Product Description
This is a collection of two of Agatha Christie oldest mysteries. This edition includes an active table of contents to make finding each work easy.

Included in this edition:

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles," which features the introduction of one of Christie's most beloved characters, Hercule Poirot

"The Secret Adversary," which features the introduction of Tommy and Tuppence, who were featured in three other Christie works ... Read more

Product Description
The novel is set in England during World War I at Styles Court, an Essex country manor (also the setting of Curtain, Poirot's last case). Upon her husband's death, the wealthy widow, Emily Cavendish, inherited a life estate in Styles as well as the outright inheritance of the larger part of the late Mr. Cavendish's income. Mrs. Cavendish became Mrs. Inglethorp upon her recent remarriage to a much younger man, Alfred Inglethorp. Emily's two stepsons, John and Lawrence Cavendish, as well as John's wife Mary and several other people, also live at Styles. John Cavendish is the vested remainderman of Styles; that is, the property will pass to him automatically upon his stepmother's decease, as per his late father's will. The income left to Mrs Inglethorp by her late husband would be distributed as per Mrs. Inglethorp's own will. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (70)

Poirot Appears for the First Time
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001718N96/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

There are several editions of this book on Kindle. This is not the best edition; however, the book itself is rightly considered a classic, as the retired Belgian police detective appears for the first time. The book was written because Agatha Christie read a detective novel she considered inferior, and said, "I can write a better one myself." A relative challenged her to do so, and she did. The rest is literary history.

The most important plot elements involve a hospital dispensing area, in which Christie worked as a volunteer during World War I. The inside glimpse would be unforgettable, even if it weren't part of an unforgettable novel. Fittingly, for the final Poirot novel both Poirot and Hastings return to Styles, which is now a guest house. Christie wrote both the last Poirot novel and the last Miss Marple novel long before her death, and stashed them in a safe deposit box to appear posthumously. She then proceeded to write many more novels in both series, so when the final novels appear they seem somewhat dated in terms of their publishing dates. But it was thoughtful of her to do it that way, as she provided closure to both series.

Early Agatha
It was fascinating to read Agatha Christies first book which was rejected by a few publishing houses.I had delighted in it so looked to your site to find a large print edition for my mother as I knew she would also love to read it.

DAVID SOUCHET READS AFFAIR AT STYLES
Sampling the first couple of dozen reviews, I fail to see any of what is being listed here by Amazon, that is, the Audio Partners audio book unabridged reading of Christies, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by David Souchet, who has given us the most convincing Poirot in portraying the role for BBC and A&E television. Since many summaries and evaluations of the written book have appeared, I will make no comment on the story save to echo the view that this is good Christie but only the beginning of the character she ultimately delineated more appealingly. Souchet's reading is excellent, of course, with adequate voice characterizations of the variety of different speaking roles in the text. Hastings, the narrator for the book, naturally, is the most defined. Souchet creates an appropriately young (he is supposed to be in his early twenties at this time) voice, naive, overconfident, assertive, bewildered, easily bruised, angry, humiliated, awed, puzzled, as he deals with the Old Man who often seems to him to be more of an early senile dementia case than the brilliant detective he had been. He manages this central voice quite well, as he does the men and women who make up the suspects and walk-ons customary in the Christie cast. Surprisingly, perhaps only because I was not reading the book, is what I see as a somewhat too flighty Poirot, not as weighty as in the TV productions (where he retains the Belgian excitability). At any rate, I found the voice less appealing than in the filmed versions.
That is a minor point. Overall, there is a vivid portrait of the murder scene and the interactions comprising the plot to its denouement with the surprise solution offered to all the suspects gathered for that purpose in the murder house (but not Inspector Japp, who has strictly an "also with" role in the book.
At the price being charged as of this date, the audio book is a bargain for those addicted to them as am I.

Classic
English country house murder, limited pool of suspects (mostly, the Cavendish family), lots of zigzagging and backtracking, red herrings and buried clues. In other words, classic Agatha Christie, though I believe this was her first (Poirot) novel, related through Hastings, who is the perfect stolid British foil to the eccentric and excitable little Belgian. Gets a little complicated in the plot, but the style is smooth and engaging. For a modern Agatha Christie (English country house, limited pool of suspects), I recommendthe slightly spoofy "Christmas is Murder" by C. S. Challinor. Christmas is Murder (A Rex Graves Mystery)

Hercule Poirot debuts his talents in his first appearance in the series
I have read many Agatha Christie novels since I was a teenager, there is something charming and intelligent and witty about them, with this novel I finally got to read the one that started it all. Book one was actually quite good, I was entranced the whole time I was reading it, the story appears to be quite simple and the obvious is suddenly questioned, the suspect count rises and the real murderer slithers unnoticed, that is until the little Belgian super hero, Hercule Poirot gets involved.Invited by his friend Hastings, he's joined at the great mansion at the Styles Court where Emily Inglethorp runs the house, along with her new husband and her friends and relatives she lives of the riches her deceased husband has left her. On what seems a random evening she suffers horribly and ends up dead, with her current will in question and some strange things happening between the quests and the family members, there is sudden distrust of some of the members, but those who seem guilty and those are actually guilty are two different things, it's up to Poirot to stretch his little legs and big brain and get to the bottom of things. There is greed and jealousy and hidden feelings that surface only to explode in everyone's face, the fun has began!

The book was a lot of fun, not only is it a fast and captivating read, it makes the reader think quite a bit. I took my time reading it and loosely going over the clues in my head. Upon reading the ending I was off in my decision of the guilty suspect but never the less I loved the ending and the final explanation, some clues might not be as crystal clear as others but there are many of them; reading is fun when the field is wide, not when it's thin and obstructed by lack of ideas and this novel certainly had me guessing all over the place. Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors because every time I read her books I feel a jolt of joy, I get so much out of themand nothing written in these days will ever compare, so to me they are relics from the past that shine even brighter than many brand new books written these days. The mystery is fun but the whole feel of this book is even better, the old fashioned ideas and culture adds something whimsical to all of her works. Every time I pick up a Hercule Poirot novel I know I will have a nice time, so far I haven't been disappointed as I have read them half my life and will continue to do so. Currently I had to start book number two in the series, I am on such a happy high from the first one that my thirst for mystery hasn't been quenched yet, so I'm off to read "Murder on the links" and see where the adventure takes me, from whatI head it's Paris and the crime is quite good..

- Kasia S.
... Read more

Product Description
A new-look printing of Agatha Christie's 'most absorbing mystery' to mark the 25th anniversary of her death.Agatha Christie died on 12 January 1976, having become the best-selling novelist in history. Her autobiography, published in 1977 a year after her death, tells of her fascinating private life, from early childhood through two marriages and two World Wars, and her experiences both as a writer and on archaeological expeditions with her second husband, Max Mallowan. Not only does the book reveal the true genius of her legendary success, but the story is vividly told and as captivating as one of her novels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

What a lady! That Agatha Christie!
In reading about one of my favorite writers I find that I have more respect for her now than I had before.I also am learning a lot about life in the early 1900's.I was quite surprised that she had so little formal education as compared to the education that most children receive today and yet look what she accomplished.And what a different experience for young adults and dating as compared to now.At any rate, the book is very interesting and a joy to read.

An engaging memoir by a gifted writer
Some of Agatha Christie's fans may complain that this autobiography does not tell them the things they really want to know, such as why Christie briefly disappeared after her first husband confessed his infidelity, or how one can write successful mystery stories.

But near the conclusion of this book, Christie herself says, "I have remembered, I suppose, what I wanted to remember; many ridiculous things for no reason that makes sense." (548)It is better, then, to take this work not as autobiography per se but as a long memoir, touching in turn on those aspects of Christie's life that most interested her. Christie's life had its disappointments, even tragedies, but from the first sentence in which she boasts of a "happy childhood," Christie revels in emphasizing those aspects of the past she enjoyed in the interest of engaging and amusing her readers as well.Some of her anecdotes are laugh-aloud funny.

There are no profound ideas here and only the most superficial touch on philosophy and religion.(Her hobby was collecting houses.) True, Christie doesn't tell all and doesn't tell deeply, but what she does tell is expressed with that wonderful eye for detail that made her a master storyteller, the best-selling fiction writer of all time.

What an interesting life!
We selected this autobiography as our book club read - and were a bit disheartened about the number of pages. But once I started I got captured by the language and what an interesting life Agatha Christie has led. Travelling all over the world and so critical about her own writing. She also has comments about life that I found profound and interesting, I would recommend this book to my friends.

Best read ever........
I had tried to read the authorized biography of Mrs. Christie written by Janet Morgan but found it too difficult to wend a way through all the facts thrown in. This biography was a welcome change and a book I couldn't put down. I'm sure this will be a book I'll read again and again. Mrs. Christie's account of her life is not meant to be all encompassing, but rather, the things that came to mind as she wrote. She is very honest about her shortcomings and especially wonderful were her thoughts as to her state of mind and thoughts as to why one does certain things. She was very modest about her writing talent.

Unlike one reviewer, I didn't find it a fault that she didn't address the disappearance event as she clearly writes about her problems after her mother's death which occurred just previous to her disappearance in which she describes her lack of memory and mental breakdown, implying she was going through a nervous breakdown before her husband asked for a divorce and that event must have furthered that condition.I don't find it difficult to believe that she has little to no memories of that time, but in any event, I appreciate so much that she took the time to share her thoughts about her life with us and I would have it no other way than the way she chose to write the book.Her writing almost feels as though she is sitting right beside me talking....she is one talented writer.

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in Mrs. Christie.For other views of her life, i would recommend Richard Hack's "The Unauthorized Biography...." as it is well written and will keep one's attention.Not recommended is Morgan's "Authorized biography..." as the writer relies so heavily on what Mrs. Christie herself wrote and presenting facts and facts and facts.It isn't a "reading" book but a book of gathered facts.The best of the lot by far is the biography in Mrs. Christie's own words.

Meh
While some parts of her first autobiography (I understand there is another, later one), were interesting or entertaining, I just can't get excited over it. Not only is her disappearance on being rejected by her first husband not covered, but there is zero mention of sexual attraction or sex life with either of her two husbands. She dwells on her very early childhood until you want to scream in the beginning. You do gradually get a picture of her personality, and her travel stories, joys, and hardships, are interesting, esp. her outsized reaction to bedbugs endemic to The Orient Express. It was interesting that her second husband, 14 yrs. her junior, was the aggressor in seeking to marry her, and you were glad for her sake, since she'd been devastated by the first husband's adultery and insistence on a divorce. But I read elsewhere that the second husband eventually asked for a divorce (unverified so far in my research), and that he had a long-standing affair with a woman he married as soon as Christie died. Gotta' find the second autobio and see what really transpired in that second marriage. She brought a LOT to it, and was very beneficial to him. I had hoped that she would be rewarded for that by undying devotion and fidelity, but apparently not. ... Read more

Product Description
Miss Emily was old, rich, and afraid--and now, she's dead. Her terrified plea to Hercule Poirot came a little too late. All that's left is a house full of greedy heirs, and a very strange letter that could solve the mystery--or add to it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

A Mystery that won't get your blood pressure up...
"Dumb Witness" is a slower moving, more relaxing type of mystery--no intense drama or tension but just a well-written tragedy.

