Watch out when Miss Marple, part way through an Agatha Christie novel, muses over her breakfast newspaper and notes, randomly, three headlines. One of those headlines will become a clue. Bless Dame Agatha's heart! We can depend on her.

"The Murder at the Vicarage" lacks this trademark, for Jane Marple was making her first appearance and she, like Dame Agatha, had not yet got the hang of it. She makes her entry spouting gossip; later she knew better and kept such things to herself, only pursing her lips when all others, including the police, were exclaiming over a red herring.

Dame Agatha writes to a pattern. (Let's not say "formula" which lacks charm, a quality she oozes, even if somewhat mustily .

In the canon of mystery writers she takes a place well below Ruth Rendell, whose every book is different. But do we tire of "Cinderella?" of "Romeo and Juliet"? Should we chastise our little children when they insist at bedtime on every syllable in the story?

Once a man listed the books he would select for a shipwreck on a desert island. One was "Anything by Agatha Christie" because as soon as he finished the last page he would forget "whodunit" and be able to start all over. A form of immortality.

If you are a Christie fan or someone looking to try Aggie, this compliation of 5 novels is the way to go. The hardest part is puting the book down after you read one story! Start this on a weekend when you don't have anything planned for the day. No wonder she is the Queen of Mysteries!

Although I am not fond of Jane Marple, she makes a good showing in the Christie classic MURDER AT THE VICARIGE. And that unsurpassed, portly little man with the egg-shaped head cannot be beat. The intrigue of N OR M? held me breathless, and the classic novels TOWARDS ZERO and DEAD MAN"S FOLLY are definately keepers. Everyone loves the Queen of mystery; check out this book today!!

This collection has appeared under 2 titles that I know of: _Murder in the Mews and Other Stories_ and _Dead Man's Mirror_.

Where a story has appeared elsewhere under an alternate title, the title given in this book is listed first.

"Dead Man's Mirror", a.k.a. "Hercule Poirot and the Broken Mirror" - An alternate version of this story also appears as "The Second Gong" in _The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories_. The dead man in question engaged Poirot to come to his country home to clear up an unspecified scandal, but before their first face-to-face encounter, the client is found shot dead in a locked room containing a broken wall mirror.

"The Incredible Theft" - Essentially the same story as "The Submarine Plans" in _The Under Dog and Other Stories_.

"Murder in the Mews", a.k.a. "Good Night for a Murder" - Always thrifty with good ideas, Christie used the same story structure in "The Market Basing Mystery" (see _The Under Dog and Other Stories_), although the stage setting, personalities of the supporting characters, and motives are different.

"Triangle at Rhodes", a.k.a. "Before It's Too Late", "Double Alibi" - As Poirot remarks to a fellow-guest at the seaside, he finds human behaviour somewhat monotonous, since it repeats itself so often - in patterns, such as the triangle. In this case, the notorious beauty Valentine Chantry, accompanied by her 5th (or is he 6th?) husband Commander Chantry is a fellow-guest, and despite her hulking brute of a husband, appears to be taking an interest in Douglas Gold - a handsome man with a pleasant wife but apparently no wits to speak of. Poirot, foreseeing trouble, eventually makes one of his rare attempts to prevent a crime before it takes place. Such attempts are rarely successful...

Murder in the Mews brought together 4 short stories by Agatha Christie, most if not all were also published in other collections (albeit with minor alternations). I did feel a little cheated when I discovered it. Nonetheless, the two which I had not read did give undeniable pleasure.

Murder in the Mews took place on a location which Poirot and Inspector Japp happened to stroll by on the night of the crime. Despite it being Guy Fawkes day, it was such a place that they remarked it would have been perfect for a murder. And the next day, they were summoned to attend to a suspicious suicide at the very same location. In this short story, Christie tantalised the readers with a myriad of clues, most of which would mislead rather than clarify. A worthwhile mystery.

