AGATHA CHRISTIE Premium Collection: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Secret Adversary, The Murder on the Links, The Cornish Mystery, Hercule Poirot's Cases

by Agatha Christie

This ebook collection contains the following works of Agatha Christie:

The Mysterious Affair At Styles
The Secret Adversary
The Murder On The Links
The Man in the Brown Suit
The Secret of Chimneys
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
The Adventure of the “Western Star”
The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
The Mystery of the Hunter’s Lodge
The Kidnapped Prime Minister
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
The Case of the Missing Will
The Chocolate Box
The Veiled Lady
The Lost Mine
The Affair at the Victory Ball
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
The Cornish Mystery
The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
The Double Clue
The King of Clubs
The Lemesurier Inheritance
The Plymouth Express
The Submarine Plans
The Market Basing Mystery
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

Genres: Mystery, Agatha Christie, Classics, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Collections, Cozy Mystery

1909 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 23, 2012

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

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this is just a smorgasbord of some of Agatha Christie's best stories.
Anyone who is looking to sample her different detectives could do a lot worse than this collection.
I've added links with reviews to each story listed for anyone who is interested.



The Mysterious Affair At Styles
The Secret Adversary
The Murder On The Links
The Man in the Brown Suit
The Secret of Chimneys
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
The Adventure of the “Western Star”
The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
The Mystery of the Hunter’s Lodge
The Kidnapped Prime Minister
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
The Case of the Missing Will
The Chocolate Box
The Veiled Lady
The Lost Mine
The Affair at the Victory Ball
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
The Cornish Mystery
The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
The Double Clue
The King of Clubs
The Lemesurier Inheritance
The Plymouth Express
The Submarine Plans
The Market Basing Mystery
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I've read almost all Agatha's novels, I'm somehow disappointed with some of her plots, the significant number of coincidences and the length of stories.
Nonetheless, her writings are head and shoulders above many others, so the fourth star is more than deserved...

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three stars for the 99 cent price of this kindle book. Some of the stories are not so great. I have not finished reading everything in this collection and may not, but it is a good thing to have on your kindle in between books. Some of the stories that were published in magazines creak like old stuff found in grandmother's attic.

update 1/2020
I have managed to read the thousand pages - visiting the book in between other books and on train rides, etc. and I really enjoyed the inventive Poirot stories. All in all...how can you go wrong for the price?!

[Philip Kase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too Late to be So Late

Thank goodness for Amazon, Goodreads, and a little tablet named "Fire." Ms. Christie, you have a new admirer and yet an old one. I hope there are enough years left in me to read all of your delightful mysteries and plays. I thought I would read this collection at bedtime to fall asleep. THAT DIDN'T WORK! I pray that I be allowed to meet you in the hereafter to thank you myself for your wonderful "yarn- spinnin'."

[Nev March · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lovely collection. heart warming and life affirming

I read Christie’s stories over again every few years, just to enjoy her ingenious puzzles and the charm of her writing. Nothing too deep here, but alls well in the world.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

For a first book, it's already well formed in most ways including the style and weapons used by Agatha Christie in her works. There's a slight whiff of the duo - Poirot and Hastings - being a takeoff, but the characters are so different from those of Holmes and his companion, the whiff remains that. There's some device necessary, after all, so the author explains the workings of the detection.

Quite a complicated mystery, as usual with Agatha Christie.

November 09, 2020 - March 2021.
......

The Secret Adversary

This one begins with a quiet explosion in the mind of a reader well acquainted with history, in that the story begins on board Lusitania as it was sinking. There's a mysterious important package changing hands as a young girl is about to board a lifeboat.

But almost immediately that mystery is rushed behind curtains, and we are introduced to Tommy and Tuppence, a most delightful young pair. Decades ago when one read a great deal of this author, one did come across this pair, but one suspects this is the first time one is introduced to them, so to speak. Inspector Japp one remembers.

The mystery and chase and suspense are first rate, and one waits for explanations about the missing package, which come in small doses. But after the unsatisfactory roundabout concerning a treaty, there never is an explanation of precisely just how a wartime draft of a treaty was to be disastrous for U.K. and had Russian criminal minds pushing it's exposure for the purpose, if it was drafter in U.S. and handed over by a British agent before Lusitania went down, to a young girl for safekeeping.

April 29, 2021 - May 01, 2021.
......

The Murder on the Links

For a mystery book titled "The Murder on the Links", it begins well by the opening being set in a train, with an elderly gentleman - Hastings - being won over by an impish teenager girl with her antics, despite his initial shock and disapproval at her lack of primness. One may ask how this is related to the title, or simply wait until the author proceeds. It comes soon enough.

This seems, from the next chapter dialogues, to be only the second Poirot mystery, one immediately after the first work of Agatha Christie, Murder At The Styles. Those two - Murder At The Styles, and The Secret Adversary - were set in England, with quintessential character traits and attitudes; the former, set in wartime, used the war background well, albeit minimally. The latter began with sinking of Lusitania and had characters of various international backgrounds, even if they were for most part small characters.

