Christie Classics

by Agatha Christie

Collection of five Agatha Christie stories:

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
And Then There Were None
Witness for the Prosecution
Philomel Cottage
Three Blind Mice

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

410 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review title: Splendid isolation

Collected stories: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, And Then there were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Philomel Cottage, Three Blind Mice

Stepping away from James Ellroy after finishing his L. A. Quartet to find light and hope even in the mystery genre, this is my sixth different Agatha Christie omnibus collection of short novels and short stories. And surprisingly when I skimmed my other reviews for titles this one has no repeats, which is emblematic of how prolific the dame of British mysteries was in her writing!....

....and how good! The first two are novella length and are 5-star classics. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a Hercules Poirot story told by a doctor who joined the retired Belgian detective living next door in the small English village in solving the mystery of the murder of Ackroyd, a wealthy local manor. Every character is a suspect, every character seems capable of the murder, yet everyone has an alibi out. The twist in the story caught me completely by surprise and had me paging back through the story to reread key points where I could now see the ah-ha moments.

Even better was And Then There were None. Ten people have received invitations to vacation at an island resort off the southwest coast of England. None of the ten know why they are there and who their fellow guests are, and when people start mysteriously dying the social tensions ratchet quickly. Similar to , Christie uses the isolation of both the potential victims and the killer in an unreachable setting to drive the mystery and the tension, and this may be the best of her stories I've read yet.

The final three are short stories and pale only in comparison to the classic start to the collection. Let me just say these cautionary tales suggest you would be wise to avoid short engagements and quick weddings, and don't read other people's diaries and letters.

[Alyssa Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something so cozy and fun about a good classic mystery. I love to return to Agatha Christie when I’m feeling worn down with the day to day. Her writing style leads you through all the twists and turns and what a fun ride. If you haven’t read anything by her I highly recommend for something light and fun.

[Jenae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of long and short tales from the one and only Ms. Christie. The plot twists are presented very well, making it a difficult book to put down. The Edwardian era prose is enjoyable in the main, but some of the class- and gender-observations are rather dated. It is very interesting to read these murder-mysteries and see the nascent forensic science in action. Several characters refer to having read popular detective stories, which basically were the equivalent of CSI.

[Cognatious Thunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

While these are some of my favorite Agatha Christie stories, it seems that I have gotten spoiled listening to them narrated by Hugh Frasier. He brings something special to Christie's words and my own brain cannot supply his cadence. Nevertheless, I'm still tickled pink with my resale shop purchase, since now I have a hard copy of them.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent whodunnit stories!

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