In the Dead Man's Mirror, Poirot was summoned by an old fashioned aristocrat, only to arrive moments before he apparently committed suicide. This story appeared in another publication as "The Second Gong". Suspicions were cast on the dead man's adopted daughter and his nephew - especially when it came to light that the aristocrat intended to cut them off without a penny if they did not abide by his wishes to marry each other. It was important in this story for the reader to visualise as accurately as possible the scene of the murder in order to find proof whether it was suicide or murder.

The Incredible Theft was almost a carbon copy of "The Submarine Plans". Two leading British politicians had a small weekend party which included a well-suspected female spy. Ostensibly, she was included to entrap her, to catch her in the act. However, when vital plans were stolen without a clue, the politicians had to call in Poirot to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Poirot had to question all those present carefully to clear their names, or nail them with the evidence.

The last story, "Triangle at Rhodes", had Poirot on holiday in a resort at Rhodes. Other guests at the resort included a glamourous socialite who was flirting with other men despite the presence of a jealous husband. In the absence of Hastings (which would not have fitted well into the setting), Christie used another female guest to hold conversations with Poirot to flesh out the narration. Being familiar now with Christie's sleight-of-hand tricks, I was not misdirected. However, it took an unrevealed-before-hand witnessing of Poirot to nail the culprit when someone did die in the triangle of passion.

I would recommend reading the book but not buying it.

4 stories are fantasticlly good.hercule flaunts his shrewd wit in this book.if you are an aficionado of whodunnit books,you must not miss this suspense treat.i think that is enough.

This collection includes: The Mirror Crack'd, A Carribbean Mystery, Nemesis, What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! and The Body in the Library. I liked that each novel began with a list of characters and a brief description of them. My favorite of these novels is Nemesis. Miss Marple solves an old case and gets an innocent man out of jail. All the novels are good mysteries. My only complaint is that they are not in chronological order. The Mirror Crack'd is the first novel in the collection but chronologically it is the oldest and it gives away a clue to a later novel in the collection--The Body in the Library.

I have read her all her books and enjoy reading everyone of them.i hope you en- joy her books as much as I do.I always find them delightful and very hooked til the very end of the book.

This book is a complete collection of "all" 50 short stories featuring Poirot, all of which have appeared in smaller Christie short story collections. ("All" is not strictly true; more about that shortly.) Since there are so many, I won't follow my usual procedure of discussing each individual story; for that I refer you to the individual collections. Instead, I'll address what this particular omnibus has to offer.

In the table of contents, the stories are grouped according to the collection in which they first appeared:
_Poirot Investigates_ (14 stories, all 1923)
_Dead Man's Mirror_ (4)
_The Regatta Mystery_ (5 Poirot stories out of a larger collection; throughout the 1930s)
_The Labours of Hercules_ (including the Foreword)
_Three Blind Mice_ (3 Poirot stories out of a larger collection)
_The Under Dog_ (8, all but "The Submarine Plans"; most 1923, one 1926)
_Double Sin_ (4; 1923 and 1928)

In other words, this book contains the complete contents of _Poirot Investigates_, _Dead Man's Mirror_ (a.k.a. _Murder in the Mews_), _The Labours of Hercules_, and all but one from _The Under Dog and Other Stories_, and the Poirot stories from the various 'mixed' collections.

I don't care for the organization of the book, because it adds nothing not provided by the individual collections, which when assembled were split up with little regard to chronological order. For instance, the 4 stories of the _Double Sin_ collection appear last in the book, but 2 of them are 1923 stories, just like all the stories from _Poirot Investigates_, and the other 2 (1928) predate *all* _The Regatta Mystery_ stories. Two of the stories from _The Under Dog_ were written prior to "The Adventure of 'The Western Star'", which refers to those cases, but the reader is left to jump from the beginning to the end of the book if he or she wants to read the stories in order. While this is no worse than the individual collections, it's no better, either. No index, chronology, or annotation is provided.