Now, the author sails across the channel to northern coast of France, to explore French characters and attitudes and their view of the Brits.

And the author seems fond of the name Marguerite, since she's using it for a villa this time after using it in The Secret Adversary, for a beautiful woman, and for a key to the mystery.

" ... I received a telegram bidding me to proceed without delay to Buenos Aires, and from thence via the Andes to Valparaiso, and on to Santiago.”"

Curious! Did the author use the names without consulting a map? What she describes is roughly equivalent of "London, and from thence via Irish sea to Galway, and on to Dublin".

Unlike 'Murder At The Styles', or The Secret Adversary, here the author is beginning to set up her own style of a plot, and so one is shocked at a second murder on the same spot not too long after the first. That it only seems like a murder, perhaps supports the idea that this was an early work, and in subsequent mysteries she was indulging the readers with handful of murders per mystery.

Also, unlike subsequent works, in this one as in her first work Hastings tends to get attached personally - here, perhaps, for last time.

And the author's usual round robin of finger of guilt pointing at one unsuspected person after another, too, seems well established by this time.

Finally, one has to wonder - was the Hindi film Gupt an Indianised version of The Murder on the Links, due to either a screenwriter or the makers being fans of this author? Far too similar in the theme, although not the plot specifics, to be coincidental.

May 01, 2021 - May 03, 2021.
......

The Man in the Brown Suit

This work has a protagonist, Anne Beddingfield, relatively unknown to someone who hasn't read every work of the author. It might have been the author's way of trying out a different genre, humour, while not straying from mystery.

"It is really a very hard life. Men will not be nice to you if you are not good-looking, and women will not be nice to you if you are."

Until this Pont, it's fun enough, what with the witty humour and more. But now,

"“Take away the overcoat, the beard and the eyeglasses, and there wouldn’t be much to know him by,” grumbled the inspector. “He could alter his appearance easy enough in five minutes if he wanted to—which he would do if he’s the swell pickpocket you suggest.”

"I had not intended to suggest anything of the kind. But from this moment I gave the inspector up as hopeless.

"“Nothing more you can tell us about him?” he demanded, as I rose to depart.

"“Yes,” I said. I seized my opportunity to fire a parting shot. “His head was markedly brachycephalic. He will not find it so easy to alter that.”

"I observed with pleasure that Inspector Meadow’s pen wavered. It was clear that he did not know how to spell brachycephalic."

That last dialogue is the unforgettable bit that clued one In! One knowsdefinitely now that one read this decades ago, loved it, and is rereading a really good, intelligent mystery, although until that clue one had no such clue.

But the second time the word crops up, as expected, is far too soon; is there a third time, close to the end, or is there another work by the author with this terminology and ploy?

Trust Agatha Christie to put in what would seem like a typical romance introduction scene written especially for teenage school girl readers, and make completely hilarious with her subtle touch!

"“You haven’t thanked me yet for saving your life?” I said with false sweetness. I hit him there. I saw him flinch distinctly. Intuitively I knew that he hated above all to be reminded that he owed his life to me. I didn’t care. I wanted to hurt him. I had never wanted to hurt any one so much.

"“I wish to God you hadn’t!” he said explosively.

"“I’d be better dead and out of it.”

"“I’m glad you acknowledge the debt. You can’t get out of it. I saved your life and I’m waiting for you to say ‘Thank you.’”

"If looks could have killed, I think he would have liked to kill me then. He pushed roughly past me. At the door he turned back, and spoke over his shoulder.

"“I shall not thank you—now or at any other time. But I acknowledge the debt. Some day I will pay it.”

"He was gone, leaving me with clenched hands, and my heart beating like a mill race."

And the author lets you know, tongue-in-cheek, her opinion:-

" ... I cannot think that this Colonel Race really amuses her. He’s good-looking in his way, but dull as ditch water. One of these strong silent men that lady novelists and young girls always rave over."

Another one, remembered when one reads it now:-

"Sir Eustace looked at me for some time. His reply was characteristic:

"“I always did hate that blinking giraffe,” he said. “It must have been instinct.”"

And, at that, she manages to write a perfect prototype for every penny romance written since for teenage school girls, too. That, too, must have been by design, the author wondering if she'd like to do this, and whether she could.

May 03, 2021 - May 05, 2021.
......

The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan

An ingeniously planned jewel robbery is exposed by Poirot, because thieves, posing as chambermaid and valet at a hotel, neglect their work in leaving an unoccupied room undusted.

May 06, 2021.
......

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim

Davenheim plans to disappear with all his wealth, and hide in plain sight. Poirot outthinks him.

May 06, 2021.
......

The Adventure of the “Western Star”

About a great flawless diamond in west that originated from India.

