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A Deadly Affair: The new gripping short story collection

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The King of Clubs- in which Poirot solves a murder and is almost thrown off but for a card that wasn't played in the alibi given. Poirot called in to help by a prince in love with an actress. the lady didn't come off very nicely. Love can propel us to our greatest heights . . . and darkest depths. In this new compendium of Agatha Christie short stories, witness the dark side of love--crimes of passion, games of the heart, and deadly deceits. 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 at the ready to solve tantalizing mysteries.

Countess Vera Rossakoff stars in this one, and I'm pretty sure Poirot's eyes turn into actual hearts and bulge out of his head. This collection is like a box of chocolates, it depends on your individual taste. Do you prefer dark chocolate or coconut cream? That’s how these stories are. Some you will gravitate more towards than others. I don’t think any of these stories are bad. If you have to choose a Christie short story collection to start with, I would suggestion this one over the other two mentioned. This collection of short stories written by Agatha Christie is unique as the stories all have a love theme. Now granted it's more of the darker side of love such as crimes of passion that is featured in each story. The collection consists of 12 mysteries, one regular old fiction short story, and an excerpt from the author's autobiography in which she discusses her relationships with men she might have married had she not listened to her instincts. While everything has been previously published in various books throughout the years, it's my understanding, it's the first time these particular stories have all been grouped together in one book. By the way, some of her beloved characters like Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Tommy and Tuppence make appearances in some of the stories. This has to be one of the worst lakorn I have seen and if I inflicted this to myself I surely do not wish anyone to do the same for himself. Stay away from this torture which will never give you any moment of joy or any real satisfaction of being entertained. Even if the performance of the lead actors is commendable I will give this 1/10 because I really lost my time on this crappy lakorn. All in all, a very enjoyable read that only serves to prove Christie’s legendary status as the Master of Suspense. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

I love the concept of grouping Dame Christie’s stories together by genre or theme. I have read a couple where the author herself had put a collection together with an overarching narrative (The Labors of Hercules (Poirot) and The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple)). This anthology however does not just focus on one of her detectives, but instead features her many detectives throughout the years. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are here, but so too are Tommy and Tuppence, Parker Pine, and Harley Quin (not to be confused with the DC character). Death by Drowning- Jane Marple solves the case when an unmarried pregnant woman is drowned by a bridge. A poor but jilted lover is suspected and has a tidy alibi but Jane susses out who did the deed and why. An appearance of the Bantrys is here also. Dolly's gardening is mentioned. LOL While these stories might not be viewed as ‘love stories’ per se, they do revolve around the theme of love, albeit, the darker side. The crimes, for the most part, are motivated by infidelity, unrequited love, rejection and other not-so-pleasant aspects of love such as jealousy and possessiveness. Agatha Christie’s trademark simplicity, masterful storytelling and intriguing plotlines reel you in from the very first sentence and keep you engaged in trying to figure out the solution to the puzzle till you reach the very end. Each of these stories is engaging and the selection is varied to not come across as repetitive. Each of the author’s detectives possesses his/her unique style of sleuthing, deduction and dry humor. My personal favorites were “The Face of Helen,” “The Case of the Caretaker” and “The Love Detectives”. A woman is leaving her husband and running away with her lover when she gets news that her husband is in serious trouble.

But it turns out that Charlie may have been sleeping with his wife's friend Susan, who is married to Trevor. In a moment of weakness, Mary kisses Trevor, then regrets her actions. But Trevor becomes obsessive over Mary, and begins to stalk Mary. Susan is an attorney, who offers to represent Mary. But is Susan to be trusted? Parker Pyne and Harley Quin have always been my least favorite main characters. However, the Harley Quin and Mr. Satterthwaite stories in this collection are both really clever and were fun to read. I've been an Agatha Christie fan for many years and loved this collection. It would also be a great introduction to Christie for those who are less familiar with her work. I would rate it 4.5 stars. The Love Detectives- In which Harley Quin, Mr. Sattherthwaite & Inspector Curtis try to suss out a murder with a love triangle attached. It's the second Quin/Satthertwaite appearance in this book and I'm still not sure what to make of Harley Quin. Must read more of them I think. But in the coming days, more things are revealed and you get a real sense of why she was leaving him in the first place.Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R (1974). The Great spy pictures. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. p.138. ISBN 081080655X.

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