Agatha Christie Crime Collection: Sparkling Cyanide / The Secret of Chimneys / Five little Pigs

by Agatha Christie

Genres: Mystery, Agatha Christie, Fiction

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1970

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Fred Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m currently in a project to read or reread all of Agatha Christie’s novels in chronological order. "Five Little Pigs" is one I’d never heard of, and it’s an absolute diamond among a excellent series of novels. Christie uses the device of relating a murder from the viewpoints of the five people involved in it. The characterizations are wonderful, and the plot is at once simple and complex. Like other books by Christie, the title is based on a nursery rhyme. “This little piggy goes to market” is a stockbroker. “This little piggy stayed home” is the stockbroker’s older brother who lives the life of a country gentleman, and so on. The final pages are not the neat wrap-up we expect from detective fiction, but rather like a poorly ended relationship.

[Leona Farris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Big fan of Agatha. Just read The Five Little Pigs.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say, it is Agatha Christie. I only read Sparkling Cyanide; my edition didn't have other books included. I've read it before, but didn't remember the solution and didn't figure it out, either. Sagged a little in the beginning -- a great, fun read but not the absolute best by A.C.

[Catsalive · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/7...

Sparkling Cyanide : 8/10 : read 2009, 2016

The Secret of Chimneys : 8/10 : read 2012, 2016

Five Little Pigs : 9/10 : read 2012, 2106