A wonderful little book
This is not the first time that Hercule Poirot has received a letter from a woman who fears that her life is in danger, but what makes it strange is that the letter was written some two months before it was sent! The mystery deepens when Poirot goes to see the lady, and finds out that she died one month after the letter was written, and one month before it was sent. It seems that Emily Arundell was a rich lady, who was surrounding by greedy, grasping relatives who wanted her money. Finally, she disinherited the lot, and left her fortune to her companion Miss Lawson. Just who wanted Emily Arundell dead? It is up to the great detective to unravel this mystery!

This wonderful little book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1937 under the title, Dumb Witness - later that same year it was published in the United States it was published under the title, Poirot Loses a Client - I don't know why. As with all of the Dame Christie's Hercule Poirot stories, this one is excellent. I enjoyed the deep mystery - I must admit that I did not get who did it until the end of the book, although I did pick up on the one clue (no spoiler here!).

So, let me just say that if you like a good mystery, then you will love this book. It really shows off why Agatha Christie is considered to be the queen of the murder mystery!

A cute Agatha Christie!
If you are a dog lover, you will especially enjoy this novel, which features the canine "Bob" (the dumb witness?). I guessed certain aspects of the mystery but not the murderer. Having said that, I've only ever guessed whodunit in one of Christie's novels so far, that being "A Murder is Announced." "Dumb Witness" is really quite humorous, with Hastings playing the admiring Watson and Hercule Poirot at his most colorful. If you are a Christie fan, "Dumb Witness" will not disappoint.

The Avenging Nemesis
The 'silent witness' in this case is Miss Emily, not Bob; he couldn't speak in court. Agatha Christie dedicated this book to her most faithful friend and dearest companion. This book was also titled "Poirot Loses a Client", misleading since Emily did not personally talk to Poirot.
The death of Miss Emily Arundell was not a surprise, she had been in delicate health. Chapter 1 tells of the events in the preceding weeks. Emily's nieces and nephew came for a visit. One asked for a loan, but Emily refused. Do old people know what it is to live? These young ones have run through their inheritance. [Why do those who squander money think they know better than those who save money? Is it just a psychological problem?] Charles shows his personality at the bureau drawer (Chapter 2). The children of the wealthy are unhappy in their work. What if they inherited a large sum of money? [Does an elderly relative with money attract relations like chum attracts sharks?] At night Emily stumbled and fell down the staircase (Chapter 3). How could this happen? A few days later Emily wrote a letter to Hercule Poirot (Chapter 4). Emily asked Poirot for his counsel on her condition. But it didn't go out until 2 months after Emily's death (Chapter 5)!

Poirot and Hastings visit and learn of Emily's will: her companion Miss Lawson inherited the house and the fortune. Nothing for her relatives! Posing as a buyer, Poirot pumps the servant to learn all about Miss Emily's last years and the people who visited her (Chapter 8). Poirot learns something about the stairs where Emily fell (Chapter 9). [Note the cover stories used by Poirot to gather information.] The interview with Miss Peabody provides background information on the Arundell family (Chapter 10). Poirot believes nothing unless it can be corroborated (Chapter 12). Poirot interviews Theresa and Charles (Chapters 13, 14). In Chapter 15 Poirot speaks with Miss Lawson. Poirot interviews Bella and her husband Dr. Tanios (Chapters 16, 17). Then Poirot reviews the statements (Chapter 18).

Poirot visits the lawyer (Chapter 19), then revisits the Littlegreen House. Poirot learns something from the gardener (Chapter 20). In spite of the medical opinion Poirot is sure Emily was murdered (Chapter 22). There is a crisis in Chapter 23. [Did you catch the clue in Chapter 24?] Can a person die of a genuine disease that was artificially induced (Chapter 25)? The pace and drama speed up in Chapter 26. A telephone call brings surprising bad news (Chapter 28). All the people involved in the case were assembled at Littlegreen House (Chapter 29). Poirot goes over the events and eliminates the suspects until the guilty is named. People who always want what they can't get are miserable.
The idea of receiving a message from the dead was used in John Le Carre's first novels.

An average Poirot book, plus a dog!
I am a Poirot fan, so I enjoyed this mystery as I expected.The little dog in the story is precious and adds a new element to the plot.I don't remember an animal being featured this way in another Christie book.While I was reading, I kept thinking that the plot reminded me of another Christie book but couldn't remember which one.I thought I had guessed the killer but I was wrong.Which makes me like it more! ... Read more

Product Description
When small-town gossip spreads as fast-and lethal-as venom, someone's bound to end up dead. And of course, they do. Calling Miss Marple... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

Good Show!
We were happy to receive this book earlier than expected. Also, it was in excellent condition. We're happy campers. We'll be back.

One of her best
This book is in the top tier of my favorite Christie's.It is a simple story told straight forwardly but has undertones of evil.The hero and his sister are front and center, but all the characters are vivid in your mind's eye.There is a love interest back story, but most of her works have a little something in the romantic vein-just a touch, but enough.The whodunnit is interesting and you will probably guess wrong because you are reading something from the Mistress of Mystery.

As always, interesting villagers and many quirky characters.Miss Marple is not present much but is there when needed.

This was the THIRD time reading THE MOVING FINGER and, as always, it was fun.

The Moving Finger is a 1943 Agatha Christie murder mystery that is a delightful way to while away a few hours
Agatha Christie wrote "The Moving Finger" in 1943. The short 200 page novel is told in the first person by Jerry Burton. Burton is a Royal Air Force pilot who has been wounded in combat. He repairs to the quaint village of Lymstock with his sexy sister Joanna down from London. The tranquil bucolic milieu is torn asunder by the supposed suicide of a prominent lawyer's wife and later a gruesome murder. Whodunit?
Several of the town's prominent citizens have been receiving anonymous letters accusing them of scandal. Jerry sets out to discover the secrets of Lymstock. He also falls in love as does his sister with denizens of the tight knit community. When murder rears its ugly head the Burtons have the expert advice of the famous Miss Jane Marple.
The Moving Finger was one of Dame Agatha's favorite novels and it is also one of mine. This little book is a great introduction to the world of Agatha Christie. Enjoy!

Solid Christie
Poison pen letters spread throughout an English village, upsetting recipients, and leading to a suicide. The village is full of quirky characters, any one of whom might be responsible for the anonymous missives. Ultimately the mystery will be solved by one of the villagers' acquaintances, none other than Miss Jane Marple.

This was my first Miss Marple mystery, and I was surprised at how small a presence Miss Marple actually was in the story. She didn't appear until more than halfway through the book, and then remained in the background, sort of like the furniture. Yes, she does ultimately solve the mystery, but she's hardly a character of much consequence. It appears that The Moving Finger is one of the earlier Miss Marple mysteries, and perhaps the character was not yet well-developed. As this was my first Miss Marple I don't really have another novel for comparison.

The story is told by an injured pilot, who has moved to the countryside to recover. As he meets the various villagers, especially the women, there's an added element of romance, but as with all of Christie's work, the mystery remains the heart of the book. This is not one of Christie's more remarkable works, but it is certainly solid, and kept me riveted to the end.

Seriously lacking in Miss Marple
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishing, 1942
201 pages
Mystery; Miss Marple

Summary: Jerry Burton and his sister Joanna have moved to a small, quiet, and peaceful town in England to ease his convalescence. What they get though is a small town rife with secrets. A mysterious writer is sending nasty anonymous letters to people which culminates in a local lady committing suicide. The next week, a maid is killed. Are they connected? Did that maid know something about the killer? Christie weaves another fine tale.

Thoughts: Despite this being a Miss Marple, she doesn't appear until more than half way through the book, meaning we hardly get to spend any time with her. She is called in as an expert on humans by the vicar's wife. She figures it out and sets up a trap to nab the murderer.

It was interesting to me how the narrator Jerry Burton drops explicit hints to the reader, saying that certain things turn out to be important and how he could have solved the mystery earlier had he paid more attention. I did take notice and I still didn't figure it out; I read Miss Marple's explanation and it still didn't help me very much. But I liked this and I enjoyed the little romance. I know Christie is a mystery writer and she frequently writes the most awful things about women as if they were facts that apply to all women but she writes cute romances. She couldn't sustain an entire book with them but as a garnishing to the mystery, they work well.

Overall: 4/5. Could have been higher if there had been more Miss Marple ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 78 in The Agatha Christie Classic Collection (1979). Limited edition of 1000 copies worldwideFirst, the mystery man in the church with a bullet-wound...then, the riddle of a dead man's buried treasure...the curious conduct oif a caretaker after a fatal riding accident...the corpse and a tape-measure...the girl framed for theft...and the suspect accused of stabbing his wife with a dagger.Six gripping cases with one thing in common -- the astonishing deductive powers of Miss Marple.Also includes two non-Marple mysteries, 'The Dressmaker's Doll' and 'In a Glass Darkly'. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Kindle Miss Marple
I got my Kindle for Christmas, but the first thing I downloaded had to be special. I thought about the books that got me hooked on reading mysteries as a young person, and I knew that something from Agatha Christie was IT! I was so pleased to find this 3-book collection.It is so reasonably priced, and Miss Marple is just wonderful!If anyone wants books that are so well-written, try these. The Kindle is such a wonderful gadget! Why hasn't it been around years before? My bookshelves wouldn't be so packed!!

Ms. Marples Final cases
Book arrived in good shape and on time.I look forward to reading this series!Thank you!

Dear Aunt Jane's Final Short Cases.
"Miss Marple insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival," Agatha Christie wrote in her posthumously-published autobiography (1977) about the elderly lady who, next to Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, quickly became one of her most beloved characters.Somewhat resembling Christie's own grandmother and her friends, although "far more fussy and spinsterish" and "not in any way a picture" of the author's granny, like her, she had a certain gift for prophecy and, "though a cheerful person, she always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right."

Although Christie herself considered Miss Marple her favorite creation - preferred even over the prim and proper Belgian with the many "little grey cells," of whose exploits she occasionally tired and whom she brought back again and again chiefly because of her audience's undying demand - there are only twelve Miss Marple novels and twenty short stories: while no small feat in any other author's body of work, just over one tenth of the lifetime output of the writer justifiedly dubbed The Queen of Crime.

This posthumously-published compilation, first published in 1979, unites the last seven short stories revolving around St. Mary Mead's elderly village sleuth.Though Miss Marple had actually -- in addition to the novel "A Murder at the Vicarage" (1930) -- even been introduced to readers in a canon of originally six and, after an expansion for republication in book form, later thirteen short stories, Christie's readers would soon come to cherish her mostly on the basis of the aforementioned twelve novels, each and every one of which is a gem of detective fiction in and of itself.As a short story character, however, after the initial "Thirteen Problems," Miss Marple later only made rare intermittent appearances, whereas the majority of Christie's later short stories centered either around Hercule Poirot, or not around any of Christie's recurring characters at all.

