First published in 1923, “The Murder on the Links” is Agatha Christie’s second novel featuring her most famous character, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and his assistant, Arthur Hastings. Poirot and Hastings have traveled to France to meet Paul Renauld, who has recently requested their help. They are too late however and arrive to find him brutally murdered and buried in a newly dug grave near a local golf course. Poirot notices many things about Renauld’s death that are strange and unexplained. Frighteningly, before a suspect is caught, a second man turns up dead in nearly identical circumstances. Poirot clashes with local law enforcement who resent his interference, but he is dogged in his quest to find the truth. Using his uncanny memory for detail and deep understanding of human nature, Poirot soon sees what everyone else has missed and solves this complicated case of greed, blackmail, and deceit. “The Murder on the Links” was published to great critical praise and commercial success, with many reviewers favorably comparing Christie’s writing and the character Poirot to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the iconic Sherlock Holmes. This classic continues to entertain and thrill all fans of mystery and suspense. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
When Emily Inglethorp, the elderly matriarch of Styles Court, an Essex country manor, is found poisoned with strychnine, a guest of the manor, Arthur Hastings calls upon his friend, famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, to solve the mystery that surrounds her death. Chief amongst the suspects is Emily’s husband Alfred Inglethorp, a much younger man whom she has recently married and has the most to gain from her death. Another potential suspect is her eldest stepson John Cavendish, who stands to receive the manor upon her death. Or one of the other occupants of the manor; Lawrence Cavendish, her younger stepson; Mary Cavendish, John’s wife; Cynthia Murdoch, the daughter of a deceased friend of the family; or Evelyn Howard, Emily's companion; may be to blame. With the help of Inspector Japp, a Scotland Yard detective and the investigating officer, Hercule Poirot endeavors to uncover the mystery of who killed Emily Inglethorp. Mystery fans will delight in this first installment of Agatha Christie’s most famous character, Hercule Poirot.
First published in 1924, “The Man in the Brown Suit” is a thrilling adventure and murder mystery by Agatha Christie. The protagonist is Anne Beddingfield, the orphaned daughter of a famous archaeologist, who goes to live with her father’s solicitor and his wife in London. Anne is searching for an adventure and something exciting to occupy her time when she is witness to the sudden death of a man at Hyde Park Corner tube station when the man falls onto the electrified train track and is killed instantly. Anne’s suspicions are aroused when a man claiming to be a doctor quickly examines the body, pronounces him dead, and then leaves suddenly. Anne sees that he has dropped a piece of paper on the ground and Anne takes the paper, insistent on investigating the matter further. Anne’s detective work takes her on board a ship sailing to South Africa and soon she is caught up in a deadly mystery of stolen diamonds, bloody murders, kidnapping, government secrets, and violence at every turn. Christie’s engrossing tale is full of intrigue, a complex mystery, and a surprising romance, in one of the famed author’s most entertaining novels. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Newly orphaned archaeologist’s daughter Anne Beddingfeld is off to see the world. After witnessing a gruesome and fatal “accident”, following a suspected murderer, and finding a mysterious clue on a scrap of paper, Anne sets sail for South Africa. Sinister happenings ensue, but her newly acquired paternalistic protector, Sir Eustace, will surely see that she comes to no permanent harm. But which of the two masterful men sharing the voyage, Colonel Race and the elusive Man in the Brown Suit, can she trust? Who strangled the dancer Nadina back in England? And what about that film canister of raw diamonds?
"The Wife of the Kenite" is an early suspense story originally published in 1923.
Poirot investigates a jewel robbery. The theft occurred during a tea party, when a private safe was rifled and objects taken.
Poirot receives a visit from a Mrs Pengelley, a middle-aged woman who fears that she is being poisoned by her husband. She has no proof , only that she only suffers when her husband is at home, not when he is away at the weekends – and a bottle of weedkiller, supposedly unused, is half-empty…
Poirot relates the story of how he acquired 14,000 shares of a lead mine by investigating the death of a Chinese man whose family was selling the mine.
Hastings brings 3 newspaper stories to Poirot's attention, trying to interest him in a new case: a bank clerk who disappeared with fifty thousand pounds of securities, a suicidal man, and a missing typist. Instead, he agrees to investigate Mrs Todd's case of a missing cook.
At Japp’s suggestion, Poirot and Hastings join him for the weekend in the small countryside town of Market Basing. While enjoying Sunday breakfast, the three are interrupted by the local constable, who requests Japp's help. Walter Protheroe, the reclusive owner of a local large mansion, has been found dead in his dilapidated house, supposedly by suicide. Or is it?