May 06, 2021.
......

The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor

"She stoops down, and puts her finger on the trigger, laughing up at him. ‘And now, sir,’ she says saucily, ‘supposing I pull the trigger?’"

May 06, 2021.
......

The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

The method reportedly used to send diamonds from Africa to Europe.

May 06, 2021.
......

The Adventure of the Cheap Flat

Very unexpected and delightful.

May 07, 2021.
......

The Mystery of the Hunter’s Lodge

Poirot solves the perfectly executed crime, but there isn't enough evidence to convict the criminals.

May 07, 2021.
......

The Kidnapped Prime Minister

This seems the second work of the author set in time period circa WWI.

"One evening after dinner — I will not particularize the date: it suffices to say that it was at the time when “Peace by negotiation” was the parrot-cry of England’s enemies — my friend and I were sitting in his rooms. After being invalided out of the Army I had been given a recruiting job, and it had become my custom to drop in on Poirot in the evenings after dinner and talk with him of any cases of interest that he might have on hand.

"I was attempting to discuss with him the sensational news of that day — no less than on attempted assassination of Mr. David MacAdam. England’s Prime Minister. The account in the papers had evidently been carefully censored. No details were given, save that the Prime Minister had had a marvellous escape, the bullet just grazing his cheek. I considered that our police must have been shamefully careless for such on outrage to be possible. I could well understand that the German agents in England would be willing to risk much for such on achievement. “Fighting Mac,” as his own party had nicknamed him, had strenuously and unequivocally combated the Pacifist influence which was becoming so prevalent.

"He was more than England’s Prime Minister — he was England; and to have removed him from his sphere of influence would have been a crushing and paralysing blow to Britain."

Churchill? The description fits, but not the timing, an allied conference towards the end of WWI.

As to the mystery,

" ... Now for Daniels. There is not much against him, except the fact that nothing is known of his antecedents, and that he speaks too many languages for a good Englishman! (Pardon me, mon ami, but, as linguists, you are deplorable!)"

May 07, 2021.
......

The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb

Force of superstition used in a criminal endeavour for profit.

May 07, 2021.
......

The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman

A murder, evidently after a dinner for three, with curtains not drawn, and dessert unfinished.

May 07, 2021 - May 08, 2021.
......

The Case of the Missing Will

A hidden will left by a man who was against education, especially for women.

May 08, 2021.
......

The Chocolate Box

Trinitrine tablets came in handy when a Catholic priest, seemingly, wished to avoid a virulent anti-catholic succeeding to position of a minister. But it was quite different in reality, and Poirot had failed for once.

"“It is well that I sent for you. It is the providence of the good God that Virginie told me before she departed for the convent, what she had done. Listen, M. Poirot! My son was an evil man. He persecuted the church. He led a life of mortal sin. He dragged down other souls beside his own. But there was worse than that. As I came out of my room in this house one morning, I saw my daughter-in-law standing at the head of the stairs. She was reading a letter. I saw my son steal up behind her. One swift push, and she fell, striking her head on the marble steps. When they picked her up she was dead. My son was a murderer, and only I, his mother, knew it.”"

" ... My son inherited his wife’s money. He flourished as the green bay tree. And now he was to have a Minister’s portfolio. His persecution of the church would be redoubled. And there was Virginie. She, poor child, beautiful, naturally pious, was fascinated by him. He had a strange and terrible power over women. I saw it coming. I was powerless to prevent it. He had no intention of marrying her. The time came when she was ready to yield everything to him."

" ... I went into the study and opened the big box of chocolates that always stood on the table. I opened a new box by mistake. The other was on the table also. There was just one chocolate left in it. That simplified things, no one ate chocolates except my son and Virginie. I would keep her with me that night. All went as I had planned — ”"

May 08, 2021.
......

The Veiled Lady

Seemingly about blackmail of a future Duchess, over an old letter to a soldier who died in war, in reality about jewels stolen and hidden.

May 08, 2021.
......

The Lost Mine

The Chinese gentleman murdered due to greed of English businessman attempting to rob him.

May 08, 2021.
......

The Affair at the Victory Ball

" ... Lord Cronshaw, who was almost fanatically opposed to drug-taking, discovered that she was addicted to cocaine, and suspected that Davidson supplied her with it. Davidson doubtless denied this, but Lord Cronshaw determined to get the truth from Miss Courtenay at the ball. He could forgive the wretched girl, but he would certainly have no mercy on the man who made a living by trafficking in drugs. Exposure and ruin confronted Davidson. He went to the ball determined that Cronshaw’s silence must be obtained at any cost.”"

May 08, 2021.
......

The Adventure of the Clapham Cook

It begins in ennui, races with unexpectedly hilarious bits, and ends quite grisly.

" ... A disappearing domestic at one end — a cold-blooded murder at the other. To me, one of the most interesting of my cases.”"

May 08, 2021.
......

