Margery Allingham’s short story “Three’s a Lucky Number” is

a tale of a man by the name of Ronald Torbay planning,

attempting and ultimately failing his third murder of his wife
Edyth. Throughout the story the theme develops into one
almost anyone can attest to. Tone in the chilling tale help
accentuate this theme but most importantly bring out the
story and the alarming elements. Lastly the unexpected
ending of the work leaves us wondering what happened next,
all of which Margery Allingham intended to do, forcing
readers to question and reflect. Allingham’s changing theme,
tone and ambiguous ending are the pieces of author’s craft
making this story into the compelling tale it is.