Showing results by author "Agatha Christie" in All Categories

All great crime writers have their favourite creations. Similarly, every great sleuth has his, or her, own preferred method of deduction. Take the charming Parker Pyne, who relies upon an intuitive knowledge of human nature to solve the 'Problem at Pollensa Bay'. Or Mr Satterthwaite, who seeks inspiration through his collaboration with the enigmatic Mr Quin in 'The Harlequin Tea Set' mystery. Then, of course, there's Poirot, whose measured analysis of motive and opportunity is tested to the full in 'Yellow Iris', when he receives an anonymous call about a matter of life and death.

Six short stories from the Queen of Crime, telling, amongst other things, of Pink Pearls and Sinister Strangers.Bonus Feature: Includes an exclusive Q&A session between Hugh Fraser and David Brawn, Publishing Operations Director at HarperCollins.Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance

Summertime - as the temperature rises, so does the potential for evil. From Cornwall to the French Riviera, whether against a background of Delphic temples or English country houses, Agatha Christie’s most famous characters solve even the most devilish of conundrums as the summer sun beats down. Pull up a deckchair and enjoy plot twists and red herrings galore from the best-selling fiction writer of all time.

For an instant the two trains ran together, side by side. In that frozen moment, Elspeth witnessed a murder. Helplessly, she stared out of her carriage window as a man remorselessly tightened his grip around a woman's throat. The body crumpled. Then the other train drew away. But who, apart from Miss Marple, would take her story seriously? After all, there were no suspects, no other witnesses… and no corpse.

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stopped the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train was surprisingly full for the time of the year. But by the morning there was one passenger fewer. An American lay dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.

Inglaterra, 1914. O mundo está em guerra. O capitão Hastings, ferido e abalado, é convidado para ir à mansão Styles para se recuperar. Trata-se de uma grande e antiga casa de campo – propriedade da família de um velho amigo – e um refúgio perfeito. Pelo menos, à primeira vista. Mas, sob o calor escaldante do verão, os problemas vão aparecendo. Tensões latentes estão dividindo a família, e acabam chegando a um desfecho aterrador. Emily Inglethorp, a rica matriarca da família, é torpemente assassinada no meio da noite. E ninguém em Styles está acima de suspeita.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple, the sharp-witted spinster sleuth. In the sleepy little English country village of St Mary Mead, all is not as it seems. Under a seemingly peaceful exterior lurks intrigue, guilt, deception - and murder. Colonel Protheroe, local magistrate and overbearing landowner, is the most detested man in the village. Everyone, even the vicar, wishes he were dead. And very soon he is - shot in the head in the vicar's own study.

First, the mystery man in the church with a bullet-wound. Then, the riddle of a dead man's buried treasure...the curious conduct of a caretaker after a fatal riding accident...the corpse and a tape-measure...the girl framed for theft...and the suspect accused of stabbing his wife with a dagger. Here are six gripping cases with one thing in common: the astonishing deductive powers of Miss Marple.

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple, the deceptively mild spinster sleuth. 'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30pm. Friends please accept this, the only intimation.' Nestled among the usual notices about dogs for sale and appeals for domestic help, the startling entry in the personal column of the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette has the the entire village agog with curiosity. Is it a game? And who is meant to attend?

Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion, while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of the unpopular games mistress, shot through the heart from point blank range.

When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again, for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple. Recuperating from a flying accident, Jerry Burton needs to take a break somewhere peaceful. He and his sister rent a house in the little village of Lymstock, where they know no-one and hope to be able to relax. Their quiet life is shattered, however, by the arrival of an obscene anonymous letter accusing them of impropriety. Jerry refuses to take it seriously and throws it on the fire.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have just become the proud owners of an old house in an English village. Along with the property, they have inherited some worthless bric-a-brac, including a collection of antique books. While rustling through a copy of The Black Arrow, Tuppence comes upon a series of apparently random underlinings.

Gwenda Reed arrives from New Zealand, travelling ahead of her husband with the task of finding the perfect place to make their base. In the quiet village of Dilmouth, she finds a house with immediate appeal. A few renovations will convert it into her ideal home. Then things get very strange indeed. Wanting porch stairs, Gwenda hires a builder to put them in - only to find some old steps, covered up by bushes.

Escape from isolation and broaden your horizons with this audio collection of murder mysteries by Agatha Christie, read by David Suchet, television’s iconic Poirot for more than two decades. Train journeys through rolling countryside and cruises across the open ocean might sound exotic, but when murder strikes mid-journey, they’re anything but. Even on holiday, tensions can bubble beneath the surface, and when the end of the line leads to murder, everyone’s a suspect.

Carla Lemarchant was a child of five when her mother was accused and convicted of poisoning her father, the famous painter Amyas Crale. After Caroline Crale dies in prison, Carla is sent to live with her uncle and aunt in Canada. Only on her 21st birthday does Carla learn of her family history when she reads a letter written by Caroline before her death, in which she denies murdering her husband. But if her mother didn't kill Amyas Crale, who did?

June Whitfield stars as the sharp-witted spinster sleuth in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation now available on audio. Miss Marple is totally shocked to receive a letter from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel, an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. The letter leaves instructions for Miss Marple, whom Mr Rafiel had recognised as a natural detective, to investigate a crime after his death.

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 13 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Gervase Fen novella by Edmund Crispin that has never previously been published. With the Golden Age of detective fiction shining ever more brightly thanks to the recent reappearance of many forgotten crime novels, Bodies from the Library offers a rare opportunity to read lost stories from the first half of the twentieth century by some of the genre’s most accomplished writers.

England, 1914. Die Welt ist von Konflikten gezeichnet. Der verletzte Captain Hastings wird ins Anwesen Styles Court eingeladen, um sich von seinen körperlichen und seelischen Wunden zu erholen. Styles ist ein prachtvolles Landhaus und Heimat seines Kindheitsfreundes. Für Hastings ein Ort der Ruhe … glaubt er. Doch an den heißen Sommertagen braut sich etwas Finsteres zusammen.

When a number of leading scientists disappear without a trace, concern grows within the international intelligence community. Are they being kidnapped? Blackmailed? Brainwashed? One woman appears to have the key to the mystery. Unfortunately, Olive Betteron now lies in a hospital bed, dying from injuries sustained in a Moroccan plane crash.