Agatha Christie

The personal ad posed a simple question: Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne. The answer is a resounding no for a jealous wife who suspects her husband of infidelity...for a lonely widow driven to assume a new identity...for a distraught mother whose son has been kidnapped...and for the fiancé of a strangely reclusive bride-to-be. But what sort of detective would solicit in the personals? The sort who has a knack for investigating affairs...

Title is derived from the "ABC Rail Guide" to British railways, which contains an alphabetical listing of train stops. The plot centers on finding a killer who murders victims in alphabetical order, starting with a victim in Andover whose initials are A.A. By the time the killer reaches letter "D" Hercule Poirot recognizes that all but one of the murders have been committed as mere deceptions meant to mask the truly significant murder.

Agatha Christie created magnificent works of suspense for the theater, and eight of her riveting stage dramas are collected in The Mousetrap and Other Plays-including the title piece, the longest running play in history, still a smash hit in London's West End after 60 years! On an isolated island, ten people have been brought together to be killed off. An evil old woman has a rendezvous with death in the desert heat of Jerusalem. A scheming wife testifies...

Agatha Christie once again demonstrates her mastery of the short form mystery with Parker Pyne Investigates—short stories of crime and detection featuring Parker Pyne, certainly one of the most unconventional private investigators ever to pursue a hot lead.

Mrs. Packington felt alone, helpless and utterly forlorn. But her life changed when she stumbled upon an advertisement in the Times that read: "Are you happy? If

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The unifying premise for this short story collection is the Tuesday Club: six people who meet socially one evening at Jane Marple's home and then decide to meet regularly each Tuesday night to solve a mystery which a group member must relate.

Contains Murder for Christmas, The Hollow, Murder in Retrospect and Thirteen at Dinner.