A Deadly Affair: Unexpected Love Stories from the Queen of Mystery

The 14 entries in this fine collection amply display Christie’s gifts as a short-form storyteller, though it’s a bit of stretch to label them all love stories. Her best-known creations, Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, distinguish themselves, as do such now obscure recurring characters as Parker Pyne, who presents the deceptively benign facade of a dull civil servant. In “Death on the Nile,” Pyne attracts clients via a laconic and enticing newspaper ad (“Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne”). When a fellow British passenger on an Egyptian cruise, the wealthy Lady Grayle, expresses fear for her life, Pyne must act swiftly to avert tragedy and apprehend the would-be murderer. Poirot’s focus on out-of-place details serves him well in “The King of Clubs,” in which the cleanliness of a pair of shoes points the way to the truth about a murder. By linking mysteries that have affairs of the heart at their center, this volume allows the reader to appreciate better Christie’s facility at crafting variations on a theme. (Jan.)