Book Review: Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown

Reviewed By: Catherine Thompson - RAM

Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown     Amazon US TPB Amazon Canada TPB
Agatha Christie
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Supernatural   [Short Stories]
St. Martin’s Minotaur, $21.95 trade paperback, 516 pages

Agatha Christie is best remembered as the Queen of the Golden Age of crime fiction, whose novels have become classics of the genre: Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, and Murder at the Vicarage are only a few of the 70-odd novels she wrote. Christie was also adept at the short-form mystery, and penned several collections of short stories.

Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown collects 28 of these stories, most of which have appeared in collections and anthologies previously. Among them are Christie’s many supernatural thrillers, such as “The Dressmaker’s Doll” and “The Mystery of the Blue Jar.” Also in this collection are two of her most famous stories, “Witness for the Prosecution,” which was the basis of the film of the same title, and “Three Blind Mice,” the basis for theatre’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap.

I like Christie best when she’s writing puzzles, so naturally my favourite stories in the collection are such stories as “Three Blind Mice,” “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” and “The Rajah’s Emerald.” Many of these stories exhibit Christie’s sly sense of humour, as well; stories such as “Jane in Search of a Job” and “The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl” have an undertone of amusement.

There’s little I can say about Christie that hasn’t been said before. Long-time fans of her work likely already have many of these stories in their collections, but newcomers may find a good deal to their taste in the pages of Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown. It’s an affordable introduction to the Grand Dame’s work for those who know only the Poirot and Marple films.

Catherine Thompson - RAM

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