“No seaside town in the south of England is, I think, as attractive as St. Loo.”
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Published: 1932
Length: 270 pages
Setting: St. Loo(e), Cornwall
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
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Category Archives: Mysteries
The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
“Major Burnaby drew on his gum boots, buttoned his overcoat collar around his neck, took from the shelf near the door a hurricane lantern, and cautiously opened the front door of his little bungalow and peered out.”
Originally Published as: The Murder at Hazelmoor
Detective: Emily Trefusis with Inspector Narracott
Published: 1931
Length: 228 pages
Setting: Sittaford & Exhampton, Dartmoor
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Murder At The Vicarage: “It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon in the Vicarage.”
Detective: Miss Marple (first appearance)
Published: 1930
Length: 285 pages
Setting: St. Mary Mead, Downshire (fictional)
Greenmantle by John Buchan
Greenmantle: “I had just finished eating breakfast and was filling my pipe when I got Bullivant’s telegram.”
After his harrowing and unexpected adventures in The Thirty-Nine Steps, we find Richard Hannay with his friend, Sandy, convalescing at home from the Battle of Loos, a battle that made up part of the battles of the First World War. But there are rumblings of a war in the East, a Holy War orchestrated by the Germans and their Turkish allies, that would bring about great unrest and tragedy. Britain cannot afford distractions and therefore Hannay must penetrate the Eastern regions and discover the truth about the secret rumblings.
The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Mr. Quin: “It was New Year’s Eve.”
Detective: Mr. Satterthwaite (aided by Mr. Quin)
Published: 1930 (Christie’s 13th published book)
Length: 288 pages
Setting: various: London, Monte Carlo, Corsica, etc.
Oh, what an odd little Christie novel. Yet I suppose I shouldn’t call it a novel. The Mysterious Mr. Quin is a compilation of a collection of short stories by Agatha Christie, published in various magazines over the course of approximately 5 years. One expects customary mysteries from Christie, complete with complex plots but this book is definitely different. There are murders to solve but there are also problems of human choices and consequences. Christie once again attempts something unique.
Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie
Partners In Crime: “Mrs. Thomas Beresford shifted her position on the divan and looked gloomily out of the window of the flat.”
Detective: Tommy and Tuppence Beresford
Published: 1929 (Christie’s 12th published book)
Length: 277 pages
Setting: The International Detective Agency, 118 Haleham St. W.C.
The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
The Seven Dials Mystery: “That amiable youth, Jimmy Thesiger, came racing down the big staircase at Chimneys two steps at a time.”
Detective: Superintendent Battle, Lady Eileen Brent (Bundle)
Published: January 24, 1929 (10th published book)
Length: 282 pages
Setting: Chimneys, London
The Big Four by Agatha Christie
The Big Four: “I have met people who enjoy a channel crossing; men who can sit calmly in their deck chairs and, on arrival, wait until the boat is moored, then gather their belongings together without fuss and disembark.”
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Published: January 1927
Length: 282 pages
Setting: London, Southampton, Devon, Surrey, Paris, Hatton Chase (fictional), Worcestershire, Belgium, South Tyrol (Italy)
Returning from Argentina after an 18-month absence, Hasting finds his old friend, Detective Hercule Poirot ready to depart for South American himself. He has been summoned by a client, Abe Ryland, who is a powerful man and in urgent need of his services. But when Poirot finds a dishevelled, emaciated man in his bedroom with no clue as to how he got there, his departure is delayed. As the man mutters Poirot’s name, while writing the number 4, Hastings speculates on a crime syndicate named The Big Four, whereupon the man reveals the possible players:
The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey
The Man in the Queue: “It was between seven and eight o’clock on a March evening and all over London the bars were being drawn back from pit and gallery doors.”
Ah, finally I managed to find some time to read a Josephine Tey novel!! I’ve been seeing so many reviews of her novels on other book blogs and hearing so many good things about her writing that I was keen to experience it myself. Initially, I’d planned to start with her lauded Daughter of Time but instead decided to begin with her first novel, The Man in the Queue.
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
The Thirty-Nine Steps: “I returned from the City about three o’clock on that May afternoon, pretty well disgusted with life.”
Richard Hannay is bored. Dead bored. Returning from mining exploits in South Africa to idyllic England, he expected to be charmed by life in the busy and dynamic city of London. Perplexed at how to inject a dose of adventure back into his life, one evening he discovers a man on his doorstep in Portland Place, a man who relates a fantastic tale of espionage, murder and the possible political destabilization of not only England, but Europe as well.