The collection claims to have "all 50" Poirot short stories, but that isn't strictly correct. The stories that were omitted were the earlier-but-different versions of some of the stories that were included - that is, stories that were rewritten and retitled from the form in which they were originally written, but retained the same basic structure. "The Second Gong" from _The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories_ was omitted; it was an earlier version of "Dead Man's Mirror", although it didn't see print until after its more famous alter ego. "The Submarine Plans" from _The Under Dog_ was omitted because its alter ego, "The Incredible Theft" from _Dead Man's Mirror_, was included. "The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest" (misspelt, however) was selected over its Spanish Chest alternate. To be fair, in the latter two cases the similarities between the stories are *extremely* pronounced. On the other hand, though, both "Murder in the Mews" and "The Market Basing Mystery" were included.

Something like Baring-Gould's annotated treatment of Sherlock Holmes would be nice, someday, but this omnibus isn't it. It serves a purpose - making it easy to get "all" the Poirot stories in one container - but with a little effort could have been better.

Thi is one of the best books that I have ever read! 5 stars!

On December 3, 1926 Archie Christie told his wife, Agattha, that he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. He then left for a weekend party.

Later that evening, Agatha got in her car for a drive. Her car was found off the road with her coat inside but she was no where to be found.

It was 11 days before she was found. The official story was that she was suffering from amnesia.

But now, family members from someone who knows what really happened have cooperated with telling the true story.

It's fascinating, believable and a thoroughly absorbing look into the life of one of our most famous authors.

I bought this book for my fifteen year old son. He enjoyed it so much that I read it too. I've read many books about the life of Agatha Christie but I've never read one more honest and well researched. Although the book does concentrate on the Agatha Christie disappearance in the 1920's it also covers all of her life. You'll learn about her upbringing, her daughter, her friends and her two frustrating and disappointing marriages. This is a not to be missed book!

I loved this book and have given several copies to people with great results.

It's not only an investigation into the "eleven missing days," it takes great pains to tell the entire story of Agatha Christie's whole life. The way Cade was able to match Christie's work with her various traumas is wonderful, and it's hard to believe that seventy years later anyone can come up with something new about such a famous unsolved mystery, and yet Cade has done exactly that, with the help of Nan Watts' daughter. I wonder what Rosalind Hicks, Agatha Christie's daughter, thinks of this book? It's marvelous. We'll never be able to read, for example, "Verdict" in the same way, knowing it reflects on Max Mallowan, Christie's second husband, and his liaison with his executive assistant Barbara Parker, who became the second Lady Mallowan after Christie's death. How she was able to keep a sense of humor I'll never know.

Surprisingly the book makes one feel more, not less, admiration for Christie. Good on you, Jared Cade! Can't wait to see where you turn your hand to next.

This book follows the same old Agatha Christie/Hercule Poirot formula. And, like macaroni & cheese or mashed potatoes, I found this murder mystery comforting and delightful in its familiarity. A collection of relatives and friends gather at a country house, and their dominating and idosyncratic host commits suicide ... or does he? Fortunately, shortly before the fatal shot was fired, the dead man had the foresight to invite Hercule Poirot for a visit. Thank goodness he is there to unravel things, as only he can! If you are looking for a by-the-book fact and/or forensic based mystery, like those by Cornwell or Grafton or Paretsky, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for evocative mood, wit and charm, you'll enjoy yourself.

Agatha Christie once more will mesmerize your mind with the unexpected turns of this plot! When the master of the house is discovered shot in his study, the suggestion of suicide is brought forward. It satisfies everyone, but not M.Poirot! The investigation uncovers secret passions, past intrigues, and cunning plots. You don't want to miss this page turner!

Once again Agatha Christie has done it. She has woven a great story with wonderful characters. The audio book brings the story that much closer to playing in the video screen of your mind. Pick up a copy and enjoy!

I loved "The Third Floor Flat." It was a very surprising ending. I never EVER suspected the suspect, or why he or she would do what they did... "The Love Detctives" was really good too. It was also very hard to guess the real murderer. If you're thinking about reading this book....

