Book description
An omnibus of 55 short stories, presented for the first time in
chronological order.
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 devasting
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.
Appearing for the first time in The Murder at The Vicarage (1930) her
crime-fighting career spanned over forty years when she solved her final
case in 1977 in Sleeping Murder. With every tale flawlessly plotted by
the Queen of Crime herself, these short stories provide a feast for
hardened Agatha Christie addicts as well as those who have grown to love
the detective through her many film and television appearances.
Here, for the first time, more than 50 of Agatha Christie's mini
masterpieces have been collected together in one volume, perfectly
illustrating the true breadth of her talent. As well as every story
featuring Miss Marple, the book includes additional stand-alone tales,
from macabre tales of the supernatural, through suspense-ridden
mysteries, to heart-stopping cases of murder. 'The plots are so good
that one marvels… most of them would have made a full length thriller.'
Daily Mirror Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became,
quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. Her first novel, The
Mysterious Affair at Styles, written towards the end of the First World
War, introduced us to Hercule Poirot, who was to become the most popular
detective in crime fiction since Sherlock Holmes. She is known
throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a
billion copies in the English language and another billion in 100
foreign countries. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story
collections, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott.
