Complete Parker Pyne, Private Eye |
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Agatha Christie
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Pages: 322 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0007171161
Pub: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Pub date: 2004-07-19
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 233388
Reader Reviews:
No Spoilers in this review. (2/2 people found this helpful)
Agatha Christie was capable of writing some fine short stories, but she also often off-loaded in this form ideas that really don't go anywhere. As with the Tommy & Tuppence volume, "Partners in Crime", there is a sense here that the stronger pieces get lost amongst the trivial.
The volume divides into two parts. In the first six stories, we find out what Parker Pyne does, which is to make people happy by, for example, providing romance and adventure. This is a limited template, and although you might find one or two of the stories charming and memorable, it is something of a relief when Pyne departs on holiday for the later stories which - while more conventional - are closer to the mystery format that was Christie's forte. There is some fun to be had in this stretch, but of course the distinctive qualities of Pyne become less evident, possibly explaining why she only felt the need to write two more Parker Pyne stories after the volume in which he made his first appearance.
One special point of interest is "Death on the Nile", which was expanded beyond recognition for the Poirot novel of the same title published three years later. In several of the later stories we visit Oriental locations also visited by Poirot, giving the volume some interest for the Christie buff.
For the money, this volume is not the best value in the Harper Collins Christie series, and I'd recommend new readers looking for her short stories to try either the "Collected Short Stories" or "Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories".
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Mystery -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Thrillers -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)