DO! :o)

Eventhough Christie only wrote one chapter here, this reads and feels exactly like one of her own books. The set up is quite impressive, with the floating admiral of the title found sailing along in an abandonned boat with a dagger in him, which is all explained away by the clever and quite natural conclusion. Despite going on about tide flows and boat paintings and rope cuttings, the characters to this crafty piece are all quite believable, considering several writers made them move and speak. All is well by the end and a satisfying summary to the events beforehand is smoothly explained, so you can skip past the silly alternate outcomes the authors each come up with in an unneccessary, sort of epilogue. They add nothing to the main story but a lot of what ifs. (That said, Christie's solution of the murderer in drag is hilarious...) P.S. Some rather foolish stereotypes can be found in the narrative which doesn't distract from the story. They're just there, like a disturbing sign of the times.

This book is written by more than Agatha Christie. So those expecting to read another Agatha Christie Mystery Sorry! But you won't be disappointed. The Floating Admirmal is very interesting in that each chapter is written by an author of mystery in one form or another. This is fun as you see the writings of others. It is cool how each author gets their chapter to flow with the chapter before and after it. Chapter 8 is the hardest chapter to get through and a little boring as it is in list format Where as I feel it would have been more interesting if the inspector was talking to someone. Otherwise smooth sailing afterwards. The story ends with finding out the killer or is he/she really the killer Read on and you decide who the real killer is maybe you have your own ideas as to who killed the admiral and why. A good workout for the brain. Have fun reading and solving this unique mystery

The Detection Club books are unlike any other ever created. Basically, Agatha Christie and ten other authors (for The Floating Admiral) contribute pieces of a murder mystery without sharing what solutions they were leaning towards until the APPENDIX at the very end. Each author has their own solution and has to work within the framework of all the other clues contributed by the others. More of a game than a murder mystery, it's a fascinating read, but you shouldn't try to read too much of it at one sitting.

Most of these stories feature Poirot, but two, including the title story, are Parker Pyne stories not included in _Parker Pyne Investigates_. One Marple story and one story not affiliated with a series character are also included. Where a story has appeared elsewhere under an alternate title, the original title used in this book is given first.

All of the Poirot stories have been adapted for TV with David Suchet. "In a Glass Darkly" was adapted separately as an episode of "Agatha Christie's Hour".

"The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest"(also appears in somewhat altered form elsewhere as "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest") (January, 1932) - The only Hastings-narrated story in this batch. The murderer apparently must have killed the victim during a party, hid his corpse in the chest, and calmly kept up appearances by dancing and playing poker without suspicious behaviour...

"In a Glass Darkly" (1934) Supernatural tale, rather than a regular mystery; if you like it, try _The Golden Ball and Other Stories_. The unnamed narrator first visited Badgeworthy, the old home of his friends Neil and Alan Carslake, just before WWI. Even the Carslakes don't know the details of its ghost story. Then Narrator sees the reflection of a pretty girl being strangled by a man in another room - but there is no other room behind him, and the couple he saw are both alive and well: Sylvia Carslake and her fiance.

"How Does Your Garden Grow?" (June, 1935) - Amelia Barrowby, an elderly spinster, had written to engage Poirot in an undisclosed family matter, mentioning that she wished to avoid police investigation and scandal but not providing details. Poirot receives no reply, and learning of her death, sends a follow-up letter to Miss Barrowby's address to account for his showing up in person.

"Problem at Sea (January, 1936, a.k.a. "Poirot and the Crime in Cabin 66", "The Quickness of the Hand") - Poirot took the sea route to Alexandria on this, his first trip to Egypt. He's recovered enough from seasickness to take an interest in his fellow-passengers, especially one distinguished-looking man; for some reason, nothing his wife says or does seems to annoy him.

Colonel Clapperton isn't a 'real' colonel; according to rumor, he was a music-hall performer who wound up in Lady Carrington's hospital twenty years ago in WWI, married her, and used her influence to get his colonelcy and a soft job. (He slips at one point and displays a few card tricks, explaining why he won't play bridge.) She's jealous, so it's unusual when she lets him go ashore in Alexandria without her, although typical of her high-handedness that she wouldn't let him into the cabin for a guidebook. But when he returned, she was dead in the locked cabin; apparently armed robbery.