The Cornish Mystery

" ... “Do you not see, my friend, that we have no shadow of proof against him? Shall I get up and say to twelve stolid Cornishmen that I, Hercule Poirot, know? They would laugh at me. The only chance was to frighten him and get a confession that way. ... "

May 08, 2021.
......

The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly

"“The scandal —”

"“Exactly. Your name is an old and honoured one. Do not jeopardize it again. Good evening, Mr. Waverly. Ah, by the way, one word of advice. Always sweep in the corners!”"

May 09, 2021.
......

The Double Clue

Cyrillic alphabet.

May 09, 2021.
......

The King of Clubs

"Family strength is a marvellous thing."

May 09, 2021.
......

The Lemesurier Inheritance

Family curse, mania, ....

May 09, 2021.
......

The Plymouth Express

Maid, theft ...

May 09, 2021.
......

The Submarine Plans

Stolen, or ...

May 09, 2021.
.....

The Market Basing Mystery

Window, door, handkerchief, ...

May 10, 2021.
.....

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

This one remains in memory after decades, up to the ruby in pudding. The rest is delightful, too.

May 10, 2021.

[Rue&Waffles]

I haven't actually read, just need it read for the highlights

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts on The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

10 out of 10





It is tempting to dismiss detective novels as futile exercises, wherein some clever character benefits from the fact that the author has planned the whole thing in his or her head and then arranges things so that Hercule Poirot, Philip Marlowe, Sherlock Holmes, in a recent creativity effort, it could even be Enola Holmes or some other admired investigator, mostly private, finds what we all have been missing, personages appearing in the narratives or humble readers trying to see through the smoke screens…indeed, this amateur was thinking that writers in this genre use the same techniques that we encounter in…magic tricks, where you have a beautiful assistant for most of the time, because the audience will pay attention to her and miss some of most of what is happening at the same time…this seems to be the key of the crime story, for, same as for the ‘stage magic’, while we are very carefully observing some clues, apparent evidence, we are distracted from watching what is really vital in the plot…



One suggestive, perhaps all revealing experiment is the one with…the gorilla in the room, wherein participants in a test where asked to count the passes between players in a basketball game and at the end they were asked about the number, which proved correct and then…what about the gorilla, a question that shocked most of those who had paid attention to the task they had been given and ignored completely the apparition of a gorilla in the middle of the scene…Jordan Peterson gives explanations for this phenomenon, looking at the fact that it is expensive in biological terms to have a vision that can absorb much more – perhaps anything other than – what is strictly needed and thus we can only see this much and that works for detective novels as well as for games and other activities we engage in…

One detail that has attracted my attention – which these days is not really involved so much in some of the books I am reading, such as this Affair at Styles, which though captivating, written by the Ultimate Master of the Crime Story, Agatha Christie, the writer with the biggest number of copies sold…or is she now in the shadow on J.K. Rowling, it is still touched by that stupid stigma in my mind which proclaims that if this is the frivolous detective novel it must be less of a reward than A La Recherche du Temps Perdu, The Nickel Boys, Troubles, Lucky Jim, The Ice Cream War – was the will burned in the fire…



Hercule Poirot, who is a Belgian refugee during World War I, helped by Emily Inglethorp, becomes the central figure of the narrative once the latter character is dead, invited as he is to use his famous expertise in finding the killer - or is it multiple killers, as in Murder on the Orient Express http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/06/m... - looking at the various clues, from coffee and cocoa to the temperature at the time of death and different movements and alibis of those present in the Styles Court…the brilliant investigator is able to conjure various scenarios, envisaging how the dead woman had invited gardeners to be witnesses to a new testament that she is prompted to write by a furious quarrel that ensues and is overheard by at least one witness…the problem however is that some of those are just speculations, outstanding they may be, but they are what a judge would call circumstantial evidence, if even that…the Belgian detective intuits that the fire that the mistress of the household asks to be lit has only one purpose – to burn the will…



Only the fact that he says that with such certainty brings me back to the argument that the smoke and mirrors function just as on stage, when David Copperfield or Harry Houdini distract our attention from say one hand, only to steal wallets, and in their case anything, with their other hand…why would it not be possible to have fire for another reason…I have a fireplace and use it for the heat it brings, but it is also a wondrous thing to see it there, in the house, it is also psychological I guess and this is the point I try to make, but I am not sure I succeeded – did I, let me know…subscribe, share, like and check out my other materials J

To argue against the first point in this note, we have Crime and Punishment by the one that many consider the greatest author ever, which is a ‘Crime Story’, only it is at the same time one of the Greatest Works ever written, on some of the most important compilations you can consult…there is also The Daughter of Time, which Transcends its label and though it is far from being as popular, life changing and inspirational as the work of Fyodor Dostoevsky, you can find it at number one in the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time in the British based Crime Writers Association compilation and at four in the Mystery Writers of America version https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Top...



