The heiress of Styles has been murdered, dying in agony from strychnine slipped into her coffee. And there are plenty who would gain from her death: the financially strapped stepson, the gold digging younger husband, and an embittered daughter-in-law. Agatha Christie's eccentric and hugely popular detective, Hercule Poirot, was introduced to the world in this book, which launched her career as the most famous and best loved of all mystery writers.
In her first published mystery, Agatha Christie introduced readers to her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. When the wealthy mistress of Styles Court is murdered, Poirot is on hand to wade through the confusing clues and long list of suspects! A classic whodunit. This special edition is loaded with bonus content...reviews of the era, a filmography, and a complete bonus Agatha Christie novel, "The Secret Adversary."
"The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920[1] and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head (John Lane's UK company) on 21 January 1921.[2]Styles was Christie's first published novel. It introduced Hercule Poirot, Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp, and Arthur Hastings.[3] Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, is settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When the woman is killed, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery."
Hercule Poirot, the world's most famous detective, returns in this ingenious, stylish, and altogether delicious mystery from the author of the instant bestseller The Monogram Murders. "What I intend to say to you will come as a shock..." With these words, Lady Athelinda Playford -- one of the world's most beloved children's authors -- springs a surprise on the lawyer entrusted with her will. As guests arrive for a party at her Irish mansion, Lady Playford has decided to cut off her two children without a penny . . . and leave her vast fortune to someone else: an invalid who has only weeks to live. Among Lady Playford's visitors are two strangers: the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. Neither knows why he has been invited -- until Poirot begins to wonder if Lady Playford expects a murder. But why does she seem so determined to provoke a killer? And why -- when the crime is committed despite Poirot's best efforts to stop it -- does the identity of the victim make no sense at all? Addictive, ferociously clever, and packed with clues, wit, and murder, Closed Casket is a triumph from the author whose work is "as tricky as anything written by Agatha Christie" (Alexander McCall Smith, The New York Times Book Review).
In her first published mystery, Agatha Christie introduced readers to her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. When the wealthy mistress of Styles Court is murdered, Poirot is on hand to wade through the confusing clues and long list of suspects! A classic whodunit.This special edition is loaded with bonus content...reviews of the era, a filmography, and a complete bonus Agatha Christie novel, "The Secret Adversary.""The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head (John Lane's UK company) on 21 January 1921.Styles was Christie's first published novel. It introduced Hercule Poirot, Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp, and Arthur Hastings. Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, is settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When the woman is killed, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery."
The debut of Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Agatha Christie and her remarkable Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot Invalided home from the Western Front, Arthur Hastings arrives at Styles Court anticipating a relaxing sojourn in the English countryside. It turns out to be anything but. Late one night, Hastings is summoned to the locked bedroom door of Emily Inglethorp, mistress of the manor. A terrible commotion is happening inside, and by the time her family forces the door open it is too late—Emily is in the final, violent throes of strychnine poisoning and nothing can save her. As fate would have it, Belgium’s most celebrated detective, a refugee from the war, resides in the neighboring village. Hercule Poirot may look, in the words of Hastings, like a “quaint dandyfied little man,” but he possesses one of the finest minds in Europe and an extraordinary flair for solving the most baffling of cases. Half a dozen people—including Alfred, Emily’s much younger second husband; her slacker stepsons, John and Lawrence; and Mary, her beautiful but bored daughter-in-law—had the means and the motive to poison Emily. While Hastings and the rest of Styles Court rush to judgment, Poirot painstakingly sifts through the clues and considers each of the suspects in turn. The answer at which he arrives will shock them all. Agatha Christie wrote The Mysterious Affair at Styles because her sister wagered that she could not plot a mystery. Not only did Christie win that bet, she created one of the greatest detectives in all of literature and established herself as the undisputed Queen of Crime. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
“Writing Crooked House was pure pleasure and I feel justified in my belief that it is one of my best.” --Agatha Christie Described by the queen of mystery herself as one of her favorites of her published work, Crooked House is a classic Agatha Christie thriller revolving around a devastating family mystery. The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection. Suspicion naturally falls on the old man’s young widow, fifty years his junior. But the murderer has reckoned without the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiancé of the late millionaire’s granddaughter.
Let the holiday revelry begin with The Nutcracker and Other Christmas Tales, a deluxe treasury that celebrates the Christmas season and the warm tidings that we associate with it. It features 10 heartwarming holiday stories including the title tale, Alexander Dumas's renowned rendering of the E.T.A. Hoffmann original that inspired the beloved ballet. The contents also includes works by Louisa May Alcott, L. M. Montgomery, Kate Douglas Wiggin, and L. Frank Baum, as well as the full text of Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol, which helped to establish the Christmas holiday as we celebrate it today.
As a favour to an old friend, Hercule Poirot finds himself at a summer fete in Devon, taking part not in a Treasure Hunt, but a Murder Hunt, in this never-before-published novella version of Dead Man’s Folly. Now released for the first time as an eBook exclusive publication.