24 December 2023

Review: A DEADLY AFFAIR, Agatha Christie

  • this edition read on Kindle
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (January 4, 2022)
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063142341
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063142343

Synopsis (Publisher)

Love can propel us to our greatest heights . . . and darkest depths. In this new collection of Agatha Christie short stories, witness the dark side of love—crimes of passion, games of the heart, and deadly affairs. This pulse-pounding compendium features beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, master of charades Parker Pyne, the enigmatic Harley Quin, and the adventurous Tommy and Tuppence, all at the ready to solve a tantalizing mystery.

In 'The Face of Helen,' a night at the Royal Opera could reach a deadly crescendo for a woman caught in a dicey love triangle; 'Finessing the King' delivers a curious ad in the personals that could mask sinister intentions; who’s in danger of getting stung in 'Wasp’s Nest' depends on rounding up suspects and solving a murder—before it even happens. Those are just a few of the tales in this collection featuring essential reading that Christie fans old and new will simply love.

My Take

An interesting collection of 14 short stories, mostly featuring sleuths that have not been as popular as Poirot and Marple, and mostly written early in the author's career, as shown in the list below.

I found Magnolia Blossom particularly interesting because it was published in the same year as Christie's own disappearance, and could shed some light on her state of mind. Death by Drowning is also interesting for the role played by Miss Marple's doctor.

Affairs of the Heart - from Autobiography
The King of Clubs - Poirot, 1923
The Face of Helen - Mr Quin, 1927
A Death on the Nile - Mr Parker Pyne, 1933
Death by Drowning - Miss Marple, 1931
The Double Clue - Poirot, 1923
Finessing the King - Tommy and Tuppence, 1924
A Fruitful Sunday - standalone, 1928
Wasps' Nest - Poirot, 1928
The Case of the Caretaker - Miss Marple, 1942
The Man in the Mist - Tommy and Tuppence, 1924
The Case of the Rich Woman - Mr Parker Pyne, 1932
Magnolia Blossom - stand alone, 1926
The Love Detectives - Mr Quin, 1926

My rating: 4.5 

Here are the Agatha Christie short stories I have read

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