In those stories that do, however, feature St. Mary Mead's most famous (and beloved) resident, readers of course also meet a number of other acquaintances from her novel-length adventures; first and foremost her doting nephew - thriller novelist Raymond West - and retired Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Henry Clithering, as well as village solicitor Petherick, and of course the Bantrys (who would move center stage, much to their embarrassment, in "A Body in the Library," 1942).Add to these Raymond's new flame, artist Joyce (later reincarnated as his wife Joan); as well as, in the later stories gathered in this collection, Miss Marple's niece Diana "Bunch" Harmon, who is married to the vicar of Chipping Cleghorn, a village not unlike St. Mary Mead (see "A Murder Is Announced," 1950), St. Mary Mead's Dr. Haydock, several maids called Gladys, and of course Inspectors Slack and Craddock and Colonel Melchett of Melchester C.I.D. and village Constable Palk, plus the usual cast of other unique characters, many of whom could just as well figure in one of the elderly lady's "village parallels," those seemingly unimportant events summing up her knowledge of life, and on which she unfailingly draws in unmasking even the cleverest killer.

Avid Christie readers will also recognize certain other character types, plot snippets, settings and other features here and there; for Dame Agatha was known to draw repeatedly on devices she found to have worked before, and she tended to use her short stories as mini-laboratories for elements later expanded on in novels.Caveat, lector, of premature conclusions, however, for Christie was equally known to throw in a little extra twist in such cases: what is a real clue in one instance may well be a red herring in another and vice versa, and one story's innocent bystander may easily be the next story's murderer.

Miss Marple's final cases are:

From "The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories" (1939):

* "Miss Marple Tells a Story:" Miss Marple assists Mr. Petherick in the case of a client accused of having murdered his wife.

From "Three Blind Mice and Other Stories" (1950):

* "Strange Jest:" A rich iconoclast's final joke - at the expense of his heirs?

* "Tape-Measure Murder:" Miss Marple's knowledge of village life and human nature (once more) corrects the all-too straightforward path of Inspector Slack's investigation of an elderly lady's murder.

* "The Case of the Caretaker:" Dr. Haydock's story about a rural rascal, a poor little rich girl, an old estate and its grumpy caretaker.

* "The Case of the Perfect Maid:" Domestic service and burglary in a Victorian estate-turned-apartment building.

From "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960):

* "Greenshaw's Folly" (republished in "Double Sin," below): A reverse-locked-room mystery at an eccentrically-built country estate.

From "Double Sin and Other Stories" (1961):

* "Sanctuary" (first published 1954, a/k/a "The Man on the Chancel Steps"): The last secret of a man found dying on Chipping Cleghorn's church steps.

Also recommended:
Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)
The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple Mysteries)
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Miss Marple Novels (Avenel Suspense Classics)
Marple Classic Mysteries (Caribbean Mystery/4:50 from Paddington/Moving Finger/Nemesis/At Bertram's Hotel/Murder at Vicarage/Sleeping Murder/They Do It with Mirrors/Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side)
Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)
The Mirror Crack'd

Wonderful Miss Marple short stories
No one can do characterizations like Dame Christie, and she can even do these remarkably well within the confines of a short story.This little book of Miss Marple short stories is a wonderful cap to the entire Miss Marple series.I had read some of them individually, but there were some I had not read before, and I enjoyed them all.My own particular favourite though was "The Case of the Perfect Maid" (an oxymoron if there ever was one).It is remarkable how Ms. Christie can typecast each of her wonderful characters so quickly, and provide us with tricky and intricate mysteries at the same time.

Incorrect Information
I'm sure the 7 short stories by Agatha Christie are excellent as usual.The problem is that if you are looking for the Audio Edition read by JOAN HICKSON, this is NOT read by her.Amazon is listing that she reads it, but this information is incorrect.If you look carefully at the picture provided it shows that it is read by Geraldine McEwan.This may be a fine rendition, but it is not THE Miss Marple as performed by Joan Hickson in audio and TV performances. ... Read more

Product Description
Considered to be one of Agatha Christie’s most controversial mysteries, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd breaks all the rules of traditional mystery writing. A widow’s suicide has stirred rumors of blackmail, and of a secret lover named Roger Ackroyd, who was found stabbed to death in his study. The case is so unconventional that not even crack detective Hercule Poirot has a clue as to how to solve it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (151)

Where, Oh Where Are You Tonight, Roger Adkroyd???
A great mystery novel.Get ready to have your socks blown off.Great ending.Everything and everybody is a red herring.Everything is true and everything is false.

Hercule Poirot has retired to the country after Hastings marries Cinderella and moves to South America.Without his good friend and sidekick he feels he should just go to the country and grow weird vegetables.The niece of poor Roger Ackroyd knows Poirot from his visits to the Ackroyd estate and asks him to find the killer.The good town doctor moves into the Hastings role as the dumb as dirt sidekick and thus the Poirot fun begins.

Dueced good
Although I appreciate the groundbreaking nature of its famous twist ending, it was pretty obvious to me from pretty early on (and I'm not a particularly perceptive or clever mystery reader).I still greatly enjoyed this Poirot outing however and found it a crisper, less convoluted and faster moving read than others in the series.It was refreshing to have the great detective interpreted by someone other than that self-absorbed, semi-lovable imbecile Hastings even if the good doctor was pretty much cut from the same (houndstooth tweed) cloth.Interesting to see the genesis of the Marple character in the doctor's sister (who steals the show) and in that sense, this isa truly seminal Christie novel.Dame Agatha was a pretty witty gal and the mahjong sequence was a great delight.

All in all, a very enjoyable whodunit and well worth a read.A lot of issues and story lines are left unresolvedat the end, but I suppose they all sort themselves out somehow and, since the killer has been exposed and the murder solved, we and Poirot are outta here.I read the Kindle version (what a bargain) and couldn't put my iPhone down, but I'm a sucker for old-school english drawing room murder mysteries.I'm definitely going to recommend it to my butler unless the colonel has already put him on to it, the old blighter.Good show.

Cultivating vegetable marrow
My husband and I listened to the audio version of this novel on a road trip. About halfway through the narrative, as we tried to figure out a solution to the mystery, my husband suggested one particular character might be the murderer. I scoffed at the idea since it was so unlikely and so outside the standard structure of a mystery. Guess what, he was right. Once again, Ms. Christie has turned the formula on its head and an intriguing story, one that makes you want to go back to the beginning and re-read it, is the result. No wonder this novel is on the list of the 20th Century's best mysteries.

Inside Job
As other readers note, the ending of this book is among the most clever endings to a work of mystery.Being that readers are often guessing throughout the book, the guessing will become dizzying.Though some of Christie's work now seems dated by today's standards, this book certainly stands the test of time.

Mrs. Ferrars takes her life after poisoning her husband.This happens before the story begins.Roger Ackroyd does not die until over fifty pages into the book.But who would have motive to kill him?At times, the reader may wonder if the book is even actually about Ackroyd's murder.Using his gray matter, Hercule Poirot leads readers though the investigation via Dr. Shepard's narration.The chain of death is linked and good suspects are easy to find.But as the suspect list dwindles, it seems as though there is nobody left.

Though the dialogue is a bit cumbersome at times, this is a short book.It is best read in as little time as possible.Going away from the book for a time may cause the reader to confuse characters.For the ending alone, this book is worth reading even for non-Christie fans.

Murder with a delicious sense of fun
This review applies to the Audible unabridged edition. Robin Bailey reads this story with a hint of villianous egotism inside a sense of humor. As for AG's detection club claiming she didn't play fair with who she designated as the murderer, this is addressed in the film, "Murder by Death" by Neil Simon. In fact, she did play fair by allowing the reader (listener) to have almost every clue. Murder on the Orient Express is my favorite Christie film, but this audio version is my favorite. ... Read more

Product Description
A message from a dead acquaintance prompts a bus tour to an unknown crime!In utter disbelief Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel -- an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels.Recognising in Miss Marple a natural flair for justice, Mr Rafiel had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Last written but not last published
To clarify D. McKinzie's statement written above: NEMESIS was the last Miss Marple novel written by Christie. Another,SLEEPINGMURDER, publishedafter the author's death, was actually written in the 1940s. I give it only three stars, not because it was all that bad, but because most of the other Marple books were so much better. Its shortcomingsmust be forgiven when we remember that Christie was well into her eighties when it was written.

A great Miss Marple mystery
This was billed as Miss Marple's last case, but I think there were actually some written later.Still, it is probably one of her last.In this story, Miss Marple discovers that a millionaire that she had encountered in the Caribbean has died and has left a request for her to take on a task.She eventualy figures out what the task is and performs it for him.Once again, Miss Marple comes through.I like Miss Marple better than Christie's other characters, so this was a natural for me.Still, it's a pretty good story for anyone.Just remember that Miss Marple mysteries are not action stories; they are solved by reasoning and investigating.So, if you like lots of action, you may not care for this type of story.

Good read.Real Kindle Version.
Kindle review -

Chapter navigation available.This is an actual Kindle version so the navigation and type-setting are appropriate to Kindle.

Book review -

This is a follow up to A Caribbean Mystery.Miss Marple and Mr. Rafiel became friends while trying to avert a murder in St. Honore.A year later he leaves her a death-bed challenge without actually telling her what the challenge is, much less who is involved.So she is in a situation where she has to figure out what the problem is and then what the solution is.It's kind of fun.

I don't know if this was easier to solve than her usual puzzles because I remembered how it went and it seemed pretty obvious the second time through.Some of hers I can remember what happened but not why or how and so the puzzle lives on even after you know what the solution is.

So it's still a good read... but for re-reading years later it's lower on the list. ... Read more

Product Description
The Queen of Crime at her murderously clever best.After the reading of a will, one female relative is banished from the family tree-with eight blows of a hatchet. Poirot believes she won't be the last to go. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Bleh...what's the use of guessing...really?
My first Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express was a terrible success for me. I enjoyed it immensely. And for that, I high-handedly believed that it was just luck - a one-hit wonder, so to speak.

(I find that keeping a healthy dose of pessimism is sometimes advisable so as to make my enjoyment of the same author's other work more rewarding.)

And really, After the Funeral is a mystery that latches onto you a few paragraphs in from the first page. Latches on and refuses to let go.

The sudden death of the head of the family, Richard Abernethie, has forced the rest of the brood to come together in the hopes of receiving good news of being left a huge chunk of the inheritance. It was only later after the reading of the will that one of the more cuckoo characters, Cora Lansquenet, makes a slip of the tongue and exclaims, "But he was murdered, wasn't he?"

One more turn of events and then the story begins to unfold in an unhurried, but unmistakably steady pace. The arrival of the estimable Hercule Poirot certainly upped the stakes, making it clear to the reader that Christie has taken the gloves off. Now the hunt begins.

The bevy of characters and their respective something-is-not-quite-right veneer keeps the reader on tenterhooks as to who might have done the deed. Snatches of well-placed hints about an object or an unrelenting memory from a past conversation all have the indubitable signature of this renowned crime-detective author.

