Agatha Christie
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"Each author captures Christie—and Marple—perfectly, while also displaying just a bit of her own unique touch. . . . This new and entertaining collection by some of our favorite writers will hook a new group of readers to the formidable Miss Marple." — Rhys Bowen, Washington Post
"Marple is the best loved [detective]. Also the most influential. . . . It
...Mr. Satterthwaite and Colonel Melrose are comfortably ensconced in the Colonel's study when the phone suddenly rings. Someone has been murdered, and, as the county chief constable, the Colonel lets Satterthwaite accompany him to the scene of the crime. The two of them have opposing opinions on why Sir James Dwighton has been bashed over the head with a blunt instrument. Rumor had it that red-haired beauty Laura Dwighton and her guest, the very
...The recently married Alix Martin is obsessed with a recurring dream of her new husband's murder. Each time she can see the murderer clearly, and it's the mild-mannered man she had previously been engaged to, taking his revenge. But, what's worse is that at the end of the dream she thanks the murderer. Perplexed, Alix tries to calm herself by spending time in the garden of her picturesque cottage. But her gardener confuses her further by wishing
...When a six-foot-tall tan giant of man comes into Albert Blunt's International Detective agency, Tommy and Tuppence—married couple and detective aficionados—are in for a treat. Not only has Mr. Stavansson emerged after a two-year Arctic adventure, but he's lost his fiancée Hermione too. What telegrams and scraps of information Tommy and Tuppence can gather are all the hope the adventurer has in finding her. But this information
...October on the island of Rhodes is a veritable paradise of privacy, beauty, and calm—or so Hercule Poirot has imagined. The reality is quite different, as the arrival of famed Chanel beauty Valentine Chantry causes a ripple of malice to be felt across the island. She captivates at least one married man with her wiles and good looks, as her brooding husband watches on. Poirot senses that someone has murder in their heart, and he guesses right.
...Just as boredom is setting in on his long trip by motor coach across the desert to Baghdad, Mr. Parker Pyne reads about the case of the missing Mr. Long, the famous defaulting financier who, as the papers would have it, is in South America. Another member of his party, Captain Smethurst, tells Pyne that he is worried about something. But before he can tell Pyne what it is, he is found dead, with no visible wound. Pyne must piece together what happened
...8) The Dream
Hercule Poirot is reluctant to answer a letter demanding his services by the reclusive and eccentric millionaire Benedict Farley. Farley wants him to diagnose his recurring dream of death, in which he shoots himself at precisely 3:28 p.m. Then, a week after dismissing Poirot, the dream becomes real. Each member of the Farley household that Poirot questions seems to be more puzzled than the one before. Was Benedict Farley's death a suicide, or are
...9) Sanctuary
Bunch, engrossed in her flower arrangements for the church, is placing the chrysanthemums when she sees a man crumpled over on the chancel steps, dying. The man can only utter one word, "sanctuary." No one at the vicarage understands what he means, and nothing can be done to stop his death. But, when his relatives promptly arrive to pick up his possessions, Bunch can't get the word out of her head. She knows just who to turn to, her godmother,
...Major Hastings and Hercule Poirot are not interested in the mystery of the Spanish Chest, which has been reported in the papers so often that it seems to be an entirely closed case. But, when Hastings persuades Poirot to attend a fabulous party given by Lady Chatterton, they discover someone sequestered upstairs who is desperate for their help. Will the contents of a dead man's pockets reveal to the inscrutable eye of Hercule Poirot who the culprit
...The rather disgruntled pair of Tommy and Tuppence are sequestered in the Grand Adlington Hotel, having made a pig's ear out of their latest case. But, while mournfully sipping cocktails, with Tommy oddly dressed as a parson, they are gleefully accosted by their old acquaintance Mr. Bulger, who has London's most beautiful stage actress, Gilda Glen, in tow. Featherbrained and a little confused, Gilda takes Tommy for a real clergyman and scrawls out
...Hercule Poirot is about to tuck into a very traditional English supper with his old friend Bonnington when a lone diner sparks his interest. Like clockwork, the man has eaten at the restaurant on Thursdays and Tuesdays for the last ten years, but no one on the staff knows his name. When "Old Father Time," as they have fondly nicknamed him, suddenly stops coming, Poirot believes that he might have picked up the one essential clue that could shed
...James has found himself at the fashionable resort Kimpton-on-Sea, all due to the persuasion of his girlfriend Grace, who during the last few months of their courtship has become more difficult to deal with. Among the upper echelons of society, including the Rajah of Maraputna, James feels disgruntled and out of place. Eager to both irritate and win over Grace, James bypasses the queue to the changing rooms and ducks into the private huts on the
...14) The Red Signal
At a séance, Sir Alington, a venerable expert of the mental condition, is pestered by Mrs. Eversleigh about the importance of the sixth sense. Soon, a young man named Dermot is drawn in and tells them both about the sixth sense he experiences, a red signal that spells danger. He is about to tell them of the last time he saw the red signal when he stops himself. The last time he had the signal was earlier that very evening. But how could there
...When Mr. Satterthwaite visits a new exhibit at the Harchester Galleries, there is one painting that bears an unusual likeness to a mysterious acquaintance of his, Mr. Quin. In one bold move he purchases the canvas on the spot, and in another invites the artist of "The Dead Harlequin" to dine with him that night, with an empty place at the table set for Mr. Quin. Dinner conversation soon turns to the setting of "The Dead Harlequin," the doomed and
...16) Strange Jest
Miss Marple is accosted at a party by a pair of lovebirds who think that a lately deceased uncle has buried their inheritance. The naïve pair expects Miss Marple to instantaneously summon forth where the buried treasure is. But, this careful observer of human nature—the consequence of living in a small English village—knows that a little examination is needed. Invited to Ansteys, the ransacked family seat, Miss Marple ensconces
...Throwing on an almost convincing French accent, Tommy is determined to act the Great Detective Hanaud to his and Tuppence's latest, lovely client. Miss Hargreaves has recently received a box of chocolates from nobody knows who, and, due to her dislike of chocolates, was the only one to not fall afoul of the arsenic-spiked treats. But, Miss Hargreaves is not the first recipient of such a gift; three other large country houses have received arsenic-laced
...Waiting for his car to be fixed, Mr. Satterthwaite sits in a tea shop called the Harlequin café, thinking of his friend Harley Quin, whom he hasn't seen in many years. Then, in a burst of sunshine, the very same Mr. Quin walks through the door, along with his diligent dog, Hermes. Satterthwaite is telling him the very long history of the family he is off to visit, when their conversation is interrupted by the abrupt entrance of a member of
...Doctor Haydock, the resident GP of St. Mary Mead, hopes to cheer up Miss Marple as she recovers from the flu with a little story. The tale revolves around the return of the prodigal son of Major Laxton, the devilishly handsome Harry Laxton. Harry, after leading a life of childish indiscretions and falling head over heels for the village tobacconist's daughter, has made good and returned to lay claim to his tumbling childhood home and introduce
...When wealthy spinster Emily French is found murdered, suspicion falls on Leonard Vole, the man to whom she hastily bequeathed her riches before she died. Leonard assures the investigators that his wife, Romaine Heilger, can provide them with an alibi. However, when questioned, Romaine informs the police that Vole returned home late that night covered in blood. During the trial, Ms. French's housekeeper, Janet, gives damning evidence against Vole,
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