First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond … then came the ‘suicide’ that was murder … the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat … a suspicious death in a locked gun-room … a million dollar bond robbery … the curse of a pharoah’s tomb … a jewel robbery by the sea … the abduction of a Prime Minister … the disappearance of a banker … a phone call from a dying man … and, finally, the mystery of the missing will.
What links these fascinating cases? Only the brilliant deductive powers of Hercule Poirot!
‘A capital collection … ingeniously constructed, and told with an engaging lightness of style.’
Literary Review
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Agatha Christie - The Clocks
Volume 64 in the Agatha Christie Collection (1963) Limited edition of 1000 copies worldwide 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...
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
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 - 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 - The Murder on the Links
A crime novel featuring Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who travels to France following an urgent plea for help from a client, but he arrives late and the client is found dead. Before Poirot can begin to assess the clues, a second corpse is found, murdered in the same way as his client.
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 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - The Big Four
Alone, each was formidable. Together, they were virtually invincible. A brilliant Chinese man, an American millionaire, a French scientist and an elusive master of disguise: the big four join together to plot a criminal conspiracy that shocks even Poirot. As he tracks them down it becomes ever more apparent that this could be his final, fatal case!
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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - Murder in the Mews
Murder, stolen plans, a mysterious death and a menage a trois - four intriguing novellas featuring Hercule Poirot...How did a woman holding a pistol in her right hand manage to shoot herself in the left temple? What was the link between a ghost sighting and the disappearance of top secert military plans? How did the bullet that killed Sir Gervase shatter a mirror in another part of the room? And who destroyed the 'eternal triangle' of love involving renowned beauty, Valentine Chantry? Hercule Poirot is faced with four mystifying cases - Murder in the Mews, The Incredible Theft, Dead Man's Mirror and Triangle at Rhodes - each a miniature classic of characterisation, incident and suspense.
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 - After the Funeral
When Cora is savagely murdered, the extraordinary remark she made the previous day at her brother funeral takes on a chilling significance. At the reading of Richard's will, Cora was clearly heard to say, "It's been hushed up very nicely, hasn't it...But he was murdered, wasn't he?" In desperation, the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel what happened next ...
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 - 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