After ​the Funeral

Agatha Christie - Sparkling ​Cyanide
At ​a round table in the Luxembourg nightclub six people sit down to dinner at a table laid for seven. In front of the empty place is a sprig of rosemary – in solemn memory of Rosemary Barton who died at the same table exactly one year previously. No one present on that fateful night would ever forget the woman’s face, contorted beyond recognition – or what they remembered about her astonishing life. But which of those present has the murder of Rosemary Barton on their conscience?

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 - 4.50 ​from Paddington
A ​friend of Miss Marple claims to have seen a murder committed on a passing train, but the police dismiss it, as no body has been found in the train or surrounding area, so the two women begin an investigation of their own.

Agatha Christie - Cards ​on the Table
A ​facsimile first edition hardback of the Poirot book, introducing Ariadne Oliver in Christie’s exemplary ‘murder in a locked room’ scenario. 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!

Agatha Christie - Death ​on the Nile
Linnet ​Ridgeway and Simon Doyle are being stalked by Simon’s furious ex, Jackie. So hell bent on taking revenge for the way she’d been treated she follows them all the way on their honeymoon to Egypt, aboard a steam cruiser travelling along the Nile. They are however not the only holidaymakers aboard the vessel, a certain Hercule Poirot attempts a relaxing cruise, only to be drawn into the threesome’s feud when Linette Ridgeway is found shot to death in her sleep.

Agatha Christie - Murder ​on the Orient Express
Travelling ​on the Orient Express, Poirot is approached by a desperate American named Ratchett. Afraid that someone plans to kill him, Ratchett asks Poirot for help. Sadly the very next day Ratchett's worst fears become reality, when he is found dead in his cabin, a victim of multiple stab wounds. With nothing but a scrap of paper to go on, Poirot must piece together Ratchett’s identity before he can establish which of his fellow passengers murdered him.

Agatha Christie - The ​Murder on the Links
I ​BELIEVE that a well-known anecdote exiats fco 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 "Heu said the Duchess." Strangely enough, this tale of mine opens in much the same fashion. Only the lady who gave utterance to the exclamation was not a duchess. It was a day in early June. I had been transacting some business in Paris and waa refcurning by the morning aervice to London, where I was still sharing rooms with my old friend, the Belgian ex-detective, Hercule Poirot.

Agatha Christie - The ​Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Roger ​Ackroyd was a man who knew too much. He knew the woman he loved had poisoned her first husband. He knew someone was blackmailing her – and now he knew she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. The one thing he didn’t know was the identity of the mystery blackmailer… But the evening post brought Roger this last scrap of information. But before he’d finished reading the letter, Roger was dead – stabbed through the neck where he sat in his study… ‘A classic – the book has worthily earned its fame.’ Irish Independent

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - Hallowe'en ​Party
At ​a Hallowe’en party, Joyce – a hostile thirteen-year-old – boasts she once witnessed a murder. When no-one believes her, she storms off home. Within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the ‘evil presence’. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer … ‘A thundering success… a triumph for Hercule Poirot.’ Daily Mirror

Agatha Christie - By ​the Pricking of My Thumbs
In ​the nursing home where Tommy Beresford's aunt Ada now lives, fellow resident Mrs. Lancaster stirs up worry among those in charge with her bizarre, disjointed ramblings about 'your poor child' and 'something behind the fireplace'. Intrigued, Tommy and his wife Tuppence, who are now in their sixties, conduct an investigation that leads them down some dark and dangerous paths, and possibly into a confrontation with a child killer...

Agatha Christie - Murder ​in Mesopotamia
It ​was clear to Amy Leatheran that something sinister was going on at the Hassanieh dig; something associated with the presence of ‘Lovely Louise’, wife of celebrated archaeologist Dr Leidner. In a few days’ time Hercule Poirot was due to drop in at the excavation site. But with Louise suffering from terrifying hallucinations, and tension within the group becoming almost unbearable, Poirot might just be too late… ‘Smooth, highly original and completely absorbing.’ New York Times

Agatha Christie - Partners ​in Crime
Tommy ​and Tuppence Beresford are restless for adventure, so when they are asked to take over Blunt's International Detective Agency, they leap at the chance. Their first case is a success - the triumphant recovery of a pink pearl. Other cases soon follow - a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates, But can they live up to their slogan of 'Any case solved in 24 hours'?

Agatha Christie - Ordeal ​By Innocence
According ​to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker. The sentence was life imprisonment. But when Dr Arthur Calgary arrives with the proof that confirms Jacko's innocence, it is too late - Jacko died behind bars following a bout of pneumonia. Worse still, the doctor's revelations re-open old wounds in the family, increasing the likelihood that the real murderer could strike again... "Family tensions and suspicions are adroitly handled, and the solution is characteristically surprising." - _New York Times_

Agatha Christie - Miss ​Marple's Final Cases
Despite ​the title, the stories collected here recount cases from the middle of Miss Marple's career. They are: "Sanctuary"; "Strange Jest"; "Tape-Measure Murder"; "The Case of the Caretaker"; "The Case of the Perfect Maid"; "Miss Marple Tells a Story"; "The Dressmaker's Doll"; "In a Glass Darkly"; "Greenshaw's Folly".

Agatha Christie - Murder ​is Easy
Luke ​Fitzwilliam could not believe Miss Pinkerton's wild allegation. She claimed that a multiple murderer was at work in the quiet English village of Wychwood and speculated that the local doctor was next in line. But within hours, Miss Pinkerton is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Mere coincidence? Luke was inclined to think so until he read in The Times of the unexpected demise of Dr Humbleby!

Agatha Christie - The ​Thirteen Problems
The ​Tuesday Night Club gathers at Miss Marple’s house where the conversation turns to unsolved crimes… As each of her guests is mystified by the sinister tales they tell one another, there is a ruthless precision in Miss Marple’s pursuit of the killers…and a few surprises in store for ‘The Tuesday Night Club’. ‘The plots are so good that one marvels… most of them would have made a full-length thriller.’ Daily Mirror