This is certainly a novel that proves the adage, You think you know...but you really have no idea...

When Poirot was in the stage of giving his `speech' revealing who the culprit was, I still thought that I may have a handle as to who it could be...and so I was complacent.

But the revelation was such that I literally had to straighten up. I was like, "Eh, wha--? Huh?"

After that, I had not choice but to (again!) bow at this wicked talent of Christie.

If you were able to guess who the murderer was and how the deed was done, my hat's off to you.

For me, though, this short story was definitely effective in keeping my eye on this author. Impressed. And also despairing at my slow wits when it comes to 'solving crime' ",)

Satisfaction
The book was as promised.It arrived on time, in good condition and I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

Sometimes things are what they seem

I've always liked this one. Christie does a quality job of fooling the reader when the answer is pretty straight forward. Most mystery readers, myself included, fall into the habit of over thinking the story and trying to apply traditional conventions to these stories and when the answer is well-covered by superfluous details and I get fooled, well I'll admit, I get a kick out of it. The answer to this one is right up front, but Christie does a great job of confusing the issue with a number of suspects and a solid plot.

Kindle edition has "e-book extras"
I had probably read "After the Funeral" before, but I often use whodunits as bedtime escape fiction reading and forget the details not long after finishing them. So I was happy to pay a few bucks to read this one on my Kindle.

I agree with the reviewers who think this is neither the best nor the worst of the Poirot novels. I enjoyed the way the British class system played into the plot, and appreciated Christie's way with the different characters in the extended family at the heart of the book.

My Kindle edition of "After the Funeral" came with extra content. I didn't find this mentioned on the product description page, so it was a pleasant surprise.

The first bonus item - an "E-book extra" is an annotated list of all of Christie's Poirot novels and stories. I found it very helpful.

The other extra was an essay by Charles Osborne which was adapted, somewhat awkwardly I thought, from his book The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie: A Biographical Companion to the Works of Agatha Christie.

The book displays nicely on the Kindle; I no longer take this for granted after looking at a poorly formatted nonfiction book that displayed much more white space than words and being grateful I'd only acquired the sample and hadn't paid for the thing.

Brilliant and Charming
Agatha Christie was a genius, unmatched in the cozy mystery genre.In this book, one "murder" is committed, then a second, then another person is poisoned and a fourth is "coshed" on the head.Hercule Poirot arrives on the scene quite late in the book and solves the mystery by observing, listening, and waiting for people to come to him with stories and explanations.Not only is the mystery intricate, with many clues and red herrings, her style of writing is mesmerizing -- extensive vocabulary, bits of philosophy, charming settings and social interactions, cozy and comfortable.No wonder she has sold over 2 billion books and continues to sell thirty years after her death.I have read most of her books at least once, some several times, and I think this is one of her best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

A great mystery
Newly demobilized from the WRNS (Women's Royal Naval Service) after World War 2, Lynn Marchmont is appalled to find what time has done to her family. After having married a young woman named Rosaleen, her rich uncle is killed by a German bomb, leaving the family cut off from the funds that they had grown accustomed to using. Now, the family hates Rosaleen and her brother, David Hunter, and David very much hates them. And when a man shows up claiming that Rosaleen long-lost first husband is actually alive and well, it seems to be the answer to the family's prayers. But, when people start dying, the whole situation turns terribly tangled. There is only one man who can untangle this mystery, and that is the great Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot!

This is another excellent mystery, of just the caliber that you no doubt expect from Agatha Christie. The mystery is nice and twisted, making it totally unclear as to whom the real culprit is, and what is truly going on. I really enjoyed the mystery, and the characters - David Hunter, Lynn Marchmont, and the whole Cloade clan. This is a great mystery, one that I highly recommend!

Fun enough, but not her best
As some of the other reviews have noted, the Christie writing about Rosaleen and the post-war money and "purpose" struggles of Britons are interesting and ring true.Very Teysian in a way...maybe Shutesian.

The mystery is diverting, but felt a teensy bit artificial.We get a new body dumped in every few chapters to keep things going.And a lot of twists on the motivations.It's a similar formula to Death on the Nile, but seemed more effecitve in that book.

Still, a good fun read.Beats 99% of the junk at Barnes and Noble or the new books being churned out.

In Christie's top ten percent, (details)
Prospective buyers will first note that this one, (like many Christie books) has been released under two different titles, "There Is a Tide" and "Taken at the Flood," which is always very confusing for folks who are trying to acquire all the Agatha Christie books. Here, I'm reviewing the 1984 Berkley paperback which is the one I own. The work was originally published in 1948.

The Cloades are a quiet family, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews... including a doctor, a lawyer, and a farmer. They all reside in their cocoon of a sleepy English hamlet dubbed Warmsley Vale; but their financial stability and all their futures are rendered to a shambles when the generous family millionaire, Gordon Cloade, dies suddenly during a German bombing of London, just after he had taken a youthful Irish bride (Rosaleen) and after having additionally neglected to write out a new will to meet his numerous pecuniary promises to his blood relations.

Rosaleen and her disruptive and controlling brother settle in at the Warmsley Vale mansion alongside the numerous remaining Cloades who have every reason to wish the new Mrs. Gordon Cloade dead so that the estate would return to them under English law. Rosaleen's brother, David, enjoys the good life until an ominous man appears at the local inn and who may be Rosaleen's supposedly dead first husband. And so, here we have all the stereotypical ingredients for murder most foul! Murders do subsequently occur (no surprise there!) and the world's greatest detective, Mr. Hercule Poirot, involves himself in resolving the mystery. (I actually think that Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Upfield's Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte were both better but this is the lofty title which Poirot confers upon himself.)

Of her 80 or so books, (and I've read them all, most multiple times), this is one of Christie's best efforts. It has layers of atmosphere, colorful characters, and never-ending surprises. And while I think that her best work was her first one, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, this one is still very strong amongst all the mysteries ever written by anyone.

It's 231 pages in paperback and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Christie's Taken at the Flood Kindle download
An OK story by Agatha Christie, not one of her best in my opinion. Nice read for a lazy summer day. As usual, Agatha Christie has an array of interesting characters and subtle plot twists. I do enjoy Hercule Poirot mysteries and this was one that I had not seen or read before!

In the Affairs of Men
TAKEN AT THE FLOOD is one of the last, and almost the best, of Christie's run of "psychological" novels that she wrote during the 1940s, including SAD CYPRESS, SPARKLING CYANIDE, FIVE LITTLE PIGS, THE HOLLOW, and TOWARDS ZERO.In them you can see her makingconscious effort to give her characters greater depth and emotional complexity, and in general these books, though not as fun perhaps as her earlier triumphs, repay the reader's attention with a rich array of situations in which life as it is actually lived rises to meet us as we go through each book.

FLOOD concerns the plight of one cosseted middleclass family, the Cloades, who are faced with a moral and financial emergency, when their leader, wealthy old Gordon Cloade perishes in a German sir raid in London during WWII, and leaves his money to a gorgeous young Irish girl whom none of them have ever met.Rosaleen is sweet and simpleminded, but her brother, nasty piece of work David Hunter, makes life miserable for the suddenly poor Cloade family.

Christie lets us see Rosaleen Cloade in all her dimensions--her beauty, her innocence, and coupled with those, her guilt and despair.In the opposite corner stands her opposite number, Lynn Marchmont, a country girl who's been overseas in the military and when she comes back home to her farmer fiance, suddenly finds him very humdrum, and David Hunter dangerously attractive.But it's not just the women that Christie writes well--David Hunter is as dashing a rogue as Tom Jones, and Rowley Cloade, the man Lynn left behind when war broke out, is also appealingly characterized.The plot is complicated, but when Poirot sorts it out, as dazzlingly simple as anything Christie ever concocted, all resting on one sinple trick of misdirection.The point is, it wouldn't even need the murder angle to succeed at being a first-rate story of passion and denial, upper class privilege and servant class resentment.But I have to say, every time I read it I fall for the same tricks over and over again.What is Lynn's choice?What does her choice of men say about her?

... Read more

Product Description

A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's seventy-three private notebooks, including illustrations and two unpublished Poirot stories

Customer Reviews (4)

Mysteries Revealed
Agatha Christie was a phenomenally successful mystery writer for over fifty years.She was also a very private person, refusing to be interviewed or become a celebrity.Her literary skills were criticized and often sneered at by the cognoscenti, but she was and is beloved by millions all over the world.Thirty years after her death John Curran came across stacks and stacks of the old notebooks she carried with her everywhere to jot down ideas, plan out her mysteries, and make more prosaic lists of household needs.Curran found the notebooks a treasure trove of information, and his book about them will delight everyone who has ever found a Christie mystery an intriguing read.

Christie may not have been the most gifted writer ever born, but she had a work ethic and imagination that made up for any lapses in literary style.Curran shows us how ideas for one of her mysteries might be born out of a casual jotting in one notebook, percolate along in her head for days, weeks, or even years, then see daylight in a well crafted novel or short story. Christie might start out with one idea, gradually shape it into another one, argue with herself over the best way to put it in print, and finally get it all down on paper.It all makes for a read just as fascinating as one of Christie's mysteries, and I'm glad Curran saw the possibilities when he first paged through those notebooks.

One warning:pay close attention to the "Solutions Revealed" sections at the beginning of each chapter, because you don't want to inadvertently ruin the ending of a Christie book you haven't yet read!

Not So Secret
John Curran's AGATHA CHRISTIE'S SECRET NOTEBOOKS is a monumental effort to bring into a cohesive volume a trove a working notebooks that Ms. Christie used to plot, develop, and sketch her numerous mystery novels.
They were working notes, which were utilized, refined, discarded, or ignored. Whatever was on her mind even her grocery lists were included in the little notebooks. The said notebooks were boxed up and stored at her death and rediscovered when the National Trust began work on her home to entice tourists to visit the scene of many of her famous stories.
For the reader to make sense of the work it might be advisable to have the works to which they pertain near at hand for reference.
This is not a general read, but a wonderful dip for old favorites. It also contains to previous unpublished Poirot stories which are always a treat.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

Excellent for Aspiring Writers
With over two billion copies of her books in print, writers would do well to study what made Agatha Christie one of the most successful writers in human history. Clues to her success lie in the notebooks she kept, 71 of which have survived, some dating back into the 1920s. Her family graciously gave John Curran permission to study and quote them for this book, along with two short stories that have never been published before: "The Capture of Cereberus" and "The Incident of the Dog's Ball."

In her autobiography, Christie mentioned those notebooks when she described how she used ordinary school exercise books to create and perfect her novels:

"Of course, all the practical details are still to be worked out, and the people have to creep slowly into my consciousness, but I jot down my splendid idea in an exercise book.... I usually have about half a dozen on hand, and I used to make notes in them of ideas that had struck me, or about some poison or drug, or a clever little bit of swindling that I had read about in the paper.

Here's a sampling of the ideas I picked up from the book.

