The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories audiobook

A good collection of Christie's shorts.Although most feature Poirot, you do get Marple, Pyne, and one stand-alone mystery.I have linked slightly longer reviews to each of the stories you are interested in one in particular, mostly in an effort to make sure I'm not personally missing any.The Regatta MysteryThis one is the headliner starring Parker Pyne, and it has a cool story to go along with the actual story. It originally started out a few years before as Poirot and the Regatta Mystery. Maybe the real mystery is why Christie changed it up?But the gist of the story is that a jewel goes missing from a small party after a teenage girl in attendance bets a diamond merchant that she knows a way to steal his good luck charm. After she beats him and wins the bet, it appears that The Morning Star has actually been stolen. She tearfully explains how she did it but is then baffled by it not being where she hid it.It appears that someone in the room took advantage of the situation and stole the diamond for real! The Mystery of the Baghdad ChestPoirot helps a young widow prove that the man she loves didn't kill her husband.This is a twisty one! And yet, if the plot seems familiar, it is.This story was later expanded into the Mystery of the Spanish Chest. How Does Your Garden Grow?Did a greedy maid poison her mistress?Poirot receives a letter from an elderly woman who wants his advice. Intrigued by her phrasing, he asks Miss Lemon to send a letter back agreeing to come to her home. Before he can see her, he receives word that she has died.Poisoned!As an interesting side note, this is the 1st appearance of Miss Lemon. Problem at Pollensa BayParker Pyne helps a momma out.And like most of the help he gives his clients, it's not the help they asked for but the help that they actually need.Yellow IrisThis was the basis for the novel Sparkling Cyanide, but the plot was changed up quite a bit from that one to this one. It was still very recognizable, though, because the widower gathers everyone for a creepy reenactment of the night his wife committed suicide and/or was murdered.POISON!?Miss Marple Tells a StoryI loved the way Miss Marple narrated the story in a hilarious humblebrag kind of way.When a lawyer brings his client to Jane and asks her to listen to the story of the events leading up to him finding his wife dead in their hotel room, the client in question thinks it's a waste of time.However, just as her lawyer friend hoped, the fluffy old lady manages to see a few things that everyone else missed and ends up saving his bacon. The DreamA millionaire tells Poirot that he's dreaming of suicide every night.And to make matters more strange, he always kills himself at an oddly specific time in his office in this dream.Has someone hypnotized him in the hopes that he will go mad and do himself in? Or is he secretly miserable and actually wants to end it all? In a Glass DarklyOnce again, Christie has her heroine getting strangled by the man who claims to love her.What was wrong with you, Agatha?!A young man has a vision of a beautiful woman being strangled in the room next to his while at a house party.Can he save her from her fate? Problem at SeaWho killed the obnoxious Mrs. Clapperton?It should have been her henpecked husband, but he has an airtight alibi as he was on shore with two cute young women. It looks as though it was one of those dirty natives snuck into her room and killed the woman while she slept, then riffled her room looking for things to steal.But that doesn't make sense to Poirot.Recommended for fans of Agatha Christie and cozy mysteries.

To be clear upfront, I read these stories nearly two decades ago as a teenager. I'm about to embark upon another read of them but as a consolidated anthology, so... I wanted to properly document that I've read them twice. I vividly recall this particular collection, at least the Marple stories, because they helped develop my desire to write mysteries.Marple is charming, if not obtuse at times, but she is always kind until shoved too far by a murderer. I cannot imagine what today's mysteries would be like without her pushing the envelope in terms or forcing readers to think critically about the specific words being chosen in a book.This one combines a few of her series. Marple has always been my preference over Poirot, but he is a top fave all around of mine too. I've scene these stories in various tv stories too, so it seems my life is all about Agatha Christie! :)

4 Stars for The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (audiobook) by Agatha Christie read by a full cast. It was fun getting a little taste of all of Agatha Christie’s characters.

