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Loading... Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Storiesby Agatha Christie
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I found this collection of short stories to be a bit of a grab bag. On the whole, it was a pleasant way to spend some time however, I find several of these stories not really to my taste. In particular, I am not a fan of the hint of supernatural found in the Mr. Satterthwaite stories. I did like the two Parker Pyne stories "The Problem at Pollensa Bay" and "The Regatta Mystery" and the non-mystery story "Next to a Dog" was very touching. While the Poirot and Parker Pyne stories are good, the highlights of this collection are a couple of stories that don't fit the mold of the typical murder mystery generally associated with Christie's name: "The Harlequin Tea Set"--I can't say much about the plot without giving away the ending (which has an almost surreal quality to it), but this is a brilliant and beautifully crafted tale with a strong emphasis on visual description and color which both enables (almost forces!) the reader to envision the scene in vivid detail and plays an important role in the story; and "Next to a Dog"--it's obvious from this heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful story of love, loss and redemption that Christie was a pet lover who deeply felt the loss of her own beloved furry friends, and she communicates that exquisitely, as well as (and perhaps better than) any other writer ever has, and though it's a story focused on a dog, it is perhaps her most human story. Worth the price for these two gems alone, but the other stories nicely round out the set with the kind of fun, intriguing mysteries one expects from Christie. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesMr. Harley Quin (13-14) Parker Pyne (short story) Belongs to Publisher SeriesSaPo (361) Contains
Fiction.
Mystery.
HTML: A classic from the queen of mystery: Agatha Christie. .No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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For the Parker Pyne and Mr Quin/Mr Satterthwaite completists this is a must as it contains two uncollected Parker Pyne stories (originally published a Poirot stories), as well as the earliest and last Quin/Satterthwaite stories (one written in 1926 and the other in 1971). It's probable that as the plot for the earliest, "The Love Detectives" (1926), was reworked into the Marple novel "Murder at the Vicarage" (1930) that explains why it was not collected into "The Mysterious Mr Quin" (also published 1930).
The book is completed by two non-mystery short stories from the 20s (and I defy you not to be moved by "Next to a dog").
A great little collection of entertaining, early Christies that can be enjoyed for themselves, but also give some insight into how she developed plots and characters (thanks to the excellent podcast "All About Agatha" for setting me on the track of the complex publication histories!). ( )