Parker Pyne Investigates

I'm such a detective novel maniac and it's perfect for those type of people 🤓I like the twists at unexpected places like damn little things matter

“Are you happy?” reads a small advertisement in the newspaper “If not, consult Mr Parker Pyne.”Mr Parker Pyne is a highly unconventional private investigator created by Agatha Christie. His appearance is described as “very bland, very benevolent, and in some way impossible to explain, delightfully reassuring”. He has retired from his government job, where he used to deal with statistics – but his true specialization is his knowledge of human nature. He has identified five kinds of unhappiness, and is able to offer seemingly miraculous remedies for them. His assistants include several actors and a novelist – and he does not hesitate to use deception and manipulation to achieve his aims.Out of the fourteen stories in this book, six are set in England, while the others are set in different parts of world, including Egypt, Persia, Greece and Spain. One story takes place aboard the Orient Express, as Parker Pyne travels from Paris to Istanbul. He is supposed to be on vacation abroad, but neither his unhappy clients nor Mr Pyne himself can resist the opportunity of another new case!The author mentions two of the stories as her favourites: “The Case of the Discontented Husband” and “The Case of the Rich Woman”. The former seems quite dated; but the latter story, possibly inspired by Indian folk tales, conveys a message which has not lost its relevance over the years.

loved it

Parker Pyne is the most emotional of Christie's detectives, preferring matters of the heart to pure puzzles. However, he can be just as sharp in his deductions as Poirot or Miss Marple when the need arises. As it happens, I prefer the stories in this collection that *are* mysteries. There are also some lighthearted cases of people wanting more romance or adventure in their lives, which Mr. Pyne supplies. I couldn't help feeling, at first, that it's a bit condescending to suggest that most people's problems are easily solved with a bit of play-acting--a handsome man/woman to make your wife/husband jealous, a faked bit of espionage to bring you more drama, etc. I found myself thinking, "what about all the people with real problems, Agatha?" However, she published this collection in 1934, which gives some insight into the fantasy at work here: most likely her mid-Depression readers simply wanted to *imagine* having such easy problems and tidy solutions.Even so, I like the stories that do involve murder and crime, as Christie proves herself quite adept at packing her famous twists into even a few pages. I prefer novel-length Christie, but she approximates it here with an overarching narrative, in which Pyne travels abroad, including the first "Death on the Nile"--which is quite different from the later novel of that name. In this way we get to know the main characters (Pyne and his employees, most notably the exotic Miss de Sara). There is even an early cameo from Miss Oliver! All of which makes this a necessary inclusion for any Christie collection.

Parker Pyne Investigates comprises more than a dozen short stories of Parker Pyne, his deduction and unconventional investigation methods. He introduces himself as a "heart specialist" and advertises on newspaper as a person who can help people kill their boredom or patch up their romantic relationships and make them happy again. The first few stories are set in England (reminded me of Sherlock👄) and the rest focus on the incidents happening on his travels abroad. Pyne is quite a flat character and he's so much like a con artist!👀 You'll be upset if you're expecting Agatha Christie's typical who-dunnit mystery from this one as half of Pyne's clients ask him for help just because they are bored. Well, this one was a quick, light read. My favourites among the stories are The Case of the Discontented Soldier and The Oracle at Delphi. If you're into short stories with a blend of adventure and mystery, check this out.

Parker Pyne can make any situation better with his skill of classification of personalities and human traits. This book is very amusing.

This collection of Agatha Christie short stories was a welcome chage from the more familiar Poirot or Marple stories - Parker Pyne is a refreshing character and one would wish there were more of these stories

Obwohl großer Christie Fan, kannte ich dieses Buch nicht. Sehr amüsant, kurzweilig, und im Original gelesen umgeht man die "Übersetzungsvariationen", die es leider so oft gibt.Minuspunkt: Der Einband fühlt sich sehr unangenehm an, diese Plastikbeschichtung ist überflüssig !!

Les romans d'Agatha Christie sont passionnants et plein de suspens, avec cette petite touche d'humour qui est tout simplement fabuleuse !

IT truly was a great read, couldn't put it down. Hope we see more releases of Agatha's Books , Amazing story .