Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie

Ad placed in the newspaper by Parker Pyne:

"ARE YOU HAPPY? IF NOT, CONSULT MR. PARKER PYNE, 17 RICHMOND STREET."

After reading two of Agatha Christie's short stories featuring the very unconventional private investigator, Parker Pyne, I knew I had to read more, so when I came across this collection, I grabbed it.

Pyne relies upon his thirty-five years in a government office compiling statistics to help him solve any case that's presented to him. Some of the short stories revolve around people who respond to his advertisement in The Times, but Pyne also travels to more exotic climes, such as Jordan, Syria, and Iran and finds himself solving puzzles in those countries as well.

When it comes to solving mysteries relying solely upon his observations of human nature, he has only one equal: Miss Marple herself, although the elderly lady never managed to get paid for all her troubles and Pyne does.

The stories see appearances by two characters seen elsewhere in Christie's fiction: the novelist Ariadne Oliver and Miss Lemon the secretary. (Now I'm curious as to whether Lemon worked for Pyne first before moving on to Hercule Poirot or vice versa.) When in London, Pyne helps those responding to his ad, and I love seeing how he puts his solutions together using a select few actors and other specialists whom he knows. When he's faced with mysteries while traveling abroad, they are more normal investigations. (Naturally, since the people he employs are not traveling with him.)

With the exception of twice when Christie's racism was clearly shown, I found this collection of stories to be delightful, and I'm certainly glad that I've persisted in sampling writing from the Golden Age of Mysteries.

Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie

ASIN: B007XIC4DS

HarperCollins © 2010

Originally published 1932-1939.

eBook, 273 pages

Short Story Collection

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 

The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife by Agatha Christie

First Line: Four grunts, an indignant voice asking why nobody could leave a hat alone, a slammed door, and Mr. Packington had departed to catch the eight forty-five to the city.

In this short story by Agatha Christie, Maria Packington thinks her husband is having an affair, and in an attempt to put some pizzazz back into her marriage, she responds to a newspaper ad from Mr. Parker Pyne, who promises to provide solutions to unhappiness. It's not long at all before Maria's life undergoes a profound transformation.

I don't often review individual short stories on my blog, but I enjoyed this Parker Pyne story so much that I just had to say something about it.

Parker Pyne spent thirty-five years in a government office compiling statistics, and he's turned all that knowledge into a rather delightful business aimed at making people happy. He is a keen observer and has a vast understanding of human psychology, and with the help of a few assistants, it seems that he can work miracles. The delight for me is that the way Pyne conducts his business makes him almost appear to be a magician and the way he plans, organizes, and conducts his solutions reminds me of one of my favorite movies, George Roy Hill's The Sting. An added bonus in the story is the appearance of Miss Lemon as Pyne's secretary. Any Christie fan will be able to tell you that Miss Lemon is better known as Hercule Poirot's personal assistant.

It seems to me that Parker Pyne and Miss Marple have quite a lot in common. They are both keen observers and have a vast knowledge of human nature. The only real difference between them is that Pyne gets paid for his skills. I enjoyed this story so much that I bought an entire collection of Parker Pyne short stories, and I'll be letting you know what I think of them in the near future.

"The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife" by Agatha Christie

eISBN: 9780062212580

HarperCollins © 2012

Originally published in 1932.

eBook, 27 pages

Short Story, Parker Pyne

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.