(1920-1939)

The Mysterious Affair At Styles *1920*

Agatha Christie's first detective-story and it introduced Hercule Poirot. Agatha Christie's vast public will understand after reading this tale why the charming, courteous little Belgian with his egg-shaped head and impressive moustache has become the best-known detective of fiction since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes.
Poirot is with several Belgian refugees who are in an Essex village as guests of Mrs. Inglethorp, owner of Styles Court. This old lady has recently - and rather surprisingly - married for the second time, and her black-bearded husband (many years younger than she is) is heartily disliked by her two stepsons, John and Laurence Cavendish. John's wife, Mary, is friendly with Dr Bauerstein, a sinister-looking London specialist who is an expert on poisons and who is recuperating from a nervous breakdown. A strange atmosphere of tension pervades Styles Court. Mrs. lnglethorp is agitated. She retires to her room one evening, and her husband takes a cup of coffee to her. During the night she becomes ill and dies from strychnine poisoning. Poirot is summoned. He finds curious clues - crushed fragments of a coffee-cup, a stain on the floor, a few threads of a dark green fabric, a small piece of half-charred paper which appears to be part of a will, and an old envelope with the word 'possessed' written on it several times-spelt first incorrectly and then correctly. As Poirot pursues his inquiries, the case grows more and more complicated; but finally an innocent person is saved from the gallows and the murderer is revealed by a brilliant piece of guesswork on Poirot's part.

The Secret Adversary *1922*

Tommy and Tuppence, two young people short of money and restless for excitement, embark on a daring business scheme - Young Adventurers Ltd.
Their advertisement says they are ‘willing to do anything, go anywhere’. But their first assignment, for the sinister Mr. Whittington, plunges them into more danger than they ever imagined...
An appealing cocktail of comedy and adventure featuring the world's most unlikely detectives.

The Murder on the Links *1923*

An urgent cry for help brings Poirot to France. But he arrives too late to save his client, whose brutally stabbed body now lies face downwards in a shallow grave on a golf course. But why is the dead man wearing his son's overcoat? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically murdered corpse.

The Man in the Brown Suit *1924*

The narrator of most of the tale is Anne Peddingfeld, a Professor of Anthropology's attractive and enterprising daughter, who witnesses a fatal accident at a London Tube station and is quick to notice some curious features about a man in a brown suit who says he is a doctor. Having secured an interview with a newspaper proprietor she starts investigating the strange sequel to the mystery - the discovery of a woman's body in a lonely house at Marlow belonging to Sir Eustace Pedlar, a Member of Parliament. Three clues help her - a smell of moth balls, a scrap of paper with some figures and "Kilmorden Castle" written on it, and an unexposed roll of Kodak film. The trail leads her to South Africa; and traveling on the same ship is Sir Eustace himself, who has been entrusted by a Government department with confidential documents for General Smuts. The voyage is exciting; and on arriving at Cape Town Anne finds herself plunged in further adventures of a most mysterious kind.

The Secret of Chimneys *1925*

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that a simple errand on behalf of a friend would make him the centerpiece of a murderous international conspiracy. Someone would stop at nothing to prevent the monarchy being restored in faraway Herzoslovakia.
The combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté can do no better than go in circles - until the final murder at Chimneys, the great country estate that yields up an amazing secret. A fascinating trail of clues that leads half-way around the world.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd *1926*

Roger Ackroyd knew too much.
He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Now, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with a drug overdose.
Soon the evening post would let him know who the mystery blackmailer was. But Roger was dead before he'd finished reading it - stabbed through the neck where he sat in his study.

The Big Four *1927*

A dazzling display of order, method, and Poirot's 'little grey cells'.
Framed in the doorway of Poirot's bedroom stood an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man's gaunt face stared for a moment, then he swayed and fell.
Who was he? Was he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what was the significance of the figure four, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper?
Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life to uncover the significance of 'Number Four'.

The Mystery of the Blue Train *1928*

When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again - for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing. The prime suspect is Ruth's estranged husband, Derek. Yet Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie re-enactment of the journey, complete with the murderer on board!

The Seven Dials Mystery *1929*

Gerry Wade had proved himself to be a champion sleeper, so the other house guests decided to play a practical joke on him. Eight loud alarm clocks were set to go off, one after the other, starting at 6.30 a.m. But when morning arrived, one clock was missing and the prank had backfired with tragic consequences.
For Jimmy Thesiger, in particular, the words 'Seven Dials' were to take on a new and chilling significance.

The Murder at the Vicarage *1930* 

'Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe', declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, 'would be doing the world at large a service!' It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later. From seven potential murderers, Miss Marple must seek out the suspect who has both motive and opportunity.

The Sittaford Mystery (Murder at Hazelmoor) *1931*

In a remote house in the middle of Dartmoor, six shadowy figures huddle around a small table for a séance. Tension rises as the spirits spell out a chilling message: 'Captain Trevelyan...dead...murder.' Is this black magic or simply a macabre joke? The only way to be certain is to locate Captain Trevelyan. Unfortunately, his home is six miles away and, with snow drifts blocking the roads, someone will have to make the journey on foot.