FLOW: "Christie's prose, while no means distinguished, flows easily, the characters are believable and differentiated, and much of each book is told in dialogue" (36)

HARD WORK: "I hope to show, by an examination of her Notebooks, that although this gift for plotting was innate and in profusion, she worked on her ideas, distilling and sharpening and perfecting them." (37)

FAIRNESS: "Throughout her career Christie specialized in giving her readers the clues necessary to the solution of the crime." (38)

THINKING & WORRYING: "In February 1955 on the BBC radio program Close-Up, Agatha Christie admitted, when asked about her process of working, that 'the disappointing truth is that I haven't much method.... The real work is done in thinking out the development of your story and worrying about it until it comes right. That may take quite a while.' And this is where her Notebooks, which are not mentioned in the interview, came in. A glance at them shows that this is where she did her 'thinking and worrying.'" (67)

SKETCHING SCENES: "One system of creation that Christie used during her most prolific period was the listing of a series of scenes, sketching what she wanted each to include and allocating to each individual scene a number or letter." (83) Once those scenes were listed, she'd work out the proper sequence for them.

OFTEN NO BIG IDEA: "One of the most unexpected element in the Notebooks was, to me, the fact that many of Christie's best plots did not necessarily spring from a single devastating idea. She considered all possibilities when she plotted and did not confine herself to one idea, no matter how good it may have seemed. In very few cases is the identity of the murderer a given from the start of the plotting." (99)

A SOUNDING BOARD AND SKETCHPAD: "We now have a clearer idea of Christie's approach to the construction of her stories. Using the Notebooks as a combination of sounding board and literary sketchpad, she devised and developed; she selected and rejected; she sharpened and polished; she revised and recycled. And I hope to show by a more detailed analysis in the follow chapters, out of this seeming chaos she produced a unique and immortal body of work." (101)

And to read that more detailed analysis, you'll need to read this book. Don't depend on my all too brief summary.

I'll close with these words, quote by John Curran and spoken by a Mrs. Ariadne Oliver in Chapter 17 of Christie's Dead Man's Folly:

"I mean, what you say about how you write your books? What I mean is, first you've got to think of something, and then, when you've thought of it you've got to force yourself to sit down and write it. That's all." (73)

--Michael W. Perry, author of Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings

A MUST FOR CHRISTIE LOVERS
Just when you think you have read it all about our favorite lady, this wonderfully written book comes along and you can relive all of your memories of the books you have loved from times long past.Mr. Curran has done justice to the subject and has written a comprehensive tome that will satisfy you completely.Two short stories never before published at the end of the book --a lovely desert on top of a great meal. ... Read more

Product Description
Captain Hastings recounts 18 of Poirot's early cases from the days before he was famous...Hercule Poirot delighted in telling people that he was probably the best detective in the world. So turning back the clock to trace eighteen of the cases which helped establish his professional reputation was always going to be a fascinating experience. With his career still in its formative years, the panache with which Hercule Poirot could solve even the most puzzling mystery is obvious.Chronicled by his friend Captain Hastings, these eighteen early cases - from theft and robbery to kidnapping and murder - were all guaranteed to test Poirot's soon-to-be-famous 'little grey cells' to their absolute limit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nostalgic Read
These short, short stories make you appreciate David Suchet and writers who created that great series.

Poirot's Early Cases
Excellent service, prompt delivery, excellent conditon
as described, packaged well.
Would use again.

good
I was a little disappointed after I listened to this tape set because I thought that David Suchet and Hugh Fraiser would be reading the mysteries together but they don't. Hugh reads some of the mysteries and David Suchet reads the others. Other than that they were what I expected and I love the ones that Suchet does. He does a perfect Poirot. Fraiser is all right but sometimes his voice goes so low it's hard to hear if you're driving in a car ... Read more

Product Description
At a Hallowe'en party, Hercule Poirot aids mystery writer Ariadne Oliver in an investigation into the murder of a young girl-who may have witnessed a murder herself. But unmasking the killer proves more daunting than bobbing for apples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

Do Children Speak the Truth
Agatha Crhistie's HALLOWE'EN PARTY has her alter ego Adriane Oliver helping a friend stage a Halloween party for a group of pre-teens.
Apples are a favorite snack for Adriane and she helps Joyce set up a barrel for bobbing in the library. Joyce is rather a show off and to impress Mrs. Oliver she brags to Adriane that she witnessed a murder two years ago.
Joyce is found sunk in the barrel at the end of the party. Adriane enlists her friend Hercule Poirot to investigate the murder. When a second murder occurs Poirot must employ all of his little gray cells to bring a killer to justice.
A later Christie when she had all the techniques down to their polished best.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS

Apples, Dates, and Death, Oh My!
When I read the publisher's summary of Hallowe'en Party, I immediately expected it to become my favourite Agatha Christie novel.After all, it had everything that I look for in a good mystery:an interesting murder victim, a haunting setting, and complex cast of characters.My expectations, however, were not met in the least.

The story started off well-enough; a young girl is found drowned in an apple-bobbing bucket after she boasts about having witnessed a murder.As usual, Poirot is called onto the case and the simple murder turns into a complex web of lies and forgeries.

Unfortunately, from this point on, Hallowe'en Party began to lose a lot of its steam.One of my biggest problems with this book is the sheer amount of soap boxing that Agatha Christie decided to engage in.When I started reading this story, I had no clue when it was published.However, it was easy to tell that it was one of her later stories as she goes off on tangents about children becoming too independent, parents letting children go off on their own, pop stars, genetics etc.Instead of focusing on the mystery aspect or the psychology of the murderer, most of the characters seemed concerned with the societal influences leading up to the girl's murder.My other problem with Hallowe'en Party was the character development.Usually when I read one of Agatha Christie's novels, I find myself becoming attached to some of the characters and thinking "Oh!I hope s/he's not the murderer!"However, that didn't happen with this book.Most of the critical characters only appeared for a few pages.As a result, it was difficult to become attached to any of them.I also find that the best Poirot books have little interactions occurring between the murder suspects (which Poirot occasionally manipulates to produce friendships or romances).This was completely absent here.

The last quarter of the novel regained some its momentum.However, the resolution of the murder was downright strange.I don't mind this.It's fun to see Agatha Christie take her 'solutions' into different directions.This was certainly different.

All in all, Hallowe'en party is an interesting story.However, it lacks a lot of the action and excitement that are found in earlier Poirot mysteries.I found myself not particularly caring for any of the cast, and downright annoyed by Christie's tangents and societal observations (which did not contribute to the psychology of the story at all).If you've read most of the Poirot mysteries, then by all means, read this one as well.But, if you're a newcomer to Agatha Christie, I'd recommend starting with one of her earlier novels (i.e. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder in Mesopotamia, Death on the Nile, etc).

Reading with Tequila
Hallowe'en Party wasn't the best Agatha Christie novel, but it was far from the worst. Ariadne Oliver teams up with Hercule Poirot when a murder or possibly two, has been committed. While I loved the back and forth between Ariadne and Poirot and I love anything to do with Halloween, the mystery left something to be desired. Hallowe'en Party cast suspicion on the killer too obviously and too early. You didn't get to experience the usual surprising Poirot reveals the killer moment. A decent but ultimately unremarkable Christie novel.

WILL SOMEONE LET THE WOMAN SPEAK?
What "improvements" have been made for the Berkley edition?There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket.There are further differences still in the Signet, Bantam, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions.For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice.What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them.Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.

For Judith Butler Fans
Anyone who enjoys modern philosophy will get a kick out of the heroine of HALLOWEEN PARTY, the incredibly gorgeous "Undine"-esque blonde, Judith Butler, who shares a strange, prophetic resemblance to the present day theorist and author of GENDER TROUBLE--also called Judith Butler.I wonder if Ms. Butler has read this book but I imagine she has, she's an omnivorous reader with high levels of intellectual curiosity, and she would find so much about "performing gender" here she could write another sequel to her own famous work.

One of the better late Christie novels for sure, HALLOWEEN PARTY takes it time getting started but winds up genuinely involving.I wanted to find out who dun it and I didn't like being interrupted in my reading of the final chapters.But that's not to say it doesn't have its problems!

The central mysteries that Poirot must solve are, what if anything did little Joyce Reynolds see--she claimed to have witnessed a murder and someone shuts her up by drowning her in a tub bobbing with apples!And also what did Rowena Drake see when she dropped an entire glass vase of autumn perennials down a flight of stairs?I have read this book a few times now and always get caught up in figuring out these two mysteries.For Christie lovers, this plot has comforting echoes of previous books, for example the mysterious gaze on Marina Gregg's face in THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE with Miss Marple.I found the central situation of the landscape architect, beautiful Michael Garfield, a little bit like ENDLESS NIGHT and strangely reminiscent of Christie's beautiful short story, "In the Cool of the Evening" published in STAR OVER BETHLEHEM.

I also enjoyed having the two teenage boys of the novel step up in their hippie outfits, rose colored vests and fawn trousers, and turn into Poirot's two Baker Street Irregular boys.Wish we had seen more of them in other novels by Christie, for I was getting pretty tired of Ariadne Oliver by this juncture!What about that Halloween party with the "snapdragon" game and that strange one where the girls gather in a dark room and look into a mirror to see the faces of the men they will marry?Christie utterly fails to spell out the mechanics of this one in a way that anyone could understand, and what a shame, for I am having an upcoming party and would love to have a hand mirror in which my guests both male and female would gaze and instead of seeing their own faces, they'd see some spectral ghost faces of like, Brad Pitt or no, I know, the late Brad Renfro (RIP)! ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published the year of Agatha Christie's death, Sleeping Murder is a novel as legendary as its lead character and its creator...A novel that adheres to the classic mystery formula, and transcends it... A novel that is a must for every mystery reader, marking the final bow of Christie's beloved sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. Now Sleeping Murder is back in a special trade edition, sure to delight old and new fans alike....

"Agatha Christie makes us feel Miss Marple's shiver."-New York Times

"Has all the virtues of Agatha Christie's work; a coherant plot, firm and purposeful narration, and a pleasant style."--Times Literary Supplement ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Great story, average mystery
Miss Marple stories tend to have better characters, and deeper stories where the Poirot books commonly rely on more plot trickery.Sleeping Murder stays true to the trend as Marple's run closes.This is a sort of "Howard's End" whodunnit.Much like Endless Night, the house in Sleeping Murder feels to be a bigger character than just another weekend away spot for a body to turn up.While the great setting and characters mean I'd love to see a modern filming of this done to the right scale, more than TV offers, the mystery itself was less inspiring.Christie's red herrings are all over on this one, but I cracked it pretty early.

Good and recommended,but not one of my favorites.I would rate Nemesis much higher.

