Hallowe'en ​Party

Agatha Christie - Dead ​Man's Folly
Sir ​George and Lady Stubbs, the hosts of a village fete, hit upon the novel idea of staging a mock murder mystery. In good faith, Ariadne Oliver, the well known crime writer, agrees to organise the murder hunt. Despite weeks of meticulous planning, at the last minute Ariadne calls her friend Hercule Poirot for his expert assistance. Instinctively, she senses that something sinister is about to happen...

Agatha Christie - Taken ​at the Flood
A ​few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed in the London blitz and overnight the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterwards, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law, who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs Underhay's first husband is still alive. Yet what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him.

Agatha Christie - The ​ABC Murders
There’s ​a serial killer on the loose, murdering his victims in alphabetical order. As a macabre calling card he leaves beside each victim’s corpse the ABC Railway Guide open at the name of the town where the murder has taken place. With the whole country in a state of panic, and growing more confident with each successful execution – Mrs Ascher in Andover, Betty Barnard in Bexhill, Carmichael Larke in Churston – the murderer’s trail of deliberate clues taunts the proud Poirot. Which might just be his first mistake… ‘A masterwork of carefully concealed artifice… most stunningly original.’ Julian Symons

Agatha Christie - Curtain: ​Poirot's Last Case
The ​crime-fighting careers of Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings have come full circle - they are back once again in the rambling country house in which they solved their first murder together. Both Poirot and Great Styles have seen better days - but despite being crippled with arthritis, there is nothing wrong with the great detective's 'little grey cells'. However, when Poirot brands one of the seemingly harmless guests a five-times murderer, some people have their doubts. But Poirot alone knows he must prevent a sixth murder before the curtain falls...

Agatha Christie - Hercule ​Poirot's Christmas
It ​is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. But when Hercule Poirot offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning, but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man...

Agatha Christie - Problem ​at Pollensa Bay
All ​great crime writers have their favourite creations. Similarly, every great sleuth has their own preferred method of deduction. Take the charming Parker Pyne, who relies upon an intuitive knowledge of human nature to solve the Problem at Pollensa Bay. Or Mr Satterthwaite, who seeks inspiration through his collaboration with the enigmatic Mr Quin in The Harlequin Tea Set mystery. Then, of course, there’s Poirot, whose measured analysis of motive and opportunity is tested to the full in Yellow Iris, when he receives an anonymous call about a matter of life and death… ‘The acknowledged queen of detective fiction.’ Observer

Agatha Christie - The ​Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
An ​English country house at Christmas? Time should be the perfect place to get away from it all - but nothing is ever simple for Hercule Poirot, as he find not one but five baffling cases to solve. First comes a sinister warning on his pillow to avoid the plum pudding... then the discovery of a corpse in a chest... next, an overheard quarrel that leads to murder... the strange case of a dead... man's eating habits... and the puzzle of a victim who dreams of his own suicide.

Agatha Christie - Towards ​Zero
What ​is the connection between a failed suicide attempt, a wrongful accusation of theft against a schoolgirl, and the romantic life of a tennis player? To the casual observer, apparently nothing. When a houseparty gathers at Gull's Point, the seaside home of an elderly widow, earlier events come to a dramatic head.

Agatha Christie - Five ​Little Pigs
Amyas ​Crale's passion for painting and women made him famous. His murder made him infamous. Sixteen years earlier his jealous wife was tried, convicted and sentenced to life for a notorious slaying. Now their daughter Carla, a young woman convinced her mother is innocent, has presented Hercule Poirot with a brilliant challenge: to clear her mother's name by returning to the scene of the murder and finding the fatal flaw in the perfect crime.

Agatha Christie - Peril ​at End House
Hercule ​Poirot’s relaxing holiday on the Cornish coast takes an unexpected turn when he meets young and pretty Nick Buckley. For it seems to Poirot that someone is trying to kill Nick and he determines that she needs his protection. But even hiding her away in a nursing home does not prevent another attempt on Nick’s life and Poirot has to resort to subterfuge and cunning to solve this tricky case.