Peril at End House *1932*

Nick Buckley was an unusual name for a pretty young woman. But then she had led an unusual life. First, on a treacherous Cornish hillside, the brakes on her car failed. Then, on a coastal path, a falling boulder missed her by inches. Later, an oil painting fell and almost crushed her in bed. Upon discovering a bullet-hole in Nick's sun hat, Hercule Poirot decides the girl needs his protection. At the same time, he begins to unravel the mystery of a murder that hasn't been committed. Yet...

Lord Edgeware Dies (Thirteen at Dinner) *1933*

"I've just got to get rid of my husband!"
Poirot was momentarily astonished. But later, when he met Lord Edgware, he remembered the shudder with which Jane had spoken. Edgware bid him farewell very suavely, but as Poirot closed the library door, he glanced back into the room and almost exclaimed aloud. The aristocratic, smiling face was transformed. The lips were drawn back from the teeth in a snarl, the eyes were alive with fury and an almost insane rage.
Next morning, Lord Edgware was found stabbed in the back of the neck...
Poirot had been present when Jane bragged of her plan to 'get rid of' her estranged husband. Now the monstrous man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn't help feeling he was being taken for a ride.
After all, how could Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally granted her a divorce?

Murder on the Orient Express (Murder in the Calais Coach) *1934*

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stopped the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train was surprisingly full for the time of the year. But by the morning there was one passenger fewer. An American lay dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. With tension mounting, detective Hercule Poirot comes up with not one, but two solutions to the crime.

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (The Boomerang Clue) *1934*

While 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. With his final breath the man opens his eyes and says, ‘Why didn’t they ask Evans?’
Haunted by these words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger.

Three Act Tragedy (Murder in Three Acts) *1935*

Thirteen guests arrived for dinner. In retrospect, maybe Sir Charles Cartwright, the great actor, should have taken his secretary up on her offer to be the fourteenth.
For at the end of the evening one of the guests is dead - but when his glass is sent for analysis it is found to contain nothing but an excellent dry Martini. It is just as another of the guests, Hercule Poirot, predicted.
What causes the famous detective greater trouble, however, is the complete lack of motive.

Death in the Clouds (Death in the Air) *1935*

From seat no. 9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers. Over to his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No. 13, sat a Countess with a poorly-concealed cocaine habit habit; across the gangway in seat No. 8, a detective writer was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.
What Poirot did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No. 2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman.

The ABC Murders *1936*

There's a serial killer on the loose. His macabre calling-card: to leave the ABC Railway Guide beside each victim's body. But if A is for Alice Asher, bludgeoned to death in Andover, and B is for Betty Bernard, strangled with her belt on the beach at Bexhill, then who will victim C be?
Hercule Poirot is intrigued by this murderer's mind. Something just doesn't ring true about a psychopath who lays his clues so carefully.

Murder in Mesopotamia *1936*

It was clear to Amy Leatheran that something sinister was going on at the Hassanieh dig; something associated with the presence of `Lovely Louise’, wife of celebrated archaeologist Dr Leidner.
In a few days’ time Hercule Poirot was due to drop in at the excavation site. But with Louise suffering from terrifying hallucinations, and tension within the group becoming almost unbearable, Poirot might just be too late.

Cards on the Table *1936*

Mr. Shaitana was famous as a flamboyant party host. Nevertheless, he was a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation to view Shaitana's private collection. Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogether!

Dumb Witness (Poirot Loses a Client) *1937*
(Murder at Littlegreen House / The Mystery at Littlegreen House)

Everyone blamed Emily’s accident on a rubber ball left on the stairs by her frisky terrier. But the more she thought about her fall, the more convinced she became that one of her relatives was trying to kill her.
On April 17th she wrote her suspicions in a letter to Hercule Poirot. Mysteriously he didn’t receive the letter until June 28th - by which time Emily was already dead.

Death on the Nile *1937*

The tranquility of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful. A girl who had everything until she lost her life. Hercule Poirot recalled 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 was ever quite what it seemed.

Appointment with Death *1938*

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sat the corpse of Mrs. Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist was the only sign of the fatal injection that had killed her.
With only 24 hours available to solve the mystery, Hercule Poirot recalled a chance remark he’d overheard back in Jerusalem: ‘You see, don’t you, that she’s got to be killed?’ Mrs. Boynton was, indeed, the most detestable woman he’d ever met.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Murder for Christmas) *1939*
(A Holiday for Murder)

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed.
But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man.

Murder is Easy (Easy to Kill) *1939*

Police officer Luke Fitzwilliam, returning to England from the East, meets in the train an old lady who tells him she is going to Scotland Yard to report several murders in her village. "It's very easy to kill - so long as no one suspects you," she says. "And you see, the person in question is just the last person anyone would suspect." Next day she is run down by a car and killed; a week later a doctor whom she had mentioned as the next victim is also dead. Luke, under pretext of collecting local superstitions for a book on witchcraft, goes down to investigate, with an introduction to Bridget Conway, fiancée of Lord Whitfield, the self-made business-man who proudly "runs" the village. Events soon move fast; terror spreads.

Ten Little Niggers (And Then There Were None) *1939*

Ten strangers, apparently with little in common, are lured to an island mansion off the coast of Devon by the mysterious U.N.Owen.
Over dinner, a record begins to play, and the voice of the unseen host accuses each person of hiding a guilty secret. That evening, former reckless driver Tony Marston is found murdered by a deadly dose of cyanide.
The tension escalates as the survivors realize the killer is not only among them but is preparing to strike again ... and again.