The Daughter of Time could be the perfect example of a narrative which has a murder investigation at the core, but the brilliance of the style, the moral, ethical issues raised, the paramount importance of the subject makes it extremely sophisticated, important – maybe vital – because it overturns a myth that a majority of the world still believes in…after all, Richard III as described by William Shakespeare as ‘Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time’ was in fact not just innocent of the murders that almost the whole world attributes to him, but instead, he has been almost a hero, better than a decent ruler, a good, perhaps a great king…The Daughter of Time sets the record straight, for those at least who are lucky enough to read it and then reconsider other myths, such as the Boston massacre…

There are magnum opera, which bring joy, such as the mesmerizing Malice Aforethought http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/11/m... which doubles as a stupendous comedy, for yes, we have the murder and we are told from the start almost that the husband wants to kill the spouse – and we laugh and agree with him, given the obnoxious character of the wife, the way she keeps him in slavery…albeit she warns him when he has a most unfortunate crash on a newcomer to the village – the manner in which the murder and investigation unfold, the sardonic, mirthful way in which the guilty party is ultimately brought to pay, not for what he did, but for the wrong charge…

Finally, trying to return to the somehow less satisfying Affair at Styles, we have here another strategy to lose track of the one who ‘has done it’, because we know to suspect the ones that are least likely, at least to begin with – such as in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/08/t... I can reveal the killer, as long as it is not about the book in question…the narrator turns out to be the culprit – and there is a big screen of smoke here, where the most likely is targeted, only to be gradually dismissed – whether that is for good or not, remains to be seen…

[Coleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You cannot go wrong with Agatha Christie's breadth of work.

Though her stories were written more than a century earlier they all can be read contemporaneously. It's worth your time to read her work.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this volume because I couldn't get the first Tommy and Tuppence book, The Secret Adversary to download to my Kindle any other way. I looked at all the other stories, but I had read them all in another volume (all part of my goal to read the complete mysteries of Agatha Christie and I only have the T and T books to go). So, this is only about THE SECRET ADVERSARY.

Tommy and Tuppence....so plucky (a word absolutely made for them!). I love that they have no money, versus the massive wealth of so many of Christie's characters and the story is great fun (although clearly Tommy would have been killed immediately, right?). It's fun to see Christie write about a couple (besides Poirot and Hastings) and one wonders if she saw a bit of herself and her second husband in T and T.

[Jean Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great collection of stories to take your mind off the pandemic for a brief time. Of all the stories I only had figured out the murderer once!

[Tyler Kerch · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sometime over the past couple of years I made my way through the Sherlock Holmes collection. I thought I'd feel bad, mentally comparing the two as I read and reviewed this collection, but as it turns out Christie herself makes the comparison in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, so I guess that gives me carte blanche to do the same.
Holmes is often credited as the popularizer of the whole "great detective" genre, but in my experience this felt almost like a type error: the Holmes stories read closer to police procedurals than the modern conception of a whodunnit, with more focus on Holmes' methods and process than on the mystery itself. It seems to me that it was Christie who popularized the idea that a mystery novel should be constructed in a way that invites the reader to solve the mystery themselves (or at least, she was the one good enough at it to be remembered). This is most obviously established in Poirot's tendency to solve mysteries without leaving his armchair: because he doesn't observe anything beyond the dialogue delivered to him, the reader is assured that nothing else is necessary to solve the mystery. That said, a fair few of Poirot's deductions feel like just-so stories that happen to turn out correct, and when I did see a conclusion coming it came more from a knowledge of genre tropes than from any actual parsing of the clues at hand. Maybe that's just me being stupid, though. Either way, I'll admit Christie has an impressive knack for the drama of the genre, and several of the stories in here take the plot twist you'd expect only to follow it up with two more you don't.
Funnily enough, I think my favorite story from this collection is the only one to not involve Poirot - the second novel, The Secret Adversary, is the first in the Tommy and Tuppence series, which I had no idea existed before this. Watching two charming dummies stumble through what should be a tense thriller is a delightful experience, and I look forward to digging through the labyrinthine slop trough that is Kindle Unlimited to try and find the rest of the series.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

In addition to being a prolific writer, Agatha Christie was a shrewd businesswoman who always made sure that her work paid off. Today the family business is in the hands of her great-grandsons who must be as hard-headed as old Dame Agatha. They know the value of the name and they make sure that reprints (including Kindle versions) sell for top-dollar.

It's always tempting to grab a reasonably price Christie, but (as some of us have learned) many of the non-authorized versions are so poorly edited as to be unreadable. This one is an exception. The only oddity I found is that below every chapter heading are the words "Table of Contents." If you can ignore that, you'll be fine.

