Book Preview It was very cold. The sky was dark and heavy with unshed snow. A man in a dark overcoat, with his muffler pulled up round his face, and his hat pulled down over his eyes, came along Culver Street and went up the steps of number 74. He put his finger on the … Read more
Book Preview One CROW’S NEST Mr. Satterthwaite sat on the terrace of “Crow’s Nest” and watched his host, Sir Charles Cartwright, climbing up the path from the sea. Crow’s Nest was a modern bungalow of the better type. It had no half-timbering, no gables, no excrescences dear to a third-class builder’s heart. It was a … Read more
Book Preview One Hercule Poirot was sitting at the breakfast table. At his right hand was a steaming cup of chocolate. He had always had a sweet tooth. To accompany the chocolate was a brioche. It went agreeably with chocolate. He nodded his approval. This was from the fourth shop he had tried. It was … Read more
Book Preview One Mrs. Van Rydock moved a little back from the mirror and sighed. “Well, that’ll have to do,” she murmured. “Think it’s all right, Jane?” Miss Marple eyed the Lanvanelli creation appraisingly. “It seems to me a very beautiful gown,” she said. “The gown’s all right,” said Mrs. Van Rydock and sighed. “Take … Read more
Book Preview One I Captain Crosbie came out of the bank with the pleased air of one who has cashed a cheque and has discovered that there is just a little more in his account than he thought there was. Captain Crosbie often looked pleased with himself. He was that kind of man. In figure … Read more
Book Preview THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION “The Witness for the Prosecution” was first published in the USA as “Traitor Hands” in Flynn’s Weekly, 31 January 1925. Mr. Mayherne adjusted his pince-nez and cleared his throat with a little dry-as-dust cough that was wholly typical of him. Then he looked again at the man opposite … Read more
Book Preview “The Under Dog” was first published in the USA in Mystery Magazine, 1 April 1926, then in London Magazine, October 1926. Lily Margrave smoothed her gloves out on her knee with a nervous gesture, and darted a glance at the occupant of the big chair opposite her. She had heard of M. Hercule … Read more
Book Preview Chapter 1 The Tuesday Night Club ‘Unsolved mysteries.’ Raymond West blew out a cloud of smoke and repeated the words with a kind of deliberate self-conscious pleasure. ‘Unsolved mysteries.’ He looked round him with satisfaction. The room was an old one with broad black beams across the ceiling and it was furnished with … Read more
Book Preview Major Burnaby drew on his gum boots, buttoned his overcoat collar round his neck, took from a shelf near the door a hurricane lantern, and cautiously opened the front door of his little bungalow and peered out. The scene that met his eyes was typical of the English countryside as depicted on Xmas … Read more
Book Preview Things that everybody knows about Agatha Christie: she produced a lot of books that still outsell the competition; she was the greatest plotter of the classic detective story; she did a vanishing act and turned up amnesiac in Harrogate, identified by the banjo player in the hotel band; she wrote the longest-running play … Read more
Book Preview “Why, if it isn’t old Jimmy McGrath.” Castle’s Select Tour, represented by seven depressed-looking females and three perspiring males, looked on with considerable interest. Evidently their Mr. Cade had met an old friend. They all admired Mr. Cade so much, his tall lean figure, his suntanned face, the lighthearted manner with which he … Read more
Book Preview Tommy and Tuppence: An Introduction “Tuppence, old bean.” This exchange from The Secret Adversary (1922) introduces Agatha Christie readers to the detective team of Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. This light-hearted banter sets the tone not just for this book but also for the future novels and short stories in the series; although calling … Read more
Book Preview I was in Paris when Parfitt, my man, came to me and said that a lady had called to see me. She said, he added, that it was very important. I had formed by then the habit of never seeing people without an appointment. People who call to see you about urgent business … Read more
Book Preview “The Regatta Mystery” was first published as “Poirot and the Regatta Mystery” in the USA in the Chicago Tribune, 3 May 1936, and then in Strand Magazine, June 1936. It first appeared in its current form in the American book The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories, published by Dodd, Mead, June 1939. Mr. … Read more
Book Preview Foreword by Mark Easterbrook There are two methods, it seems to me, of approaching this strange business of the Pale Horse. In spite of the dictum of the White King, it is difficult to achieve simplicity. One cannot, that is to say, “Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, and then … Read more
Book Preview Foreword The Mr Quin stories were not written as a series. They were written one at a time at rare intervals. Mr Quin, I consider, is an epicure’s taste. A set of Dresden figures on my mother’s mantelpiece fascinated me as a child and afterwards. They represented the Italian commedia dell’arte: Harlequin, Columbine, … Read more
Book Preview About Agatha Christie Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English and another billion in 100 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. … Read more
Book Preview One A FELLOW TRAVELLER I believe that a well-known anecdote exists to the effect that a young writer, determined to make the commencement of his story forcible and original enough to catch and rivet the attention of the most blasé of editors, penned the following sentence: “‘Hell!’ said the Duchess.” Strangely enough, this … Read more