Parker Pyne Investigates

Rating:
Summary: pleasant escapism
Review: Fine, simple story telling is Parker P's only appearance in an Agatha collection, outside of the Regatta Mystery. This one has some nice little gems, including the brief, original version of Death on the Nile. Personal favorite: the Case of the Middle Aged Wife. No blood. No murder. No blunt objects. Just a sweet, old fashioned fable with sweet, old fashioned characters. Agatha always did do well writing in different genres. Quite an easy book to polish off, in a matter of hours, or to savor them all, 3 days tops...

Rating:
Summary: Best short story collection ever
Review: I am not a great fan of short stories. However, this one collection i have read many many times over. Parker Payne is a brilliant character. Clever, amusing, great to read about. the way he solves problems and crimes is excellent, and rivals even Poirot and Marple. Indeed, the concept of a detective who solves "problems" (i.e. such as being unhappy) is so astoudingly original in itself.

I absolutely adore this collection. It is not only my favourite collection of short stories ever, it is one of my all time favourite Agatha Christie novels. It ranks, in my opinion, alongside the greats such as "Towards Zero" "Murder Is Easy" and "Death Comes as the End". The stories are so interesting and so incredibly enjoyable. I loved every word of them. Anyone who likes psychology will be fascinated by this excellent collection of stories.

I think my very favourite story is "The Case of the Discontended Husband" which, as well as being my favourite in this collection, is also my favourite short story ever.

These are hugely interesting and wonderfully entertaining. If you are looking for a diverting read and are interesting in human nature, this is definitely the book for you. (Also, watch out for the stories set in foreign parts. Christie excells when she sets her stories abroad.)

It is very unusual that i will give any short story collection any more than a three star rating (at best) as i am not a fan of their form or style, but this is possibly the only exception. It is nothing short of first class.

Rating:
Summary: Not a detective, but a 'heart specialist'
Review: Parker Pyne isn't an investigator; he's a retired bureaucrat, who has gleaned much insight into human character from working with statistics. His agency advertises "Are you happy? If not, consult me." As he says to one client, "I am a specialist in every kind of human trouble...Human troubles can be classified under a few main heads. There is ill health. There is boredom. There are wives who are in trouble over their husbands. There are husbands who are in trouble over their wives."

And sometimes, he uses the old principle that if you have enough problems, you can make them start solving each other. :) If you like these, particularly the earlier stories, I recommend that you try Chesterton's collection, _The Club of Queer Trades_.

"The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife" - Maria Packington is suffering through what would now be called her husband's mid-life crisis: he's taken up with a pretty young typist at work. (Not an actual affair, but he takes her out to restaurants, gives up golf to take her on the river). Remember, Parker works to cure unhappiness, not to investigate people, so his treatment starts in a novel way: a beauty specialist, a dressmaker, and handsome young Claude Luttrell to introduce Mrs. Packington to London night-life.

"The Case of the Discontented Soldier" - "I can assure you, Major Wilbraham, that 96% of retired empire builders are unhappy. They exchange an active life, a life full of responsibility, a life of possible danger - for what?" After lunching with Madeleine de Sara, the major is pretty well taped by Pyne's staff, and they find a problem suited to his skills.

"The Case of the Distressed Lady" - Daphne St. John, having run up gambling debts, gave in to temptation: she had a paste replica made of an expensive ring, belonging to a friend, and exchanged it with the original. Now she just wants someone to replace the original before Mrs. Dortheimer sends the ring to the jeweler for resetting.

"The Case of the Discontented Husband" - Reginald Wade's wife wants to divorce him and marry a long-haired artistic type (he himself diffidently disclaims any knowledge of that sort of thing; golf and tennis are his line). Parker Pyne rebukes him for taking an overly humble attitude, and sends in the glamorous Madeleine de Sara to help turn the tables.

"The Case of the City Clerk" - Mr. Roberts' life has been a ceaseless struggle to survive; all he asks for is one adventure, to give him something to remember in his daily round afterwards. An old friend of Parker's who's still in government service needs to have some papers carried secretly to Geneva, and the logical choice in his own department is highly suspect. Voila...

"The Case of the Rich Woman" - Mrs. Rymer's late husband was a working man in a factory, until his inventions began making money. Being rich was fun at first - but her new 'friends' look down on her, her old friends avoid her, and she's tried everything she can think of to get some fun out of her money. Pyne comes up with something more than his usual treatments for boredom this time.

"Have You Got Everything You Want?" - Elsie Jeffries, a rich young woman on the train to Istanbul, will meet her husband there - a straitlaced, good looking young man, almost dull. But she comes to Pyne, a fellow passenger on holiday, because she found part of a note in his handwriting - something about 'my wife' and 'before Venice would be the best time.'

"The Gate of Baghdad" - The opening poem later appears in the novel _Postern of Fate_. Pyne signs on for the 36-hour road trip from Damascus to Baghdad, but murder interrupts his journey across the desert.

"The House at Shiraz" - Pyne has left Baghdad for Persia; the German pilot who brought him helps him explain to customs about the bug powder he carries. Having struck up an acquaintance, the pilot reminisces about two Englishwomen he carried out there: Lady Esther Carr and her maid. The flowerlike beauty of Muriel King was what touched his heart, but she died in a tragic fall from a balcony. Pyne begins poking into Lady Esther's history, remembering a rumour of insanity in her father's family...

"The Pearl of Price" - Pyne is part of a tourist party at Petra, along with an American magnate, accompanied by his daughter Carol and his secretary, an archaeologist, a French colonel on leave, and a worn-out M.P. All respectable people, above suspicion - until Carol's pearls disappear.

"Death on the Nile" - No, not *that* case. Pyne is still trying to get on with his holiday, when yet another woman calls him in for consultation. Lady Grayle has enjoyed poor health for years - but now she's not enjoying it at all. In fact, she suspects that her husband is poisoning her. But does she want him proved innocent - or guilty?

"The Oracle at Delphi" - Mrs. Peters has accompanied her artistic 18-year-old son to Delphi (even though she'd rather be at a luxurious hotel in Paris or the Riviera). Then he disappears - and she receives a ransom note. Enter Mr. Parker Pyne...

Rating:
Summary: Not so much Poirot - more of an equaliser.
Review: Parker Pynes agency, although investigative, is more in the business of solving your problems than finding out what they are. Kind of a full service agency - you know the thing - find out if my wife is cheating on me and if she is find me a new wife and kill her. The stories are tongue in cheek and quite sardonically amusing, more appealing to me than Christies usual whodunnit.