Audiobook Review: The Coming of Mr Quin by Agatha Christie

On a dark evening, Mr. Harley Quin appears at the door of Royston Hall under the premise that his car has broken down. Once inside, he embarks upon the tragic tale of Royston Hall's former occupants, leading to a dramatic change in the perceptions of the current inhabitants - but has Mr. Quin's revelation come too late?[summary via Audible] 

This is a interesting little story about a murder a suicide that happened sometime ago and Mr Quin flies in one night to solve the mystery. I haven't read many stories featuring Mr Quin and I quite enjoyed watching him untangle this one. I liked the story and also the narration. This was a good one to get me back into the groove of listening to Agatha Christie mysteries on audio.

Check out The Coming of Mr Quin by Agatha Christie at Amazon, Audible.

Book Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile is a short story featuring Parker Pyne. Parker is on holidays and even though his holiday has been previously interrupted by clients, he's hoping that it won't be interrupted even further. However the other occupants on his cruise have other ideas. One Lady Grayle asks him to find out if she is being slowly poisoned by her husband. He sets out to investigate but before he can uncover the truth Lady Grayle ends up dead.

I find the title of this short story amusing because Agatha Christie has a full length novel under the same title. The full-length Death on the Nile is of course widely popular, having been made into several movies, featuring Hercule Poirot. This short story was unknown to me until I picked it up. The short story was published three years before the novel. I do wonder if perhaps the short story was inspiration for the novel.

In any case it was a good, little story. Parker Pyne doesn't usually solve murders, so it was interesting watching him try his hand at this one. With limited suspects and evidence aplenty, Parker managed to solve it in time.

Another good Parker Pyne mystery.

Check out Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie at Amazon.

Book Review: The Pearl of Price by Agatha Christie

The Pearl of Price is a short story featuring Parker Pyne. Parker is on holidays and the last thing he expects is to get involved in a mystery. However this is exactly what happens when one of the tourist’s pearl earring goes missing and she asks him to solve the mystery.

Given her background in archaeology a lot of Agatha Christie’s stories featured digs, tombs or tourists visiting such places. This is another one in this setting. I haven’t got bored with this setting, so I was glad to another story featuring this. This time it is Parker Pyne visiting and getting involved in a mystery with a wealthy tourist.

I easily picked up the clues and solved this one before Parker. From my experience with the short stories they are a lot easier to solve than the full-length novels, which I rarely am able to solve. There is no murder, as Parker Pyne is more about “finding things” and “making people happy” then a actual murder investigation. It was a fun mystery though and I plan to read more mysteries featuring Parker Pyne.

Check out The Pearl of Price by Agatha Christie at Amazon.