under the alias
Inez Véroneau. She is both a friend and an adversary to Poirot. •
Joseph Aarons. A theatrical agent who helps Poirot identify actor Claude Darrell. •
John Halliday. A scientist who visited Paris for a conference and disappeared. •
John Ingles. A retired
civil servant of reportedly mediocre intellect. He is an expert on China and all things Chinese. He informs Poirot of the identity of Li Chang Yen. •
Mr Mayerling. A former member of the
Secret Service and a victim of the Big Four. He dies in Poirot's apartment. •
Inspector Meadows. A representative of the
Moretonhampstead police who investigates the death of Jonathan Whalley. He is an old friend of Inspector Japp who has recommended Poirot to him. He is willing to have Poirot involved in the case. •
Flossie Monro. An old friend of Claude Darrell. She has
bleached blonde hair and a fondness for
rouge and
monogrammed shirts. She provides to Poirot information about a personal habit to Darrell that can be used to identify him, regardless of his disguise. •
Gerald Paynter. Nephew and heir to Mr Paynter. He is an artist, described as being "wild and extravagant". Inspector Japp finds him typical for an artist. He inherits the estate of his deceased uncle. •
Dr Savaronoff. The world's second-best chess player. Number Four masquerades as him in London, where he is challenged to a game by an American champion. •
Mr Templeton. An older gentleman whose nurse suspects that he is being poisoned. Poirot realises that his son is actually Number Four. •
Jonathan Whalley. Another victim of the Big Four. He is murdered in his own residence, Granite Bungalow in the village of Hoppaton, Devon. He had written to John Ingles, requesting money to escape from the Big Four. •
Gilmour Wilson. A youthful American chess champion. He challenged Dr Savaronoff to a game and died while playing. ==Analysis==