The Underdog and Other Stories

by Agatha Christie

Book Overview

A beautiful heiress, a dashing playboy, a handsome prince, and a forgotten recluse. What do they have in common? They're all victims in a series of crimes only Hercule Poirot could solve.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553350706
• ISBN13: 9780553350708
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Under Dog and Other Stories

WOW ! What more can I say except that Agatha Christie is the worlds GREATEST mystery writer and with "Hercule Poirot" put in the story ,how could it possibly get any better.These stories absolutely "ROCK" !!! Pat Simmons

Reintroduction to a Mystery Master

I haven't read Agatha Christie since junior high or so, and I recall her writing as equal parts frustration -- tying my brain in a knot -- and exhilaration -- even if I didn't scry the mystery, I felt smarter for having read Christie. Not wanting to jump back into her writing with what I was sure was going to be a convoluted, complex, and complicated full-length novel, I wanted to reintroduce myself to the world of Hercule Poirot with some shorter-form fiction. Hence, "The Under Dog and Other Stories." Christie's writing isn't as tangled as I remembered -- and while I still feel smarter having read her, I'm just as frustrated by my inability to be one step ahead of the Belgian detective. There are nine stories here, ranging between 12 and 70 pages in length. And they're all satisfying. My favorites include "The Under Dog" and "The Plymouth Express," but they all have their charm. One major irritation: In this Berkley paperback edition, the editors opted to insert little text bits before the end of several stories that state something akin to, "It is suggested that the reader pause in his perusal of the story at this point, make his own solution of the mystery -- and then see how close he comes to that of the author." Christie isn't a juvenile writer, and her work deserves less juvenile treatment. Thoughtful readers will take pause regardless of the editors recommendation.

Poirot's early career in London

The stories herein first appeared in various magazines; they're sorted here by original publication date rather than order of appearance in the book."The King of Clubs" - (March, 1923) Valerie Saintclair, the famous dancer, has just been all over the papers, having discovered the murdered body of Henry Reedburn. Prince Paul of Maurania comes to Poirot, since he proposes to marry her, saying (in one breath), "We are living now in more enlightened days, free from the old caste prejudices," while *also* saying that 1) it'll be a morganatic marriage (i.e., the children would be out of the succession), and 2) it doesn't matter because she's actually the daughter of a Russian grand duchess. (He says that she's bound to secrecy, but has let him guess that much).In other words, Prince Paul is a pompous idiot, who half-suspects Mlle. Saintclair of murdering Reedburn, based on her reaction to a fortuneteller's card reading turning up the king of clubs (a fearsome man holding her in his power), and he's hiring Poirot to find out what really happened. (If you have even a passing acquaintance with that method of fortunetelling, incidentally, don't let Christie's misuse of terms distract you from the facts of the case.)"The Affair at the Victory Ball" - (March, 1923) The Victory in question was the end of WW I. Young Lord Cronshaw and his fiancee Coco Courtenay attended the ball with several friends, all dressed as characters from the Italian Comedy, he as Harlequin, she as Columbine, and both died that night, she from a cocaine overdose in her flat, he with a table knife through his heart at the ball. (There are no Quin or Satterthwaite appearances, incidentally, despite the Harlequin references.) This story is that rare animal, a Christie creation that pauses and offers a challenge to the reader before revealing the solution."The Plymouth Express" - (April, 1923) Flossie Halliday Carrington, soon-to-be ex wife of the Honourable Rupert Carrington, who married her for her father's money, was found murdered during a train journey, and her father has hired Poirot to find the killer (he wants his own man, not just the usual police investigation). This story strongly resembles _The Mystery of the Blue Train_, but the actual puzzle (i.e. who/how/why) isn't really the same, so don't be misled."The Market Basing Mystery" - (October, 1923) Japp, Hastings, and Poirot are spending a weekend on holiday in Market Basing, and Japp is called in on a local locked-room mystery. This case bears a striking resemblance to another locked-room case, "Murder in the Mews"; see the book of the same name if you'd like to compare them."The Adventure of the Clapham Cook" - (November, 1923) The cook in question, a middle-aged, respectable, plain woman working in a private household, quit without a word of warning; no formal complaints, no quarrel with the only other staff member. She just went out on her day off, never came back, and sent for her trunk (not even formally resigning). Her

The Usual Good Fun from Agatha Christie

This book is good for a quick jump into the realm of good murder mysteries. The stories can be read in 15 to 25 minutes, for those of us without enough time to fully appreciate a full length novel. They are however engaging, fun, and nicely thought out. The title story (The Under Dog) is the longest and in my mind the best, as Mrs. Christie had more pages for charater development and story twists. Our favorite detective, Hercule Poirot is featured in all of the stories with multiple appearances of Captain Hastings. Each story had me wondering until the last page. Definately recomended as a before bed reading.