The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to William Morrow Paperbacks. In her classic mystery Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, a dying man’s bewildering last words pull an inquisitive young man and his beautiful companion into a dangerous web of lethal secrets.Review“Agatha Christie had one of the most creative minds in mystery fiction. She managed to use up almost all the plots before most of us were born.” (Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon mysteries )“A story that tickles and tantalizes but never exhausts the reader’s patience or ingenuity.” (Times Literary Supplement (London) ) From the Back CoverWhile playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. The man opens his eyes and with his last breath says, "Why didn't they ask Evans?"Haunted by those words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger. . .

This collection gathers together every short story featuring one of Agatha Christie’s most famous creations: Miss Marple. Described by her friend Dolly Bantry as “the typical old maid of fiction,” Miss Marple has lived almost her entire life in the sleepy hamlet of St. Mary Mead. Yet, by observing village life she has gained an unparalleled insight into human nature—and used it to devastating effect. As her friend Sir Henry Clithering, the ex- Commissioner of Scotland Yard, has been heard to say: “She’s just the finest detective God ever made”—and many Agatha Christie fans would agree.From Publishers WeeklyFans of the amiable, omniscient Miss Marple will be delighted by the first publication in one volume of all 20 short stories that Christie centered on the elderly sleuth. Wearing her black lace mittens, Miss Marple sits in her chair, knitting and digesting details of murders of all descriptions (from poisonings to a drowning to a shooting by bow and arrow). She manages, of course, to see through all false identities and bogus alibis, and neatly solves each puzzle, no matter how obscure or far-fetched. The bulk of the stories are gathered from The Tuesday Club murders, chronicling the meetings of a group formed by Miss Marple and a handful of her friends. The members take turns recounting mysteries to which they know the answers, while the others take a stab at cracking the cases. Readers will have fun playing along, but beware: Miss Marple is fierce competition. Foreign rights: Hughes Massie. December 2Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review“Christie’s heart is in her books, speaking to us through her characters just as clearly and forthrightly as she would speak, could she walk into her drawing room and greet a friend.” (Carolyn Hart, Agatha Award-winning author of the Death on Demand mysteries )

At last, a single volume that gathers together all of the short stories featuring Agatha Christie's most famous creation: Hercule Poirot. The dapper, mustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and curious mannerisms has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century—and, in his own humble opinion, is "probably the greatest detective in the world."In this complete collection of stories, ranging from short tales to novellas, Poirot faces violent murders, poisonings, kidnappings, and thefts—all solved with his characteristic panache. Only Agatha Christie could have devised cases worthy of Hercule Poirot's skill and "little gray cells." About the AuthorAgatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976.

The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to William Morrow Paperbacks. Christie's superb stand-alone mystery, Passenger to Frankfurt, is a true masterwork of surprise and suspense, as a diplomat comes to the aid of a terrified woman in an airport, only to find that his identity has been stolen and his life is suddenly in serious jeopardy.Review“I cut my mystery teeth on Agatha Christie. She is and will always be the queen of mystery.” (John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author )“Marvelously entertaining.” (Observer (UK) )“The cleverness of it remains as unflagging as ever.” (Sunday Times (London) ) From the Back CoverSir Stafford Nye's flight home from Malaya takes an unprecedented twist when a young woman confides in him that someone is trying to kill her. In a moment of weakness, he agrees to lend her his passport. Unwittingly, the diplomat has put his own life on the line. When he meets the mystery woman again, she is a different person, and he finds himself drawn into a battle against an invisible—and altogether more dangerous—enemy. . . .

