The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories

by Agatha Christie

Overview

Hercule Poirot is joined by the mysterious problem solver Harley Quin in the pages of The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories—a collection of ingenious short masterworks of mystery and suspense that showcase the legendary Agatha Christie at her very best.

A grand treasure for fans of the grande dame of mystery, The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories brings together nine rare and brilliant Christie tales of murder and detection that span nearly half a century of her storytelling genius.

In The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, Hercule Poirot unravels the psychological conundrums that motivate a killer. . . . In The Actress, a great star's shady past becomes the plaything of a blackmailer. . . . In The Harlequin Tea Set, Mr. Harley Quin helps a man save his loved ones from the greedy hand of murder. These and six other stories of danger and detection complete this stellar collection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062094391
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/19/2012
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	49,180
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)

About the Author

Agatha 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, after a prolific career spanning six decades.

Date of Birth:

September 15, 1890

Date of Death:

January 12, 1976

Place of Birth:

Torquay, Devon, England

Education:

Home schooling

Website:

http://www.agathachristie.com

What People are Saying About This

Mary Daheim

“There are no original mystery plots. Christie devised all of them first, and the rest of us borrow from her.”

Editorial Reviews

There are no original mystery plots. Christie devised all of them first, and the rest of us borrow from her.” — Mary Daheim, USA Today bestselling author of the Bed-and-Breakfast mysteries

“A treat for any Christie fan....These stories are ample proof—if further proof were needed—of the mastery she brought to her craft.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch

From the Publisher

There are no original mystery plots. Christie devised all of them first, and the rest of us borrow from her.

Mary Daheim

A treat for any Christie fan....These stories are ample proof—if further proof were needed—of the mastery she brought to her craft.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

This welcome collection contains nine stories, most of which were published only in British newspapers and magazines during the 1920s. Hercule Poirot and Harley Quin make appearances, as do more "normal" people dealing with murder.

Library Journal

YA--These nine short stories, never before published in the U.S., offer a variety of mysterious doings, intriguing characters, and odd circumstances. Christie's complex plots, her historical and moral perspectives, and her strong interest in human psychology are the major factors setting the tone of these selections. "The Harlequin Tea Set" weaves psychological drama with a ghost story, creating a surreal atmosphere and an extraordinary ending. Several of the stories, while interesting, are familiar in plot and character and offer no real surprises. "The Lonely God" is a love story typical of the sentimental writing of the period. "Manx Gold" is a grand adventure with several murders spicing up the plot. Christie captures cultural and period details in a way that readers can easily assimilate, making these stories time-capsule views of life during the first third of this century. This collection continues to substantiate the author's ability to create imaginative plots and characters, proving that really good writing remains readable for countless years.--Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

"The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories is a treat for any Christie fan...These stories are ample proof -- if further proof were need -- of the mastery she brought to her craft."

Dispatch Richmond Times

Don't get your hopes up: Six of these nine stories are inconsequential, if smoothly told, romances in Christie's Mary Westmacott mode. The exceptions include "Manx Gold," a labored and underclued treasure-hunt; "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest," an expansion (actually a dilution) of one of Christie's most successful stories, "The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest," which shows how poorly served the tale is by subtracting Hastings and expanding Poirot's dialogues with the suspects; and the title story, a pale reunion of Mr. Satterthwait and the spectral Harley Quin 40 years after their first meeting.

Christie completists will treasure the three low-grade stories for all their flaws. But the collection is the worst possible introduction to one of the genre's true masters.

Kirkus Reviews