Murder Under the Sun: 13 Summer Mysteries by the Queen of Crime

by Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser (Reading)

Get away from it all with this selection of mid-summer murders by Agatha Christie, read by television's Captain Hastings, the actor and novelist Hugh Fraser!

Summer. Holiday season. A time for rest and relaxation. But murder can strike anywhere, as this selection of an 'unlucky thirteen' mysteries by Agatha Christie proves.Join Hercule Poirot, Christopher Parker Pyne, Harley Quin and James Bond on this special holiday-themed collection, and take a dip into these short stories, perfect for killing time on the beach, by the pool - or at home, when planning to get away from it all.STORIES IN THIS COLLECTION: - The Rajah's Emerald- The Oracle at Delphi- Wasp's Nest- A Death on the Nile- Problem at Pollensa Bay- Have You Got Everything You Want?- Triangle at Rhodes- The House at Shiraz- Double Sin- The Gate of Baghdad- The Regatta Mystery- The Pearl of Price- The Man from the Sea

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Short Stories, Crime, Agatha Christie, Fiction, Classics

Audio CD

First published September 24, 2019

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

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lunchtime Listen for October

So I'm thinking it was around 3.5 stars but I couldn't round it up to 4 as it just didn't deserve it.
The reading by Hugh Fraser is excellent, but the selection of stories is not that brilliant i felt. Some were entertaining, others were to say the least a little boring, I think.
The recording level of the stories varied despite them all being read by Hugh Fraser, so I'm guessing it is one of those books where various recordings have been put together to create a sales opportunity.
All of that said It was a fun listen (mostly ).

[Lady Wesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fabulous collection of some of Dame Christie’s lesser known short stories, as performed flawlessly by Hugh Fraser.

[Taylor's♡Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hastings: "Did you hear?"
Poirot: "I have the use of my ears. Thank you, Hastings."

Most of these stories were reprinted from the Parker Pyne collection, but it was fun to read them again nonetheless. Some Parker Pyne stories seem to drag a little for me, but most are really enjoyable.

There's something about listening to Hugh Fraser while I'm cooking. The publisher could probably release a dozen "new" audio-collections with all old stories and I would still listen to them all.

[Gina House · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of summer-themed murder mysteries by the one and only, Agatha Christie. I especially find the Parker Pyne stories refreshing and entertaining at this time of year. Reading Murder Under the Sun gave me all the best hot weather vibes. Plus, the short story format was very convenient when I wanted something quick to listen to between errands or while making dinner. If you haven't read this collection yet, you should. These mystery stories are not mind-blowing, but simple and perfectly interesting light reads. Give this collection a listen!

[Tara T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended. Misleading title. Most are not, in fact, murder mysteries, just mysteries or crimes… and I use the term ‘mystery’ loosely. In most stories, the incident or crime is presented, a few questions and then the detective solves it using information not presented in the story.

I’m not sure if these are indicative of Christie but I was disappointed and frankly bored.

I listened on audiobook so not sure if it was lost in narration (the narration was fine though), or just ‘too brief’ stories.

Frankly 3 stars is generous IMO for how boring I found these. 🙊

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie is one of the few authors that I can read over and over again and still enjoy.

[V · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy it that much, but it was well narrated and helped me preserve some sanity while cleaning the cellar.

[Roxana]

A repackaging of previously recorded stories. I expected to have read them all before (I have); I didn’t realize I would have heard all of these exact recordings before. Still fun I guess, Hugh Fraser’s a great audiobook reader. I was expecting them to be more summer-themed but an awful lot of them are set in the Middle East (whether summer or no, but mostly it’s Parker Pyne on holiday) with a kind of “Middle East = desert = hot” assumption that I found…a lot. Whatever, it’s fine I guess.

[Sem Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Love a Agatha Christie, I liked these little short stories most of them involved Mr Parker Pine which is a character that I hadn't met, he gave me some Sherlock Holmes vibes, the only thing I found was that some of the stories seemed very similar to the previous one's. I did enjoy and it was what I needed after reading a heavy book.

[Nichola · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I really did not like the last story. I can't quit think why, but something was weird about it. I did however love the Parker stories and I would love to read all of them. He is a highly underappreciated character!

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing collection of short stories, with some better than others. Several of the ideas were later used by Christie for full length novels. Slightly misnamed collection though, as only three of the thirteen stories include a murder.

[Ruth Linny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok but I've read much more interesting Agatha Christie stories. Not sure I like the Parker Pine character, definitely prefer Poirot. Worth reading if you want to take in all of her work but maybe not the best collection to start with.

[Katy Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad selection of short stories, and they were all new to me, but as alluded to by another reviewer, they are not actually all murder mysteries, in fact a couple of them are almost anti-murder mysteries!

[Sue Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessed on Audible. I’m always on the lookout for a (bite sized?) lunchtime listen. Agatha Christie didn’t disappoint and Hugh Fraser was a good reader. Marked down from a 5 due to the misleading title - they weren’t all murders!

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another repackaged short story collection. The theme was travel.

Triangle at Rhodes was great. It's no wonder she extended it into a full novel.

My miserly star rating is because Parker Pyne really gets on my nerves and there's so many Parker Pyne short stories in this collection.

[Vivien · Rating 3 out of 5]

13 short stories, all fun and interesting - but not all murders!

[Cesar F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realle enjoyed it. Well thought stories

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie oma tuntud headuses!

[Carien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. They were short and truly authentic

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

audiobk

[光彩 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome. And Hugh Fraser is great at his work.

[Aliisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

murder under the sun, but there was no murdering?

[Donne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories by the queen of crime. Most enjoyable and a few I had never read before too.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read most of them on other collections and enjoyed rereading them, esp. Parker Pyne.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great set of short stories, some with Hercule Poirot, some introducing me to Mr Parker Pine, delightful!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a few of the stories featuring Parker Pyne and Harley Quin were unfamiliar to me.

[Trian · Rating 3 out of 5]

AB. Short stories were surprisingly hard to listen / concentrate on. Still, I enjoyed the stories.

[Lilli]

Luin vain puoleenväliin

[Kate Frankland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories, one (maybe two) featuring Poirot, no Marple, and instead some of Christie’s less well known characters. Most enjoyable.

[Ian Rak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not my cup of Yorkshire. Went quickly from irritation to boredom.