In an all-new edition, an engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery,” complete with a bonus CD featuring the voice of the grande dame herself Agatha Christie was a woman of mystery, in every sense of the word. Her novels made her the world’s best-selling author, but her private life was hidden from view. For many years she dodged reporters and gave no interviews, and for a brief time she famously disappeared. She started writing her autobiography in April 1950 and finished it fifteen years later, when she was seventy-five years old and decided “it seems the right moment to stop.” In this book, which was originally published in 1977 in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Company, Agatha Christie sheds light on her past. She tells of her childhood in Victorian England, her volunteer work during World War II, her rise to success, her working habits, the inspiration for her most famous characters—Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple—and the places and people that influenced her. After being out of print for several years, this book is being brought back in a new hardcover edition with a CD featuring excerpts dictated by Agatha Christie herself. Review“This book proves as inspiring as it is charming and absorbing.” (Boston Globe )“Brisk and admirable....Capturing the experience of a generation too often made over-grim or over-glorious, it is the autobiography of a woman, not merely a writer.” (Los Angeles Times )“Especially welcome.” (Publishers Weekly )“Contains some wonderful treats....Christie writes with such wit and insight that all 542 pages fly.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer )“A fun read, full of detail about upper-crust life in the Victorian era and about Christie’s own surprise at finding herself a mystery novelist.” (Charlotte News & Observer )“The history of a unique upbringing in a time long gone. It’s a portrait of a childhood and young womanhood that vanished with World War I.” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review )“Christie writes with a wonderful dry wit. It is fascinating to see how people she met became characters in her novels.” (Daily American )“Joyful adventure....She brings the sense of wonder...to her extraordinary career.” (New York Times Book Review )“Agatha Christie is no longer merely one of my favorite writers. She is now one of my favorite people.” (Chicago Tribune )“A delightful autobiography....Warm, witty and discerning.” (Los Angeles Times )“Wonderfully easy to read and engrossing.” (The Times (London) )“Agatha Christie’s most absorbing mystery – the story of her own unusual life. She has put it all on record: her early romances; a broken (and a happy) marriage; strange events on the path to roaring success.” (Daily Mail (London) )“A wonderful book—written with a delight in the gradual unfolding of 75 years through the eyes of an exceptional old lady and writer.” (Financial Times (London) ) About the AuthorAgatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English and another billion in one hundred foreign countries. She is the author of eighty novels and short-story collections, nineteen plays, and six novels under the name Mary Westmacott. She died in 1976.

It was the match-up of the century: four sleuths--Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard; Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, famed writer of detective stories; Col. Race of His Majesty's Secret Service; and the incomparable Hercule Poirot - invited to play bridge with four specially invited guests, each of whom had gotten away with murder! But before the first rubber was completed, the host was dead.

The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything - until she lost her life. Hercule Poirot recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: 'I'd like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.' Yet in this exotic setting, nothing is ever quite what it seems...

The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to William Morrow Paperbacks. Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories is a collection of eleven tantalizing tales of murder and other criminal pursuits—including the classic title story, basis for the 1957 Oscar-nominated Billy Wilder film starring Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, and Charles Laughton.Review“From the unforgettable Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, two crime solvers who rival the near-peerless Sherlock Holmes, to the post-climactic jolts of And Then There Were None and The Witness for the Prosecution, Agatha Christie is in a class by herself.” (Mary Jane Clark, New York Times bestselling author ) From the Back CoverA murder trial takes a diabolical turn when the wife of the accused takes the stand. . . . A woman's sixth sense—and a loaded revolver—signal premonitions of doom. . . . A stranded motorist seeks refuge in a remote mansion and is greeted with a dire warning. . . . Detective Hercule Poirot faces his greatest challenge when his services are enlisted—by the victim—in a bizarre locked-room murder.From the stunning title story (which inspired the classic film thriller) to the rarest gems in detective fiction, these eleven tales of baffling crime and brilliant deduction showcase Agatha Christie at her dazzling best.

Ablinding snowstorm—and a homicidal maniac—traps a small party of friends in an isolated estate. Out of this deceptively simple setup, Agatha Christie fashioned one of her most ingenious puzzlers, which in turn would provide the basis for The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in history. From this classic title novella to the deliciously clever gems on its tail (solved to perfection by Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple), this rare collection of murder most foul showcases Christie at her inventive best, proving her reputation as "the champion deceiver of our time" (New York Times).Review“Agatha Christie set the bar. As I write, it’s one I gaze upon from below with admiration, longing, and very occasionally a glimmer of recognition.” (Katherine Hall Page, Agatha award-winning author of the Faith Fairchild Mysteries ) From the Back CoverAblinding snowstorm—and a homicidal maniac—traps a small party of friends in an isolated estate. Out of this deceptively simple setup, Agatha Christie fashioned one of her most ingenious puzzlers, which in turn would provide the basis for The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in history. From this classic title novella to the deliciously clever gems on its tail (solved to perfection by Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple), this rare collection of murder most foul showcases Christie at her inventive best, proving her reputation as "the champion deceiver of our time" (New York Times).