Agatha Christie - The ​Mysterious Affair at Styles
Invalided ​home from the First World War, Lieutenant Hastings finds himself in a convalescent home very much to his disliking. Thankfully his old friend John Cavendish invites him to spend the rest of his sick leave at his family home. The beautiful Styles Court is home to John’s step mother Mrs Inglethorpe, and her new husband Alfred. Despite the tranquil surroundings Hastings begins to realise that all is not right. When Mrs Inglethorpe is found poisoned a murder investigation begins, and who better to investigate than war refugee Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgian detective.

Agatha Christie - Lord ​Edgware Dies
Poirot ​had been present when Jane bragged of her plan to ‘get rid of’ her estranged husband. Now the monstrous man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn’t help feeling that he was being taken for a ride. After all, how could Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally granted her a divorce? ‘The whole case is a triumph of Poirot’s special qualities.’ Times Literary Supplement

Agatha Christie - Sad ​Cypress
Beautiful, ​young Elinor Carlisle stands serenely in the dock accused of the murder of Mary Gerrard, her rival in love. The evidence is damning: only Elinor had the motive, the opportunity and the means to administer the fatal poison. Yet, inside the hostile courtroom, one man still presumes Elinor is innocent until proven guilty; Hercule Poirot is all that stands between Elinor and the gallows...

Agatha Christie - One, ​Two, Buckle My Shoe
Even ​the great Poirot harbours a deep and abiding fear of the dentist, so it is with trepidation that he arrives at the celebrated Dr Morley’s surgery for an examination. Yet even Poirot couldn’t have guessed that only hours later he would be examining the dentist, dead in his surgery – an apparent suicide. Why would a successful dentist choose to kill himself on such a busy day? Poirot turns to the other patients for answers – but only finds other, darker questions. ‘A swift course of unflagging suspense leads to complete surprise.’ New York Times

Agatha Christie - Sleeping ​Murder
Soon ​after Gwenda moved into her new home, odd things started to happen. Despite her best efforts to modernise the house, she only succeeded in dredging up its past. Worse, she felt an irrational sense of terror every time she climbed the stairs. In fear, Gwenda turns to Jane Marple to exorcise her ghosts. Between them, they are faced with having to solve a "perfect" crime committed many years before. "A puzzle that is tortuous, surprising and finally satisfying." _Sunday Express_

Agatha Christie - The ​Body in the Library
It's ​seven in the morning. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library. She is wearing evening dress and heavy make-up, which is now smeared across her cheeks. But who is she? How did she get there? And what is the connection with another dead girl, whose charred remains are later discovered in an abandoned quarry? The respectable Bantrys invite Jane Marple to solve the mystery... before tongues start to wag.

Agatha Christie - At ​Bertram's Hotel
When ​Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she's looking for at Bertram's Hotel: traditional decor, impeccable service and memories of childhood. What she doesn't expect is the unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Yet, not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric guest makes his way to the airport on the wrong day...

Agatha Christie - Elephants ​Can Remember
Hercule ​Poirot stood on the cliff-top. Once, many years earlier, there had been a tragic accident. This was followed by the grisly discovery of two more bodies – a husband and wife – shot dead. But who had killed whom? Was it a suicide pact? A crime of passion? Or cold-blooded murder? Poirot delves back into the past and discovers that ‘old sins leave long shadows’. ‘Splendid… she tells us all we want to know and nothing that is irrelevant.’ The Times

Agatha Christie - Poirot's ​Early Cases
Poirot's ​Early Cases was published in 1974. It includes the following short stories: The Affair at the Victory Ball, The Adventure of the Clapham Cook, The Cornish Mystery, The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly, The Double Clue, The King of Clubs, The LeMesurier Inheritance, The Lost Mine, The Plymouth Express, The Chocolate Box, The Submarine Plans, Third Floor Flat, Double Sin, The Market Basing Mystery, Wasp's Nest, The Veiled Lady, Problem at Sea and How Does Your Garden Grow?

Agatha Christie - While ​the Light Lasts
A ​macabre recurring dream … revenge against a blackmailer … jealousy, infidelity and a tortured conscience … a stolen gemstone … the haunting attraction of an ancient relic … a race against time … a tragic love triangle … a body in a box … an unexpected visitor from beyond the grave… Nine quintessential examples of Agatha Christie’s brilliance are contained in this new collection of early short stories – including the very first one she ever wrote – and provide a unique glimpse of the Queen of Crime in the making. ‘Probably the best suspicion scatterer and diverter in the business.’ New York Herald Tribune