A solid B for Miss Maple's last outing.

amazing
i absolutly loved this book! it was my first christie book and i loved it

Sleeping Murder will keep you awake into the wee hours as you peruse the final case of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple
Sleeping Murder is a classic suspense novel with grisly murder, long lost secrets and intriguing character with unsavoury pasts. Gwenda Reed arrives in England from her home in New Zealand. She has just married Britisher Giles Reed who will join her in their new home in a few weeks. The new home brings back memories for young Gwenda. She hears voices and in her mind sees a beautiful dead woman lying at the foot of the stairs. Perhaps Giles old aunt Miss Marple can help her!
One night Gwenda goes to the theatre where the lines "Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young" from Elizabethan playwright John Webster's "Duchess of Malfi". This quote provides a key which will assist in opening the door to the past murder of Gwenda's stepmother the beautiful Helen Spenlove Kennedy Halliday.
Whodunit? Also there is another murder which occurs in these pages. Both of the murders are by strangulation.
The suspects include:
Lawyer Fane who was once engaged to Helen.
Major Erskine a former lover of the wild Helen.
Jackie Afflick another former lover of Helen and
Dr. Kennedy the half-brother of Helen.
This novel is a good introduction to Agatha Christie and Miss Marple!

A very different ending for Miss Marple than the one for Poirot

I've haven't read many of Christie's "Miss Marple" series having enjoyed more of her Poirot stories, but I found this a fine representative of the genre of "little old lady" detection that Christie popularized. The mystery itself is serviceable, with an 18 year old disappearance leading a young couple to become amateur sleuths with the wise guidance of Miss Marple. The result is a bit far-fetched with the killer having less of a motive than would occur in the real world, but it is fun to read about Miss Marple "tut-tutting" the couple's errors of judgment and false conclusions. As it was the last in the series you can see the difference of opinion that Christie had for Miss Marple, leaving her to solve her little mysteries as opposed to the finality of Curtain (Hercule Poirot). It's obvious her love/hate for Poirot didn't extend to Miss Marple. I doubt if this will make go back to the Marple books I haven't read, but it was a fun little mystery.

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
In her last case, Miss Marple helps a young married couple discover the truth of what really happened eighteen years ago in the house they've just bought by the sea in the South of England.Is Gwenda hallucinating or was it all just a bad dream?Is the house haunted?If there really was a murder, who did it?Miss Marple advises the young couple to "let sleeping murder lie" but, of course they don't and Miss Marple can't resist offering a little assistance in getting to the bottom of the mystery.

What I love about Agatha Christie stories is that they are honest to goodness murder mysteries without the sex and the bad language.It takes excellent writing, which Agatha Christie was so good at, to have followers that made her the most sold murder mystery writer of all time. It was a page turner for me and will have you doing your own sleuthing as to 'who really did it'. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Agatha Christie Rocks!
I can't say enough about how Agatha Christie is the queen of mystery writing.No matter if you are into the hard-core P.I.'s, the bumbling amateur detectives, the Police dramas or cold hard forensic stories, you still can't touch Agatha Christie for classic mysteries!This is such a joy to read---especially if you love Hercule Poirot!I loved this book.

Poirot does it again
This is a good starter book if you have never read an Agatha Christie mystery before.Poirot is one of her re-occuring characters who is as smart as he is odd.In this case, he has to uncover the mystery of how a ruby got into the pudding of the family he is staying with in England.Many other odd things start unfolding and he has to use his guile to solve it.This character is better than her Miss Marple in my opinion, so people new to this genre should really try it out.

Another brilliant book
This book is well worth reading if you are a fan of Agatha Christies,Hercule Poirot.Poirots first taste of a traditional English Christmasends in him solving the disappearance of a Princes ruby.After recieving asinister note warning him not to eat the Christmas Pudding, a mysteriousvisitor in the night and his host nearly choking on the Christmas Puddinghe sets a trap for his suspect and a joke on the children of the household. Not only in this story does Poirot retrieve a stolen ruby but he alsohelps his hosts to rid themselves of a problem of their own.This is abrilliant book and well worth the read. ... Read more

Product Description
Miss Marple puts her deductive skills to use in thirteen of her most fiendish cases in this short story collection from the reigning matriarch of mystery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

The first 13 of Dear Aunt Jane's shorter cases.
"Miss Marple insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival," Agatha Christie wrote in her posthumously-published autobiography (1977) about the elderly lady who, next to Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, quickly became one of her most beloved characters.Somewhat resembling Christie's own grandmother and her friends, although "far more fussy and spinsterish" and "not in any way a picture" of the author's granny, like her, she had a certain gift for prophecy and, "though a cheerful person, she always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right."

Although Christie herself considered Miss Marple her favorite creation - preferred even over the prim and proper Belgian with the many "little grey cells," of whose exploits she occasionally tired and whom she brought back again and again chiefly because of her audience's undying demand - there are only twelve Miss Marple novels and twenty short stories: while no small feat in any other author's body of work, just over one tenth of the lifetime output of the writer justifiedly dubbed The Queen of Crime.

This compilation unites the twenty short stories revolving around St. Mary Mead's elderly village sleuth, beginning with the canon of originally six and, after an expansion for republication in book form, later thirteen stories which, in addition to the novel "A Murder at the Vicarage" (1930) introduced Miss Marple to the world; a series of unsolved problems told by her guests one Tuesday night, to be followed by six further problems narrated during a similar gathering at the home of village squire Colonel Bantry and his wife Dolly, about a year later.

In attendance on those two nights are a number of people who make recurring appearances next to Miss Marple; first and foremost her doting nephew - thriller novelist Raymond West - and retired Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Henry Clithering, as well as village solicitor Petherick, and of course the Bantrys (who will move center stage, much to their embarrassment, in "A Body in the Library," 1942); furthermore Raymond's new flame, artist Joyce (later reincarnated as his wife Joan), a doctor, a clergyman, and a well-known actress.Of course, all the stories also feature Christie's usual cast of other unique characters, many of whom could just as well figure in one of Miss Marple's "village parallels," those seemingly unimportant events summing up her knowledge of life, on which she unfailingly draws in unmasking even the cleverest killer.

Avid Christie readers will doubtlessly, moreover, recognize individual character types, plot snippets, settings and other features here and there; for Dame Agatha was known to draw repeatedly on devices she found to have worked before, and she tended to use her short stories as mini-laboratories for elements later expanded on in novels.Caveat, lector, of premature conclusions, however, for Christie was equally known to throw in a little extra twist in such cases: what is a real clue in one instance may well be a red herring in another and vice versa, and one story's innocent bystander may easily be the next story's murderer.

The following are the thirteen problems recounted in this collection:

"The Tuesday Night Club:" Sir Henry Clithering opens the evening with the case of a woman's mysterious poisoning by arsenic.

"The Idol House of Astarte:" A man inexplicably dies after a costume party's nightly excursion to a pagan temple.

"Ingots of Gold:" Raymond West tells about a treasure hunt, sunken ships and murder on the Cornish coast.

"The Bloodstained Pavement:" Joyce and the case of a drowned wife in a Cornish watering place called Rathole.

"Motive vs. Opportunity:" Mr. Petherick's tale of a will that mysteriously vanishes from its sealed envelope.

"The Thumb Mark of St. Peter:" Miss Marple's story how she quashed rumors about the sudden death of her niece Mabel's husband.

"The Blue Geranium:" Opening the second round of mysteries, Colonel Bantry's narration about a prophecy involving death and three uncharacteristically blue flowers.

"The Companion:" Two English ladies go on a holiday in Tenerife, but only one returns home alive.

"The Four Suspects:" Sir Henry Clithering's account of the murder of a retired secret agent.

"A Christmas Tragedy:" Having failed to prevent a murder, Miss Marple is all the more eager to unmask the murderer.

"The Herb of Death:" Mrs. Bantry's gifts as a storyteller, a serving of sage and foxglove, and a charming young girl's unexpected death.

"The Affair at the Bungalow:" Double-dealings, charades and mischief on stage and off, just outside of London.

"Death by Drowning:" A village girl "in trouble" finds a desperate solution - or does she?

Also recommended:
Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Miss Marple Novels (Avenel Suspense Classics)
Miss Marple's Final Cases
Marple Classic Mysteries (Caribbean Mystery/4:50 from Paddington/Moving Finger/Nemesis/At Bertram's Hotel/Murder at Vicarage/Sleeping Murder/They Do It with Mirrors/Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side)
Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)
The Mirror Crack'd

Another wonderful mystery collection
Such an enjoyable example of Miss Marple- a keen brain hiding behind a fluffy exterior!Using village parallels and her unique outlook on life, Miss Marple solves a series of mysteries that have stumped more sophisticated guests at various dinner parties in St. Mary's Mead.I love Agatha Christie's novels, and this book is an old favorite that I pull off the shelf when I need a quick hit.If you've never read it, I highly recommend the Tuesday Club Murders.

Great Fun
In my mind, Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is as good as it gets in the mystery genre. Miss Marple, however, is excellent, too. This volume presents thirteen short mysteries. Most are presented as tales recounted by dinner guests while sitting around the evening fire. The challenge is to see who can tell the most baffling story and who, if anyone, can solve each one. Miss Marple, of course, astounds the others by seeing through each to the solution. Along the way, the reader is treated to a selection of fascinating and enjoyable tales. Some are easy enough for the experienced mystery fan to see through, but all are fun to read nevertheless. THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS is Agatha Christie at the top of her game and should be a great pleasure for anyone who enjoys a good mystery. I loved it. Highly recommended.

Problem Solving
Originally published as "The Tuesday Club Murders", "The Thirteen Problems" is a collection of Miss Marple stories, mini-mysteries that readers and characters alike are meant to solve.As always, Agatha Christie has a great knack at crafting mysteries that are both ingenious and simple, once solved or explained."The Thirteen Problems" is a quick read, each story nicely paced and readily solved.

The setup to the collection is a get-together of friends and family for an evening of fun and games.When one guest proposes that each person present a 'problem' for the others to solve, the game is underway.When each little problem is presented, only Miss Marple can see her way through to the solution.These mysteries run the gamut of typical mystery stories, with murder and intrigue at the center of each.

Yet several of the stories in "The Thirteen Problems" are extremely predictable - anyone who has read a fair number of mysteries can spot the answer from the getgo, although there are several that are a bit more puzzling.And at times, the characterization of several key players is stereotypical and rather one-dimensional, an acceptable failing in a short story, but when several stories are collected in one space, it can become rather tiresome.Overall, "The Thirteen Problems" is a delightful read for any Christie fan.

Must read for all Miss Marple fans
This 1932 collection was also published as THE TUESDAY CLUB MURDERS.Many of the stories have also appeared separately in other collections.

Like THE LABORS OF HERCULES and PARTNERS IN CRIME it is a series of short stories bridged together in an arc.The opening setting is a gathering in St. Mary Mead at Jane Marple's cottage, attended by her nephew writer Raymond West, artist Joyce Lempriere, Sir Henry Clithering - retired Scotlandyard commissioner, Dr. Pender - the local clergyman, and solicitor Mr. Petherick.The group decides to entertain themselves by describing puzzling crimes they have experienced and to challenge the rest of the group to arrive at the solution.The group at first does not plan to include Miss Marple in their game but condescend to do so when she objects.Naturally Aunt Jane arrives at all the answers.

