The A.B.C. Murders - Characters in The Novel

Characters in The Novel

• ABC - An unknown cold-blooded serial killer and Poirot's nemesis in this novel. He kills his victims in alphabetical order and leaves an ABC railway guide depicting the scene of crime as his calling card.
• Alexander Bonaparte Cust - A travelling salesman with a pompous name. He sells stockings and is epileptic. He fought in the war, and received a blow on head, making him prone to blackouts and severe headaches.
• Alice Ascher - ABC's first victim, an old woman running a tobacco shop in Andover. A divorced woman with no children.
• Franz Ascher - Alice's alcoholic husband and a prime suspect of Alice's murder. He is more terrified of her and may not be the killer.
• Elizabeth "Betty" Barnard - ABC's second victim, a young, flirtatious part-time waitress in Bexhill.
• Megan Barnard - Betty's elder, sensible and comparatively down to earth sister and later a member of the Legion. She disapproves of Betty's ways but wishes well for her and Donald. It is implied that she has feelings for Donald.
• Milly Higley - A co-worker of Betty. Milly is a girl and a plain looking one at that, two things that make her an eyesore in Betty's eyes.
• Sir Carmichael Clarke - ABC's third victim, a rich old man in Churston. Sir Carmichael is a childless man with a cancer-stricken wife.
• Lady Charlotte Clarke - The widow of Carmichael. She is dying of cancer and takes various drugs. Her condition has made her delusional and irritated. However, she provides a vital clue to Poirot.
• Franklin Clarke - Carmichael's aggrieved brother and immediate successor. Also a member of the Legion, it is due to him that the others decided to help Poirot.
• Inspector Crome - An Inspector assigned to Betty's murder case. He has a low opinion of Poirot.
• Roger Emmanuel Downes - A schoolteacher present at the cinema in Doncaster. Although he was clearly the logical victim, ABC killed George instead. He sat only two seats away from George and realised that George had been murdered.
• Mary Drower - The niece of Alice and another Legion member. She works in a rich household and has Alice as her only relative.
• George Earlsfield - ABC's fourth victim at a cinema in Doncaster. He was a barber, mistakenly killed by ABC.
• Donald Fraser - Betty's would-be fiancee. He is temperamental and is the prime suspect for Betty's murder. He is also roped in the Legion.
• Thora Grey - Carmichael's young assistant. She regards him as a father figure and hence joins the Legion.
• Michael Hartigan - An old friend of Cust and an acquaintance of his landlady.
• Hercule Poirot - A renowned Belgian detective famous for solving cases using his "little grey cells".
• Captain Arthur Hastings - Poirot's old friend and companion on the case. An impatient man, whose lack of imagination is often playfully ridiculed by Poirot.
• Detective Chief Inspector James Harold Japp - Another old friend of Hercule Poirot, who is assigned the case.
• Lily Marbury - The secretary of Cust's landlady.
• Doctor Thompson - He tries to make a psychological profile of ABC.