4 Stars. Three of Christie's stars lead the way in the nine stories here. There are two Parker Pyne entries, actually the first two I've ever read. He appears in only 14 stories, but apparently everyone in London England knows his little ad in the personal section of "The Times." It says, "Are you happy? If not consult Mr. Parker Pyne." Superb advertising. In one case he is at a dinner when a valuable jewel disappears. In the other he referees the relationship between an engaged young man and his mother who is concerned about the young woman's suitability for her precious son! Miss Marple only appears once of the nine, "Miss Marple Tells a Story." She is consulted by a lawyer for his client about his pending murder charge. She finds the answer. There are also five Poirot mysteries with the highlights being "Yellow Iris," and "Problem at Sea." In the first case Poirot saves a woman's life; in the other, he's too late but finds a way to solve the impossible. For the last story, "In a Glass Darkly," the lead character is not even named. It's a touch of horror and supernatural fiction. Possibly the best of the lot. There's variety and something for everyone. (March 2021)

"Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare." It are stories like these that show us just why this was the case. The book comprises of a couple of Parker Pynes, one Miss Marple, one standalone, and other Poirot stories. Marvelously written, incredibly passionate, and exceedingly witty.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories featuring Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple, and Mr. Parker Pyne. I'd never heard a story with Parker Pyne so that was a fun read. I had heard the Miss Marple stories before in another collection of short stories. The Hercule Poirot stories were also great fun.

short story collections don’t usually leave much of an impression on me. But I really loved this one, especially The Problem at Pollensa Bay.

Excellent collection of short stories. Most feature M. Hercule Poirot but two feature Mr Parker Pyne and one stars Miss Marple. Great short mysteries.

Of course, there were some that I liked better than others, but all were interesting and fairly light-hearted in spite of all the murder.

Uno de los que mas ne ha gustado! Como digo Mrs. Marple es un gusto adquirido.... Poirot pues es Poirot! Y me gusto Pyne! Se me habian dificultado las historias cortas..

Oddly, the title story is the most far-fetched one.Some of the solves seem like wild extrapolations from minuscule clues. We have a family of jewel thieves, a body in a chest, a short story that I saw made into a whole Poirot episode about oysters, Parker Pyne on vacation and bringing a young couple together, a revenge story in a theater that turns out to be something more, Miss Marple solving the invisibility of maids and a rather weird idea of vengeance that Marple interprets as "madness," a couple of mistaken identities-- including someone who drops dead after repeatedly dreaming that he would kill himself, a vision of the future (which seems to be a standalone without the usual prim, aging sleuth), and an old hag on a cruise ship.

4⭐I've been reading Agatha Christie's books by chronological order, and this is the first short stories book/ collection that I liked, that I felt was 'okay'. I wonder if she got better at writing short stories after a while, or if this one is just an exception. Anyway, the stories were not that obvious as stories in previous collections, and they were enjoyable, actually.

Los cuentos escritos por Agatha Christie son muy entretenidos de leer y la colección de nueve relatos condensados en Problema en Pollensa no son la excepción. Sus mejores detectives reunidos en un solo libro: Parker Pyne, Miss Marple y el inigualable Hércules Poirot.De esta bonita colección, "El Misterio del cofre de Bagdad" fue mi cuento predilecto ya que condensa en tan pocas páginas su estilo y muchos de los elementos que se incluyen en sus novelas policíacas, se los recomiendo ampliamente.

