Book Description

FIVE BOOKS IN ONE! Included in this volume: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (originally published in 1920): Agatha Christie''s debut novel was the first to feature Hercule Poirot, her famously eccentric Belgian detective. A refugee of the Great War, Poirot is settling in England near Styles Court, the country estate of his wealthy benefactress, the elderly Emily Inglethorp. When Emily is poisoned and the authorities are baffled, Poirot puts his prodigious sleuthing skills to work. Suspects are plentiful, including the victim''s much younger husband, her resentful stepsons, her longtime hired companion, a young family friend working as a nurse, and a London specialist on poisons who just happens to be visiting the nearby village. All of them have secrets they are desperate to keep, but none can outwit Poirot as he navigates the ingenious red herrings and plot twists that earned Agatha Christie her well-deserved reputation as the queen of mystery. The Murder on the Links (originally published in 1923): Beloved detective Hercule Poirot made his second appearance in this tale of murder, blackmail, and forbidden love. Hercule Poirot rushes to France in response to an urgent and cryptic plea from a client. But the Belgian detective arrives just too late: the man who had summoned him is found dead on a golf course, stabbed in the back with a letter opener and wearing an ill-fitting coat with a mysterious love letter in its pocket. Strange circumstances multiply, culminating in the discovery of a second body stabbed with the same murder weapon. While the local authorities pursue the false leads suggested by the evidence, Poirot relies instead upon his famous "little grey cells" to cut through the confusion and untangle a story of blackmail, forbidden love, and a long-buried secret. Poirot Investigates (originally published in 1924): A collection of eleven unforgettable short stories by Agatha Christie, featuring her inimitable fictional detective, Hercule Poirot. The mysteries include: The Adventure of the Western Star, The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor, The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, The Mystery of Hunter''s Lodge, The Million Dollar Bond Robbery, The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan, The Kidnapped Prime Minister, The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim, The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman, and The Case of the Missing Will. The Secret Adversary (originally published in 1922): The novel that introduced Tommy and Tuppence, a bantering pair of 1920s bright young things who solve a mystery together while falling for each other. The Great War is over and jobs are scarce. Tommy Beresford and Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley, who were friends before the war, run into each other in London and discover they are both equally short of money and opportunities. On a whim, they decide to start a business, advertising themselves as "The Young Adventurers." Their first job leads them into a series of increasingly dangerous situations involving international spies, a society beauty, a Russian count, the wreck of the Lusitania, an amnesia patient, an American millionaire, and a fiendishly clever arch-criminal known only as "Mr. Brown." By the time the dust settles, all the puzzle pieces have been fitted together--and the young couple have realized their feelings for each other and have become engaged. The Man In The Brown Suit (originally published in 1924): Orphan Anne leaves her home when her father dies and heads for London in search of adventure. There she witnesses an accident, and a mysterious man who attends the victim claiming to be a doctor. Anne picks up a note which had come from the victim''s pocket, and follows the trail from London, aboard ship, to Africa, finally a lost island, tracking stolen diamond