Curtain: ​Poirot's Last Case

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 - 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 - The ​Listerdale Mystery
After ​Mr St Vincent’s death, his family are plunged into poverty. Living in reduced circumstances their lives change when they find an elegant town house with staff, for a suspiciously cheap rent. Why would Lord Listerdale rent his home out for such a low price and why are the staff so accommodating?

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 - 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 - 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 - The ​Murder at the Vicarage
“Anyone ​who murdered Colonel Protheroe would be doing the world at large a service.” Reverend Clement The tranquillity of St Mary Mead is shattered when Lucius Protheroe is found dead. A thoroughly unpleasant character, there is no shortage of suspects with a motive for murder. Could it have been his unfaithful wife? Her artist lover? The daughter, set to inherit? Or even the mild-mannered vicar? Inspector Slack is at a loss. Perhaps Miss Jane Marple, the local village busybody, can help...

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 - The ​Hound of Death
Twelve ​unexplained phenomena with no apparent earthly explanation… A dog-shaped gunpowder mark; an omen from ‘the other side’; a haunted house; a chilling séance; a case of split personalities; a recurring nightmare; an eerie wireless message; an elderly lady’s hold over a young man; a disembodied cry of ‘murder’; a young man’s sudden amnesia; a levitation experience; a mysterious SOS. To discover the answers, delve into the supernatural storytelling of Agatha Christie… ‘Twelve thrilling, chilling, mysteries.’ Observer

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - Cat ​Among the Pigeons
Late ​one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion, while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of the unpopular games mistress - shot through the heart from point blank range. The school is thrown into chaos when the 'cat' strikes again. Unfortunately, schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much. In particular, she knows that without Hercule Poirot's help, she will be the next victim...

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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