Like most women of her era, Christie saw herself as a wife and mother. She started writing for fun, but quickly realized the financial potential and capitalized on it. Her first book ("The Mysterious Affair at Styles") introduced detective Hercule Poirot and his friend and narrator Captain Hastings. The book was well received and Christie's publisher talked her into signing a five-book contract which paid her very little. Mrs. Christie kept to the terms of the contract, writing three more novels and collecting some magazine stories to make a fifth book. After that, the canny writer signed with another publisher at far more agreeable terms.

This collection contains three of her first four books and 24 short stories. Fourteen of those stories are the ones she collected into the book titled "Poirot Investigates" and ten are other early stories published in magazines. Missing is "The Man in the Brown Suit" which appeared in 1924 along with "Poirot Investigates." As one of her first books and now in public domain, I don't understand that omission. I also don't think it matters much since it's one of Christie's weakest efforts.

"Styles" is familiar to most Christie fans as her first novel and the origin of Hercule Poirot. "The Secret Adversary" features detectives Thomas and Tuppence Beresford, both cast adrift after WWI and not yet married. It's what Christie called a "light thriller" and is over-the-top melodramatic, but witty and entertaining. I've reviewed both of those books elsewhere.

I was surprised to discover that I've never read "The Murder on the Links" which was Christie's second Poirot book. I think I've avoided it because I had it confused with another book I didn't like much. Christie was so incredibly prolific, it's hard NOT to get confused. It's a complicated story of two sudden, shocking deaths and old sins casting long shadows. It introduces the English girl "Cinderella" with whom the very romantic Captain Hastings falls madly in love. Ironically, it's dedicated to Archie Christie, the husband who would soon abandon his wife and child for another woman.

These are NOT Christie's best work. She never became an intellectual novelist and had no desire to be one. From start to finish, her interest was in her tight plots, not her characters. But she DID improve and develop her own style. These first books rely too much on formulas from the Sherlock Holmes stories and other older mysteries.

As Christie matured and became more confident, her books became more intimate. She got over her fear that the public would reject mysteries written by a woman and started putting in more domestic details. When she DID produce an over-the-top block-buster (like "Murder on the Orient Express") she wrote with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek. Still, any Christie fan will enjoy seeing the beginning of the characters we all love.

I think the 24 stories are the most valuable part of the book. Both because I love short stories and because in some of her stories Christie started showing signs of the writer she would someday become. "The Lemesurier Inheritance" is pure Sherlock Holmes, but "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" shows Christie drawing from real life, specifically her life as a young wife and mother trying to score an affordable apartment in London in the housing shortage that followed the WWI armistice. And "The Adventure of the Missing Cook" could only have been written by a woman who knows the trials and tribulations of running a household. As Mrs. Todd insists, "A good cook is a good cook!" and just as valuable to the average housewife as pearls or diamonds to a wealthy woman.

This collection is a great deal of pleasant reading for less than a dollar.

[Amanda Holiday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought the ebook only version at Barnes & Noble for $0.49 because it provided many Poirot stories. I was not left without reading material during a heat wave. I enjoyed the stories provided, some of which were shown as films for PBS production of Mystery. It was like visiting old friends in Hercule Porot and Captain Hastings. If you like Agatha Christie books, you may find this an entertaining book.

[Carolyn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Mystery

A must have for Christie fans. All the familiar suspense and intrigue the classic mystery fan enjoys. And as always interesting old homes and characters.

[Pamela Rosen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer the books to the short stories. Always. Even with my favorite authors of yore (Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Georgette Heyer) or more recent fav authors (Jeffery Deaver, Karin Slaughter, Lee Child, Stephanie Laurens). It’s just that you can actually feel the foundations of the real novel (some do become actual novels) or what WOULD have been the novel, had the author followed thru and written the book.

I actually read most of the books/stories a while back; there were a few I had forgotten & I wanted to have the entire collection of Christie books while they were all on sale for ridiculously tiny prices. Albeit, I had already purchased, for ex., the entirety of the Miss Marple novels & short stories in one collection so the sale was even less expensive then I had imagined.