The following year Sir Henry Clithering was visiting his friends the Bantrys (THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY), and mentioned his previous trip to St. Mary Mead and Miss Marple.After dinner that evening another evening of curious problems took place.This time the group included Col. and Mrs. Bantry, Dr. Lloyd, actress Jane Helier as well as Sir Henry and Miss Marple.Again Miss Marple had all the answers, including one to a crime that hadn't happened yet.

The final problem was presented sometime later when Sir Henry was again visiting his friends, the Bantrys.A village girl, the daughter of the local pub owner, had killed herself the night before, sad but of no particular interest to Sir Henry.No interest that is, until Miss Marple arrived to request that Sir Henry investigate the murder, not suicide, of the girl.She even gave Sir Henry the name of the murderer!Sir Henry agreed to look into matter and.....well, read the story

The mysteries are all perfect little Christie gems, challenging the reader (with all the clues tucked in among the red herrings) to solve the crime before Miss Marple.The device of linking the stories in post dinner party conversation is charming.It is wonderful to meet characters that will return in other Miss Marple stories:Raymond West and Joyce Lempriere; Col. and Dolly Bantry; and Sir Henry Clithering. ... Read more

Product Description
A typist uncovers a man's body from behind the sofa!As instructed, stenographer Sheila Webb let herself into the house at 19 Wilbraham Crescent. It was then that she made a grisly discovery: the body of a dead man sprawled across the living room floor.What intrigued Poirot about the case was the time factor. Although in a state of shock, Sheila clearly remembered having heard a cuckoo clock strike three o'clock. Yet, the four other clocks in the living room all showed the time as 4.13. Even more strangely, only one of these clocks belonged to the owner of the house! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

"He Just Came There to be Killed..."
"The Clocks" starts with possibly one of the strangest setups in the Agatha Christie canon: a young woman is called to an address to do typing for the blind resident that has specially requested her, only to find a body in a room full of clocks - all of which, oddly enough, are set at the wrong hour. Even odder, her client Mrs Pebmarsh denies having ever made the call requesting for a stenographer in the first place. The man has no identification about him at all except for a card with the name of an insurance company on it that doesn't exist.

The investigation involves the close-knit community of Wilbraham Crescent, all of whom have their own idiosyncrasies and secrets to be uncovered, but the police work grounds to a halt when no one comes forward to identity the body. Meanwhile, intelligence agent Colin Lamb has arrived in the vicinity on the tail of an international spy, only to get caught up in the corresponding mystery after Sheila Webb rushed from the house in hysterics after finding the body.

Style-wise, the plot flits a tad uncomfortably between Inspector Hardcastle's third-person narrative and Agent Colin Lamb's first-person account and "The Clocks" is ultimately a rather odd little mystery, mingling several ideas strewn throughout Christie's other books, including international espionage (as you'd expect from Tommy and Tuppence), neighborhood psychology (as in Miss Marple) and a rather light helping of Poirot. He's only in about three scenes, but is at his infuriating best, quietly taking in the evidence that the police provide him with, noting the inconsistencies, and exercising his little grey cells at leisure to draw the right conclusions.

There are a couple of extraordinary coincidences, such as an unlikely invalid witness (straight out of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window) who was watching from across the street, and a connection between the two other-wise unrelated cases, but on a lighter note, Poirot also provides commentary on several other crime writers and their techniques - poking fun at the reliance on far-fetched coincidence, lucky chance, melodrama and violence. One gets the feeling that Christie was having a little bit of fun with this particular story, taking the facets of other mystery writers and mixing them into her own plot. She also manages to get a little dig in at her readership when Poirot mentions that contemporary readers are more likely to write in and complain to the author about inaccuracies!

This is perhaps *not* Christie at her best, though she still displays a deft hand at misdirection, careful plotting, and putting the devil in the details. More disbelief than usual has to be suspended for the denouncement, but "The Clocks" is definitely a page-turner, mainly due to the riveting opening and crackling pace.

Stisfied customer
The book arrived on time, in good condition and I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

Great audiobook.
Robin Bailey does a wonderful job narrating Agatha Christie's The Clocks. Although I prefer David Suchet's and Hugh Fraser's Poirot audio books (for obvious reasons), Bailey does not disappoint. He creates unique vocal inflections for nearly all characters, although he basically gives up on Poirot's accent after a few sentences.

The story itself (which I had read several years ago) has a really neat setup, and could have gone in many directions. Unfortunately, the solution itself is so convoluted as to be nearly unbelievable. Even though discovering who the culprit is turns out to be a let down, the build up is top-notch, and Bailey keeps the story moving at a very nice clip.

The Clocks
I had always wanted to read "The Clocks" and now that I have I am a bit disappointed. Not that the story was bad, in fact it was very well done, there is a mystery element that you will not figure out, and a few red herrings thrown in for good measure. The only problem I had was that the book depicted that this was a Pirot novel, when in fact he was hardly in it. The protagonist would present Pirot the evidence and he would basically say if they were warm or off the mark. But other than that It was a fun read.

A clunker

Trying to have some fun with one of mystery's typical conventions, Christie comes up with a clunker this time. Using a British spy, with the far too cute name of Colin Lamb, as the Hastings stand in; Christie has Poirot work from home in homage to John Dickson Carr's locked room mysteries. Crescent shaped neighborhoods, international espionage, a damsel in distress, and the titular clocks all come into play in this mess of a mystery that definitely needed more Poirot to make it palatable. Too many red herrings and the underlying combination of spying and romance sit uncomfortably together causing nothing more than annoyance for the reader. As it stands it doesn't so much entertain as bore and when all is resolved you are relieved as opposed to amused as you realize this one's finally over.
... Read more

Product Description
Mystery / 8m, 3f / Int.In this superlative mystery comedy statuettes of little soldier boys on the mantel of a house on an island off the coast of Devon fall to the floor and break one by one as those in the house succumb to a diabolical avenger. A nursery rhyme tells how each of the ten "soldiers" met his death until there were none. Eight guests who have never met each other or their apparently absent host and hostess are lured to the island and, along with the two house servants, marooned. A mysterious voice accuses each of having gotten away with murder and then one drops dead---poisoned. One down and nine to go! The excitement never lets up in this ideal play for schools, colleges and little theatres.Amazon.com Review
Considered the best mystery novel ever written by manyreaders, And Then There Were None is the story of 10 strangers,each lured to Indian Island by a mysterious host. Once his guests havearrived, the host accuses each person of murder. Unable to leave theisland, the guests begin to share their darkest secrets--until they begin to die. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (642)

Nothing "cosy" about this Christie!
Some people criticise Agatha Christie for the "cosiness" of her crime novels, alleging the characters are too stiff-upper-lip and the plots too neatly wrapped up at the end, with life just going on happily as before. But every so often, Christie took a darker turn and delved into a deep exploration of human evil and guilt. `And Then There Were None' is a classic example of this darker Christie (`Endless Night' is another one). On one level, it is a first class murder mystery that holds its own against anything Agatha Christie has written. But it is also an extraordinary study of the psychological disintegration of the characters, as they are confronted with a combination of their impending murder and their own guilt. At its heart, `And Then There Were None' is a study of sin, guilt, and retribution.

This is the very definition of the "locked room mystery". Ten people are enticed to an island off the English coast by the mysterious Mr U. N. Owen.As they gather in Mr Owen's island house, a recording suddenly springs to life and accuses them all of "murder". All ten are allegedly guilty of killings that the law cannot touch; (a judge condemned an innocent man to death, a drunk doctor botched an operation and killed his patient, a soldier ordered a disliked subordinate into a suicidal position, and so on) and Mr Owen seems intent on dispensing some private justice. The guests soon begin dying one-by-one, in the manner of the nursery rhyme `And Then There Were None', and both the mystery and the mental torture deepen as more and more of them are killed off.Is Mr Owen hidden somewhere on the island? Or is it really one of ten themselves who are responsible?

As I say, in addition to being a clever mystery, `And Then There Were None' also succeeds brilliantly in exploring the stress and torment the characters go through.Christie cleverly allows us inside each of their heads at different times, allowing us to read their thoughts, fears, and doubts. This technique causes us feel a strong empathy with many of them, and despite being "guilty" of killing it can be painful to watch these characters crack under the increasing strain. What is also fascinating is the way different characters react to the prospect of their death; one character seems happily resigned to his fate as a way of taking the guilt and pain away, others try to brazen their way out through bravado, and still others just go to pieces. This psychological breakdown plus the often "impossible" murders gives the book a horrifying, other-worldly feel. It's as if the true murderer is the characters' own guilty consciences taken on a physical form.

The conclusion is very well done, with many of the revelations being surprising but plausible in hindsight. Some may question whether Christie plays fair, but on re-reading the book you'll notice there are several clues that suggest all is not what it seems. A couple of clever and well-placed red herrings, particularly toward the latter part of the book, succeed in distracting us from the identity of the killer, and the characters' increasing paranoia muddies the waters even further.

In all, this a dark psychological thriller just as much as it is an outstanding mystery novel. "Cosy crime" this is not!

unclear title
This was the Play.We needed the book for our son's Language Arts class and it was not the book!

Absolute perfection!
I love all Agatha Christie's books but this by far my favorite!The story keeps you listening well beyond your planned stopping point.Hugh Fraser is simply wonderful as the reader!His talent really shines voicing the numerous characters.

If you're a Christie fan, new or old, you simply must listen to or read this!

Great But Manipulative When It Comes to Written Details
And Then There Were None is a delectable murder mystery story that will keep you on the edge of the seat. For me, I didn't think the mystery was too hard to solve. You have to go back to Sherlock Holmes stories when he said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Following that logic, the story will be easier to understand. I kept referring to the poem of the Ten Little Indians. In there, one of the lines is a dead giveaway to the identity of the murderer along with a supporting line to confirm it. If what everybody says is true, that the island is absolutely observable and the entire house has been accounted for, then it is too obvious that one of the ten minus the dead is the suspect. However, at this point, one of them should have gotten smart which is that if one person was with another person for some time and somebody dies, that would mean...neither of them is the murderer. That was the biggest flaw of the book. Now...think about it....two lines in the poem....the three attended the screamer (all four are survivors out of five) in the bathroom....getting too obvious, huh? Three precautions I would have taken are: I would serve my own meals and drinks (in that case, I would drink only water), I would have inspected the dead bodies for a second confirmation (why not just use the lighted candle on the person's body and let it lay for like a minute?), and I would have stayed with another person to confirm the facts. Once the two have been confirmed, then keep it secret and work your way up with others. That's why people played the game Clue for fun.Another is to watch the plate of the ten little Indians. The second biggest flaw of the book was that everybody decided to retire to their rooms individually which is the biggest mistake of the whole time. Doing that, nobody has any way of confirming that fact that I pointed out. It's like everybody is going for broke and will keep guessing to no end. The third biggest flaw of the book, as everybody says that they have searched every inch of the house, is that the author should have been honest with us about that; I just felt that she wasn't telling the truth, thus being manipulative with the readers at times throughout the book. If she could be more attentive to what was actually going on rather than being superficially unobservant to the mundane things. It's like...they searched the house...but what did they search, how they did it, and what did they overlook? Simple things like that. What are the contents in each room of the house? All in all, And Then There Were None is a great book but short in details necessary for me to understand the situation more.