From the Queen of Mystery—this all-new collection of stories about love gone horribly wrong will get your heart racing.Love can propel us to our greatest heights . . . and darkest depths. In this new collection of Agatha Christie short stories, witness the dark side of love—crimes of passion, games of the heart, and deadly affairs. This pulse-pounding compendium features beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, master of charades Parker Pyne, the enigmatic Harley Quin, and the adventurous Tommy and Tuppence, all on the ready to solve a tantalizing mystery.In "The Face of Helen," a night at the Royal Opera could reach a deadly crescendo for a woman caught in a dicey love triangle; "Finessing the King" delivers a curious ad in the personals that could mask sinister intentions; who's in danger of getting stung in "Wasp's Nest" depends on rounding up suspects and solving a murder—before it even happens; and more tales that...

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time with her works outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. She is regarded by generations of fans as the greatest mystery writer ever, and her novels are read and cherished the world over.Clarissa, the young wife of a Foreign Office Diplomat, delights in tweaking the sensibilities of her more serious friends and for playing a game she calls "supposing" - imagining a difficult situation and figuring out how people would respond. But Clarissa's lighthearted game becomes deadly serious when she discovers the dead body of an unknown person in her own drawing room. If that wasn't bad enough, her husband is on the way home with an important foreign politician and the attendant scandal of the dead body would irrevocably damage his career at the very least. Therefore, Clarissa decides to dispose of the body and persuades her three houseguests to help. But before she can get the body off the premises, a policeman arrives at her front door. The police received an anonymous tip about a murder in the house and have shown up to investigate. Now Clarissa must keep the body hidden, convince the skeptical police inspector that there has been no murder, and, in the meantime, find out who has been murdered, why, and what the body is doing in her house.From Publishers WeeklyAs he did with Black Coffee (1998), Osborne has taken one of Christie's original play scripts and turned it into a (slight) novel. For those who can't see the play in production or who find a script dull or difficult reading, Osborne's adaptation may fill a need. But Osborne has added little flesh to the bones of the drama, which, with its single-room setting, absolutely retains the feel of a play merely masquerading as a novel rather than transformed into one. That's not all bad, as this novelization preserves the lightning-quick pace of the original. Christie's play had its premiere in 1958, yet remains undated by the passing years. When a stranger having car trouble at night on a lonely road enters a house through the French windows of its study, he finds an invalid who has been shot dead and a woman (his wife) standing nearby and holding a gun. Apparently on impulse, the stranger decides to help the woman hide her crime. Those two plus a small castAthe victim's mother; the victim's teenage half-brother; his housekeeper/secretary; and his male nurseAparade kaleidoscopically in and out of the study with two investigating police officers. Christie cleverly shifts suspicion and parcels out new facts and perspectives in marvelous fashion, proving ingeniously that the obvious isn't always obvious. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistLike a martini--crisp, dry, sophisticated, habit-forming, ever-so-slightly dated--Christite's smoothly polished mysteries go down easy. This one was written as a stage play, first performed in 1958, and is here adapted into novel form by Osborne, who last year published a novelization of Christie's Black Coffee . Like Christie's endlessly running Mousetrap, the plot here is full of twists around a single room, with people who are not what they seem. Michael Starkwedder's car runs into a ditch in Wales in the fog, and when he opens the French doors of the nearest house he finds an attractive woman with a gun in her hand, and the very dead corpse of her husband in a wheelchair in the same room. Mentally deficient relatives, loyal and twisted servants, patient inspectors, family secrets, and dramatic dialogue will satisfy all devotees of Christie's neat plotting, even without either Poirot or Marple. Ready for the beach or the fireside. GraceAnne A. DeCandido

An all-new collection of autumn-themed mysteries from the master of the genre. Autumn is the season of misty mornings and cosy nights in, but as the leaves begin to fall the nights get longer and the shadows grow darker... Secluded cottages, eerie manors and ghostly hauntings and cursed tombs abound in this collection of 12 supernatural mysteries and murderous plots featuring Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Agatha Christie's other favourite detectives. INCLUDES THE STORIES:Murder in the MewsThe Case of the Rich WomanWhile the Light LastsTriangle at RhodesDeath by DrowningThe Bird with the Broken WingThe Lemesurier InheritanceThe House of Lurking DeathTape-Measure MurderThe Voice in the DarkFour-and-Twenty BlackbirdsWitness for the Prosecution

First published in 1934, this collection of Agatha Christie short stories features 12 ingenious tales involving mystery and adventure, from a stolen rajah's emerald to a necklace discovered in a basket of cherries to a mystery writer's bizarre near-arrest for murder. Among the stories in this enjoyable early collection are "The Girl on the Train," "Jane in Search of a Job," and "Philomel Cottage," which was made into the film "Love from a Stranger.