The problem with Agatha Christie (whom I adore, don’t get me wrong) is simply that her books are indeed formulaic. (Somebody else above me just mentioned that.) This isn’t a problem (for me) bc she writes well, the stories are interesting, & Poirot, who is indeed intelligent (but not nearly as intelligent as he thinks) has a lovely way of spelling out the truth [all of the truth, including the not at all necessary embarrassing extras that, yes, were used as red herrings] w all possible suspects at the end of the book. If I had a problem w formulaic stories, I would never have watched Law & Order, NCIS, Frasier, Friends, TBBT, etc. etc. Most esp’ly the Mentalist. But it’s interesting that most of my favorite Christie books don’t include Poirot or Miss Marple. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, They Came to Bahgdad, Murder is Easy, So Many Steps to Death, And Then There Were None. There are a few more, & some ‘so-called’ Poirot novels wherein he barely shows his face (I.e., Cat Among the Pigeons) & honestly, there are a number of Christie novels wherein Poirot, Miss Marple, Superintendent Battle, whomever - I don’t care - I just adore, but those are frequently the anomalies, the books that stray from the norm: beautiful quiet English side w large country house either has a gathering or calls Poirot/Miss Marple to the house bc of “suspicious happenings”. Generally, the individual who got in touch dies before they arrive or, if there’s a gathering, whomever made the mistake to go off into the study/library/side room to make a call/meet a mysterious caller/write out either a confession or what the murderer believes is going to be problematic for them - that person will die. While the odds of any other person in the gathering having anything to do w the victim quite low, EVERY other person there will have either a direct or indirect connection w the victim; some greedy indl will attempt to blackmail the murderer & they too will die OR somebody completely unaware of the danger they’re in has a connection to the manner in which the victim was killed & must ALSO die - odds here are 50/50 whether that person lives. Generally, if it’s an attractive young woman & there’s a young man there who doesn’t believe he could possibly be a couple w that woman, he will save her. Then, a completely random telegram will arrive for Poirot - bc Christie FREQUENTLY leaves out important clues - & the suspects are gathered together & Poirot will give his little speech at the end - wherein, no matter how unimportant a matter that is brought up in his explanation of what occurred, every indl involved will automatically say yes, yes this is true! (Like an old Perry Mason show - “your honor, I must speak up now, I am the guilty party, I did it!!” Or something like that, I never watched Perry Mason). In any case, that’s the general pattern of Christie novels. IMO.

Novels like Murder on the Orient Express or Curtain, I find fascinating. Not bc I’m brilliant and figured out the other murderers or knew who did what in advance (I have an egregious lack of foresight as to what truly occurred in most murder novels. Simply bc they are so out of the norm that I would never have guessed the endings, no matter how much time I was given or even if more clues were shoved into my face. Indeed, I believe that’s why the Murder of Roger Ackroyd is so popular. It falls directly into this group of novels.

But again, don’t get me wrong. Long before I became an avid Arthur Conan Doyle fan (Sherlock Holmes), I grew up on Higgins writing out all of POIROT’S adventures and thus, when I finally DID start reading ACD, it made complete sense to me that Watson was chronicalizing Sherlock’s adventures. Of course, I was reading the stories in the that order bc my parents owned all of Christie’s works but not Doyle’s. Looking back, it’s clear that Christie must have been giving Doyle an homage of sorts by putting in Higgins. I just read the books backwards.

But I’m pretty sure I’ve been babbling for the last few paragraphs and not reviewing anything at all, for which I profusely apologize.

[Marissa Ibarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Por increíble que parezca, jamás había leído nada de Agatha Christie, y no sé por qué, simplemente no llamaban mi atención, y ahora que he leído varias de las historias me han gustado mucho. La gran mayoría son no solo interesantes, sino hasta divertidas. Y solo podría catalogarla como una Arthur Conan doyle femenina, la diferencia es que Sherlock Holmes es un investigador en toda regla, y sus averiguaciones por lo general tienen mucho detrás... mucha sabiduría, mucho ingenio, mucha observación y en el caso de Agatha, los misterios casi siempre son resueltos de manera en que la casualidad y la observación son las claves. Estar en el momento correcto a la hora correcta, o conocer a las personas correctas. Me parece curioso también que en muchos de sus casos repita al "héroe" quien resuelve el misterio, no como Conan Doyle, cuyo personaje principal siempre Sherlock y me gustó porque llegas a conocer a los personajes recurrentes y te vas familiarizando con sus métodos y con que a veces hasta el mismo chisme es la clave para resolver quién mató a quién, quién robó a quién, etcétera. Debo decir que me encantó, hubo tal vez un par de relatos que en algún momento me confundieron en su solución, pero nada de gravedad. Buscaré más sobre ella.

[Dhara Parekh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I finished the entire book. There are more than 1000 pages. My opinion about Agatha's short stories is still the same. They aren't insanely mysterious or rewarding. A lot of times you will guess who did it or would be frustrated how everything is solved instantly on the last page. But there is something about her storytelling that seems to me like munching on popcorn. You can't seem to stop once you start. Her worldbuilding carries you with it. I noticed that during the tough time of the pandemic, whenever I needed comfort or familiarity, I was heading towards her stories. They calmed me even though they were about poison, murders, blood, and weapons. It was like entering an exciting, yet familiar territory. Being able to do that for a reader proves Agatha Christie won at writing.

Also, I LOVE Poirot and his little grey cells!

[Penelope Bartsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it just me--and possibly because I am used to modem mysteries like the Gamache books by Louise Penny-- or did anyone else find this book a bit hard to swallow? The fact that it was written over 100 years ago is not the problem; I still love reading Jane Austen, and her writing is still fresh and engaging. I just found the murder and its solution exceedingly complicated and hard to follow. I am aware that Christie's husband was in some way involved with chemistry and poisons, and it's obvious she either picked his brain or took it upon herself to learn this stuff. I just found it needlessly complex and undertaken at the expense of more character driven writing. This is my first A.C. mystery, and I am going to read some more, just to be fair. Maybe I wasn't in the right MOOD.