This collection of short stories includes stories with Miss Marple, Poirot, and Parker Pyne. I enjoyed these so much! It's amazing to me how Agatha Christie can create this little puzzle in just a few pages, and lay out all the clues and a few red herrings, then cleverly reveal the solution in an entertaining way. Not all of the stories were murder mysteries though. Some of them were just interesting things that happened and the explanation of how they came about, one of them was a supernatural phenomena and it's affect on the people involved, and one was how Parker Pyne fooled an old lady into changing her mind.I enjoyed all of these stories so much! Each one is so refreshing and fun!In the Regatta Mystery, a diamond goes missing with a half dozen witnesses staring right at it. One young man falls under suspicion, and he goes to Parker Pyne to clear his name. Just from hearing a description of how the diamond disappeared, Pyne solves the mystery and find the diamond! This one was a clever mystery with a simple solution, so simple that I never guessed it!The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest was full of psychological analysis of the characters involved in a cold-blooded murder. It was all laid out- opportunity, motive, temperament, relationship with the deceased. But how exactly did the murdered man die? Poirot is called in to investigate and scrutinize the statements of the witnesses.In How Does Your Garden Grow?, Poirot receives a letter from an elderly lady asking for his help, but when he arrives at her home, she has already been murdered. I really liked the clever way that Poirot notices every little detail of everything, and sifts through every tiny clue to solve this mystery!In Problem at Pollensa Bay , Parker Pyne is trying to enjoy a relaxing holiday, but an old lady asks for his help in persuading her son against a questionable engagement with an undesirable young lady. Pyne puts his mind to the problem, and comes up with the perfect solution. I loved this funny story! It was so dramatic, and there is no murder or theft. It's just fantastic fun!In Yellow Iris Hercule Poirot gets an anonymous phone call to hurry down to a fabulous restaurant and join the table set with yellow irises. Poirot arrives and finds that he is surrounded by several strangers, one of whom must have called him to come, but which was it? It soon becomes evident that one person at the table is in danger of being poisoned before the dinner is over, but which one? Brilliant writing, and I loved how the history of the group and their past relationships with each other all play a big part in the mystery! Miss Marple Tells a Story and details how she heard about a murder and solved it just from listening to the descriptions of the crime scene. She uses her expert knowledge of human nature to cut through the lies and solve the case.In The Dream a millionaire consults with Poirot, saying that he has a recurring dream where he dies. A few days later, the dream comes true, and Poirot is called in to investigate. This mystery was certainly interesting, and I loved how Poirot relies on his instincts to tell him when someone is lying to him. In a Glass Darkly is about a young man who has a prophetic vision of the future, and because of this he makes different decisions in life. Years later, the vision appears to be coming true, and he wonders if he and his family would have been better off if he had never had the vision. This was a strange story about a supernatural phenomena. I didn't really like the characters, and the story didn't have much actually happening in the plot, but it was certainly interesting to read.In Problem at Sea Poirot is sailing on his way to Alexandria, Egypt, when one of the passengers is murdered. Everyone appears to have an alibi, until Poirot begins to unravel the clues. I liked the elements of the mystery, but I didn't like the way that Poirot solved the case in the end. There is a shock factor and I didn't like the results of that among the characters. I feel like Poirot should have adopted a more civilized way of dealing with the criminal and just handed him over to the authorities, instead of being all dramatic and trying to shock people into confessing. It's fine, but I didn't like it that much.

4,5/5En esta obra de Agatha Christie encontramos 9 relatos cortos de duración variada, algunos de tan solo 10 páginas y otros más largos que llegan hasta las 40. También los protagonistas son diversos. Tendremos varios casos de Hércules Poirot, uno de Miss Marple, dos de Parker Pyne y otro que aporta un toque diferente.Pero en todos los relatos encontramos ese halo de misterio que atrapa al principio. La mayoría envuelven al lector un misterio sencillo de presentación pero con una respuesta que no es tan evidente.Los relatos nos presentan escenarios diferentes; un rincón paradisíaco de Mallorca, una cena elegante, un jardín que esconde un secreto... Las ambientaciones variadas, los protagonistas alternativos y una cantidad muy interesante de personajes secundarios a modo de posibles culpables hacen que todas las historias resulten adictivas y muy entretenidas.En general todas me han gustado mucho, excepto una creo que hoy en día podría transmitir un mensaje que deberíamos evitar. Hay que tener en cuenta que Agatha Christie escribió estas historias hace muchos años y podemos encontrar algunos puntos que ya no consideramos adecuados.Pero salvando esto, sumergirme en las historias de misterio, crimen y suspense de Agatha Christie siempre es un placer y es una gran forma de empezar con la autora. Estas pequeñas dosis os dejarán con ganas de más.En resumen, "Problema en Pollensa" es una recopilación de relatos cuyos protagonistas son grandes detectives y expertos en misterios que atrapa entre sus páginas.

Prompt #11 from 2020 Popsugar Challenge: An anthologyBook: The Regatta Mystery and Other Short StoriesAuthor: Agatha ChristieGenre: mystery, crime fictionDates Read: 03/05/2021-03/08/2021Format: Audiobook - HooplaOther prompts: a book set in multiple countries, a book everyone has read but meRating: 🐾🐾🐾 Notable quotable: No man or woman is actually himself (or herself) till after forty-five. That's when individuality has a chance.Parental Guidance* Sex: 0/5* Violence & Gore: 1/5* Profanity: 1/5* Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking: 1/5* Frightening & Intense Scenes: 2/5 - about as tame as a murder mystery can beI read this book to fulfill the prompt from the Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge: An anthologyIn the first couple of stories, I found myself wanting more. I'm so used to reading mysteries that have twists I don't see coming, that it was hard to take this at face value. Once I realized that (and that this was probably the height of suspense when it was published in 1939), I actually really liked the stories. I didn't try to figure them out, but just enjoyed listening to the scene and how the mystery played out.