The book opens with an introduction of a snippet written by Christie, talking about her life as a young child in Torquay. In this book are gathered many stories that are set in that same contryside. The stories are wide-ranging pulling from some of Christie's most well-known characters like Hercule Poirot (the Plymouth Express, The Unbreakable Alibi, The Cornish Mystery, The Case of the Missing Will, Double Sin, The Flock of Geryon, The Adventure of the Dartmoor Bungalow) and Miss Marple (Ingots of Gold, The Bloodstained Pavement). Tommy and Tuppence are becoming more well-known with the new television series and one of the stories from Partners in Crime (The Unbreakable Alibi) is included. Parker Pyne gets a story as wella(The Regatta Mystery) as an inclusion from one of her weird horror/psychological short stories (The Hound of Death, The Edge.)
Yes, all of these stories have some connection to the country, but for some of the stories the mention is incredibly brief and somewhat tenuous. For the most part, I wasn't sure there was enough of a connection to make a coherent whole even though the stories themselves were all excellent choices. I also couldn't decide if I enjoyed the different narrators or that only highlighted how disparate these stories were.
This book comes out July 14, 2026
ARC kindly provided by HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