[Sandra Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book I have is not quite the same as this title, but it was the closest one available. I have one entitled "The Secret Adversary," which contains the first two stories listed in this Premium collection. I only read the first one - a Poirot mystery, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles," and so that is the one story I am reviewing here. While I would probably enjoy seeing this mystery played out on a Masterpiece Theater two-hour performance, reading it was a bit tedious at times. It felt really drawn out and I kept wondering when it was going to end. It felt like there were so many red herrings that we could have had a seafood banquet. Although the final reveal showing the perpetrator's methods was interesting, it seemed to be a long time coming.

[MIchael Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Christie; of course it's FAB!

I was enthralled throughout the entire Collection! Now, I should warn that some of the language (particularly regarding ethnic and religious minorities) is offensive; thankfully, the main characters only utter a few. As a member of a number of minority groups, the language threw me for a bit; I would daresay that Christie, had she been a contemporary author, would not have utilized (or, for that matter, not needed to utilize) these racial and religious epithets. I, notwithstanding, thoroughly enjoyed this collection -- particularly the stories which I'd never read!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frustrating. Detective stories are that way; one thinks that Hercule Poirot didn’t account for this possibility or that, and the narrator tends to conceal a bit too much. In a few cases, I could guess whodunnit. In many cases, I was confused by Poirot’s inferences, such as that a person is left-handed because he keeps his handkerchief in his right sleeve. But Poirot’s deductions are often brilliant, and I learned something.

I’m still not convinced that Poirot is correct in his emphasis that all crimes can be solved “from the armchair.” Real people are more complicated than they are in these stories; real people do unpredictable things all the time.

[Mstv · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good list of Poirot's stories

The reason for the 4 stars is because one of the short stories is cut off. The 'Kidnapped Prime Minister' is missing the end.
Other than that, the short stories are complete. I bought this for the short stories & didn't read the novels, as I'd read those earlier, so am 'assuming' they're fully included.
The punctuation is good, the words are spelled correctly and the grammar is appropriate - apparently unlike some other versions of Christie's inexpensive ominibus where the copies were very poor.
I found value for the price paid in this.

[The Launceston Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

This year we chose Agatha Christie for our author read. What a prolific author with so many different beloved characters! For this month alone we all read over 19 separate books and several repeats. (Most impressive were those who chose to dress up thematically for the evening as the author herself.) For some, her writings are nostalgic and cosy; for others, they may feel dated or even bigoted. While Agatha Christie's books might not be everyone's cup of tea, we now know what poisons to avoid thanks to the research of one of our members.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fondly remembered reading Agatha Christie, and especially her Hercule Poirot mysteries, as a teen. After re-reading Sherlock Holmes earlier this year, I thought I’d revisit Agatha Christie as well. Interestingly, Christie’s mysteries have not withstood the test of time as well as Doyle’s. Although the stories are still entertaining, she regularly employs racist terms and tired stereotypes for characters especially from China, India, and Africa. It was uncomfortable and disappointing.

[Carl Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect collection that sets the mood for fall!

When fall comes around, nothing beats curling up by the fireplace on a windy night and cracking open an Agatha Christie book. This book is an anthology of all of her work and will keep you occupied through the entirety of the fall season. Filled with mystery and intrigue, the stories of Agatha Christie will live on as classics for centuries to come.

[SUMA VARMA · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a very nice collection of stories of the detective Hercule Poirot. This book contains an interesting mix of novels and short stories. It is suitable for all age groups and is very light reading. Some of the stories may be found in other collections also.


It is a very nice and interesting collection of novels and short stories of the detective Hercule Poirot, suitable for light reading.

[OCLS Southwest Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

Southwest Book Club readers gave their Agatha Christie reading experience an average rating of 4.5/5.00. A few decided to read books about the author rather than by her or decided to read Marie Benedict's historical fiction The Mystery of Mrs. Christie. A few read Christie's short stories and essays. Lively discussion about her life, writing, and books. Most agreed Christie was complex and intriguing. Definitely "hell of a lot more than just a sweet British lady author."

[Pat Kilbourn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christie rules

I liked the short story collection. It was Christie in a nutshell. Impossible situations from the classic locked room to the "nobody could have done it"', it showed Poorly master of the situation.

Recommended to Christie fans who enjoy reading whenever the have a few spare minutes. Also to those who have never read any of her work.

I chose this rating because I have been reading Christie for 65 years and still enjoy the books after innumerable rereads. 😊

[Veronica F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! It took a while to get through it and at struggle to read at times because it is written in an old style (I mean, it is an older book) and there are other languages intermingled in. I enjoyed it overall, my recommendation would be to read it in small segments. That definetly helped me get through it.