"Problem at Pollensa Bay" (1936) - Seeing Mrs. Chester and her son Basil as fellow guests in Majorca, Pyne reacts like a hunted animal when he sees her looking worried and reading an English newspaper. (So many people he meets abroad have read his advertisement and messed up his holidays - see _Parker Pyne Investigates_). Alas, someone gives him away. Mrs. Chester has had Basil tied to her apron strings, and engages Pyne with an eye toward detaching Basil from his unsuitable fiancee Betty.

Pyne's business, though, is making people happy, rather than necessarily doing what they *say* they want, so he checks out Betty and Basil with some interesting compatibility tests, as well as imparting some wisdom to Mrs. Chester about how nobody's life can be ruined except by themselves, with particular reference to her *own* life. Then Basil gets involved with a REALLY exotic girl, and Pyne gets still more instructions.

"Yellow Iris" a.k.a. "Hercule Poirot and the Sixth Chair" (January, 1937) - The stage setting strongly resembles that of the Colonel Race novel _Remembered Death_, but this is not the same story, so don't be fooled into thinking you know who did it or why based on the similarity.

"The Dream", a.k.a. "The Three Strange Points" (1937) - Poirot is summoned to the home of eccentric millionaire Benedict Farley, who has a trophy wife and a daughter he's pressuring to marry money rather than the man she wants. Upon arriving at Farley's home, Poirot notices several things that don't make sense (see if you can spot all the 'what's wrong with this picture' items), even before hearing the problem. The client (having rejected the opinions of several doctors on the subject) has had a recurring dream of shooting himself when he isn't suicidal, and fears that somebody may be engaged in an elaborate scheme to kill him. Naturally, when he's found shot dead soon after Poirot's visit, Poirot gets involved in the investigation.

"Miss Marple Tells a Story" (1939) Locked-room mystery. Unfortunately, Jane Marple is narrating this story *to Raymond West* and his wife, so she begins by laying on the fluffy-headed aunt pose, but eventually lets her narrative smooth out. Old Mr. Petherick, her solicitor, brought along another client, Mr. Rhodes, to consult her. Rhodes expected to be arrested for the murder of his wife, and his trial counsel is only concerned with gettng a reasonable doubt in court. Petherick, however, doesn't think this is the best approach, and comes to his old friend to try to work out what actually happened. Mr. Rhodes appears to be the only person with both motive and opportunity, and while his trial counsel plans to suggest Mrs. Rhodes committed suicide, neither Rhodes nor Petherick believes that will work, and Petherick doesn't believe Rhodes is guilty.

"The Regatta Mystery" (1939) - Locked-room theft. Diamond merchant Isaac Pointz carries 'the Morning Star' as a lucky piece, and Eve Leathern, the 15-year-old daughter of a business acquaintance, casually challenges him that she could swipe it without getting caught. Alas, apparently somebody else figured out her perfect hiding place. Evan Llewellyn, Pointz's secretary, engages Parker Pyne to clear it up, since he's a prime suspect.

This was a very delightful collection of stories. I loved when Mr. Parker Pyne found who stole the diamond. He is ranked with Agatha Christie's most demanding detectives in this book and he deserves it! Of course, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, the most demanding detectives, are up to their usual perfection, solving murders and other such things.The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories is well worth the cost.

I love Hercule Poirot! He is the most complex detective. Everyone else is utterly baffled and M. Poirot has everything figured out in his "little grey cells", and who could forget about Miss Marple? She is the queen of mystery and Hercule Poirot is the king! If these two were to work together then no evil mastermind could win. Miss Marple is as great as Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax. Her cunning outsmarts us all. I just LOVED this book!

This is a good book, however like any mystery, Mrs Christie gets caught up in pointless details. I`m reading this book in french so perhaps it may affect my review, however I`m confident that the translation has faithfully brought the book`s original content into the fracophone form. Getting back to the point, There`s some babbeling that goes on that doesn`t seem to have any importance. When I reach the end of this book in a few days perhaps it will change, but I Sincerely Doubt it.