Agatha Christie at the top - and top audio CDs
Just to add my 2-cents' worth, Hugh Fraser does a fantastic job of reading this book for audio CD presentation.When the roles are convincingly distinguished, and the voice work is more than carefully managed, one sees the theatrical art in the reading.This was not only a classic whodunit, besides, but one with sufficient clues to mine one's way into the morass - before the epilogue-like confession.

Thoroughly enjoyable, and my favorite of all the Christie audio titles (. . . with special fondness for the story of the Blue Train.)
... Read more

Product Description
A flamboyant party host is murdered in full view of a roomful of bridge players!Mr Shaitana was famous as a flamboyant party host. Nevertheless, he was a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation to view Shaitana's private collection.Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogether! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

One of those books that just makes you think
Okay, just to say, i`m only 11 so don`t think you have to listen to me.
As the title states I think this is one of her most compex and confusing books that Agatha ever wrote right behind "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" and "Murder on the Orient Express" the exitement factor isn`t quite as big as in her other novels because there are only four people who could have done it but it the sychology and text make you second guess yourself about every ten minutes. Don`t read this if you haven`t read Murder on the Orient express because Poirot gives it away in casual conversation and, frankly it is a little better than Cards on the table, although it doesn`t matter what order you read them in.
I am sure that when you read this book you will find Mrs. Oliver comical forshe impersonates Agatha`s alter ego perfectly, " When it starts to get boring a bit of blood or another murder will always liven things up" she quotes in the book. If you are one if those fans who like the multiple murder mysteries this is one that has three and supply`s the books main exitement factor. Now notice that I didn`t say entertainment, that was because the the thoughts that the text puts into your head are so interesting that you are blown away by the detail of the book.
The last twenty percent of the book is edge of your seat stuff and you won`t be able to put it down so plan for a long session near the end. Plus, Agatha masterfully convices you to believe each of the four suspects in one chapter!

I am a huge Poirot fan and I have already read almost half of his books and I am just about to read The Mystery of The Blue Train so if you like this review be sure to look for mine on The Blue Train soon.

Cards Of Confusion
Ms. Christie created another winning mystery but for one snag. Since I have never played Bridge, the scorecards and descriptions in the book were confusing. That in itself is a pretty large handicap when trying to figure out this whodunit. Her mystery is set on the premise that there are only four suspects and evidence is based solely on the psychological makeup of the people. As usual, Hercule Poirot's 14th adventure is chock-full of twists and turns. Ms. Christie's books are great mental exercises. If you like mysteries and know how to play Bridge, you'll probably enjoy this quick, fun read.

A Bridge Lover's Delight
Four crime-solvers are invited to a dinner party to which are also invited four people who got away with murder.The wealthy host means to entertain himself by seeing whether the sleuths can detect the murderers.After dinner two bridge tables are set up with the 4 detectives at one and the 4 murderers at the other.During the evening one of the "dummies" killed the host!Leave it to Poirot to discover the true culprit by questioning each of them about their bridge-playing methods.
This book does not follow the typical Christie method and has fewer characters than usual, making it more difficult to provide necessary clues while concealing the mystery of the person who committed the deed.As usual, it has fast-paced dialogue which moves the story along nicely and multiple twists at the end.
Christie is #1.

:)
Overall this book was very intriguing and one of my favorites because as Christie says, "This book is not that kind of book" where you spot the least likely person to have done the crime and find that they have done it.This is book is where all suspects are on the same playing field and they all could have done it.It is difficult to decide who it is because each person has a motive and each person is a murderer in their past.One must pay attention to the details of the character, their past, and the present murder.Christie does a very well done job of thoroughly confusing the reader by setting each suspect up in situations where they could have done it.Only those who truly understand the psychological mind will be able to deduce who really was the murderer.The only downfall to this book is for those who do not understand the game bridge.But even if you don't it's an excellent read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys putting their own "little grey cells" to work.
To summarize, Hercule Poirot runs into a Mr. Shaitana, who claims that he knows people who are so good at murder no one but him knows about their secret.Four sleuths, including Poirot, and four murderers are invited to dine and play bridge at Shaitana's.As the night continues, their host ends up dead and no one knows who did it.It is up to the four sleuths to narrow down the suspects by finding out what their past murder was like.Once they know how they murder, they will be able to make a logical deduction of who performed this one.
Poirot lets his "little grey cells" go to work by asking each murderer about the room they played bridge in and also about the game and the rubbers played."With eyes of the mind", Poirot leans back to think and is able to one by one eliminate the suspects by putting together the past murder with the present character and brilliantly uncover the true murderer.

Classic Poirot
What makes this Christie novel so fun to read is that is absolutely unpredictable.You really don't expect all the twists and turns and the end is a surprise. I recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
It's Agatha Christie at her best as a weekend house party becomes a crime scene for special guest Hercule Poirot. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (41)

the Hollow is a classic Agatha Christie murder mystery novel
The Hollow by Agatha Christie was first published in 1946. It was later a stage play minus the appearance of the Belgian detective genius Hercule Poirot. The Hollow has well drawn characters which are not simply pawns to examine in a whodunit novel. The novel is somewhat longer than most Christie novels; it is a delightful reading experience.
The novel is set at The Hollows an English estate owned by Lady Lucy Angkatell and her husband Sir Henry. Lady Lucy is a witty Type A personality who is usually correct in her estimate of other people's characters and motives.
Among the guests are the sculptress Henrietta Savernake who is the mistress of Dr John Christow. Christow is a Harley Street surgeon who is dedicated to scientific research. He is married to plain Jane Gerda Christow. Gerda worships her husband; the couple have two children.
On the fateful weekend the former lover of Dr. Christow arrives at The Hollows. She is the fetching Hollywood and London Stage star Veronica Cray. Christow is, therefore, loved by three women: Gerda, Henrietta and Veronica.
Dr. Gaskell is found murdered by the swimming pool. Hercule Poirot who is staying in the neighborhood is called in to investigate the foul deed as is dull witted Police Inspector Grange. Other characters include David Angkatell a young man down from Cambridge; Midge Hardcastle an old family friend and Edward Angkattel. Edgar is in love with Henrietta while Midge carries a longstanding torch for him going back to their childhood. Who murdered the doctor?
What was the motive? Can Poiret solve the difficult case? Only Dame Agatha Christie the Queen of Crime knows for sure until you become a sleuth utilizing your little gray cells in the company of Poirot. Have fun!

"I Cannot Grieve for my Dead..."
As with many of Agatha Christie's later books, her famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot has a minor part to play in "The Hollow". He does not appear until over halfway through the book, and even his methods of detection are considerably downplayed. There is no baffled Hastings in tow, no enigmatic comments sprinkled to onlookers, no triumphant denouncement; here it's as though he's so confident of reaching a solution that he doesn't even need to lift a finger, and Poirot is content to sit back and let the suspects come to him.

Instead of a straight-forward whodunit, "The Hollow" ends up being one of Christie's most in-depth character studies. There is no jealous mistress, lecherous doctor, bitter wife, but rather several of the most finely-nuanced individuals of any Christie mystery, who interact in realistic and complex ways. The effect is a mystery that is rather sobering, simply because the lives and personalities of the characters deepen the reader's investment, and the stakes are that much higher as the conclusion looms closer. Rather than looking forward to the solution, it is a sense of dread that permeates the proceedings.

The Hollow is the grand, but rather cold, estate of upright Sir Henry and his wife Lady Angkatell. For a weekend visit they gather together various family members: John Cristow, a brilliant, charismatic doctor and his submissive, meek little wife Gerda, as well as Henrietta Savernake, a talented sculptress who is John's secret mistress, Midge Hardcastle, who hates working in a cheap dress shop, and the hapless Edward Angkatell, who is all set to inherit Ainswick, the country house that means so much to so many of those gathered at the Hollow.

Their quiet family gathering is interrupted by the sudden appearance of the actress Veronica Crale, as beautiful as she is egotistical, who spirits away John into the night after a request for matches and a demand for an escort home again. John does not return until three the following morning.

I doubt it can be considered a spoiler to say that John is found dead the next morning. After an altercation with his one-night-stand, he is found bleeding into the swimming pool. Standing over him is Gerda, the gun in her hand and a stunned expression on her face. Around the body are several of the weekend guests, horror-struck and helpless, but John manages to utter one last word before he dies. It is this scene that Poirot is ushered to, and he is immediately stuck by the staged atmosphere.

The mystery unfolds at a slow but careful pace, with each character's alibi considered less important than their motivation. Many have reason to kill John Cristow, none more obviously than his wife, but as clues and leads continue to lead the police on a merry dance, Poirot's patient investigation inevitably begins to shed light on the proceedings. As Christie explains: "That was how he saw it: a pattern. A design of intermingled emotions and the clash of personalities. A strange involved design, with dark threads of hate and desire running through it."

Altogether, "The Hollow" is one of my favorite Christie mysteries, precisely because of the richness of the characters and their lives. Though they are not necessarily likable, Christie makes them fascinatingly understandable. The dissatisfaction each has with their lives, bordering on despair in some cases (and alleviated only by the fairy-like, though rather unsettling Lady Angkatell) and their tangled array of relationships and emotions makes this a mystery that is carried very much by human psychology rather than convoluted plans to lay hands on the family fortune.

Likewise, there is a cold, eerie atmosphere at work that gets under your skin: the only real point of light in the proceedings is everyone's fond regard for Ainswick. Yet even as it is regarded as a warm, peaceful reminder from each character's childhood, the reader never sees it for themselves. The style and pacing is slower than usual; dreamy and pensive, quiet and subtle.

It's not perfect (I'm not sure what the point of David Angkatell was), but as others have said, this is more than a novel than a mystery, and is carried wonderfully by four intriguing female characters. "The Hollow" is a must for anyone trying to experience the wide range of Christie's work.

Gun in the swimming pool; the murder weapon?
4 of 5 stars for the Audio Book of The Hollow: A Hercule Poirot Mystery. Agatha Christie's chief detective Hercule Poirot arrives at a garden party in a community called The Hollow. At the moment of his arrival he finds a dead man with several people standing around one with a gun in her hand. Immediately she throws the gun into the near-by swimming pool. So much for fingerprints on the murder weapon; or is it the murder weapon? As with all of the Poirot stories, they are set in the 1930 or 1940's and are filled with character details and dialog. There's no "tech" in these stories, Poirot simply uses his "little grey cells" to ask, listen, understand, process and analyze all he learns. Eventually, he finds enough of the hidden truth to determine "who dun-it". A good solid and fun Poirot story. Well worth the time.

I HATE this book
Christie experiments a lot, I admit that.

But the final was disappointing.

Why idolize John?He was a selfish guy and an adulterer.

Good riddance, I'd say. No wonder he got killed.

Poor Gerda.. requiescat in pace.

"The Hollow" Review
This book was in mint condition and quite reasonably priced. I would buy from this dealer again. ... Read more