The Mysterious Mr. Quin

Rating:
Summary: Very different from Christie's usual short story collection
Review: There's something different in this book from all the other A. Christie murder novels I've read, and I think it's the quality of mystery around the characters, not the murders (or would-be murders in this book's case). I'm writing about the strangely uncanny, rather incomprehensible Mr. Quin. In all the stories, Mr. Quin seems to knows the ways of human nature so well, that he can pinpoint the people who are maybe on the verge of death. But strangely enough, it's not he who tries to save the would-be victims; it's his solid, predictable "friend", Mr. Satterthwaite who always happens to be in the right place at the right time. Using Mr. Quin's little hints, Mr. Satterthewaite uses his brain to piece together the puzzles, and he always arrives just in the nick of time to save the victims. I strongly recommend The Mysterious Mr. Quin.

Rating:
Summary: A book dedicated to Harlequin, the Invisible
Review: This book contains most, but not all, of the adventures of Mr. Satterthwaite and Mr. Quin. (See my listmania list for a complete list). Mr. Satterthwaite is an elderly bachelor whom life has passed by - a spectator in other people's lives - but like Miss Marple, he's grown very perceptive.

Mr. Quin - Mr. Harley Quin - is a vaguely supernatural figure, associated with the immortal Harlequin, whose appearance in Satterthwaite's life presages adventure. Generally he appears as an advocate for the dead, and always as a catalyst: Satterthwaite does most of the reasoning, prompted by Quin. His theory is that one is more likely to solve a mystery after enough time has elapsed to put events in perspective. His gift for inspiring Satterthwaite lies in guiding him to ask the right questions.

"The Coming of Mr. Quin" - Mr. Quin appears after midnight on New Year's Eve, speaking of a breakdown that his chauffeur will shortly put right; Satterthwaite is among the guests of the house party who have stayed up. Quin guides the conversation to the mysterious suicide of Derek Capel, which happened 10 years ago in the same house. He contradicts the theory that nobody will ever know why Capel did it.

"The Shadow on the Glass" - If Satterthwaite consents to stay in a new-money household (he's a snob), it's a sign that the cooking is very good, or that something interesting will happen. He's currently staying with the Unkertons, who have bought a house with a romantic ghost story - a haunted window - and who have a genius for inviting trouble. In this case, they've invited a group of empire-builder-type hunters: Iris Staverton, Richard Scott and his new bride, and Scott's best-friend, who's been second fiddle all his life. Tactless, since Iris and Richard once had a very public relationship.

"At the Bells and Motley" - When the 3rd flat tire of the day strands Satterthwaite and his chauffeur 40 miles from their destination, the chauffeur soothes his employer's ruffled temper by suggesting that he go to the nearby inn - the Bells and Motley - to telephone his host, get something to eat, and maybe stay the night. Satterthwaite cheers up considerably to find Quin as a fellow-guest, and to be reminded that this little town was recently the scene of a nine-days wonder: a newlywed man, with a rich, lovely young wife, who mysteriously vanished.

"The Sign in the Sky" - Satterthwaite, having just seen young Martin Wylde convicted of the murder of Vivien Barnaby (a married woman he was leaving upon his engagement), and suspecting that he's innocent, seeks out a favourite restaurant, catering to jaded gourmets: the Arlecchino. Where, of course, he joins Mr. Quin at table to discuss the case.

"The Soul of the Croupier" - Satterthwaite, on his annual trip to Monte Carlo, notes that few of the glamourous nobility attend anymore - except the Countess Czarnova, and even she is seen less with great men these days than the nouveau riche.

"The World's End" - Satterthwaite's snobbery works against him here: the Duchess of Leith (one of those wealthy people who still clip coupons), complaining about her hotel bill, persuades him to accompany her to Corsica rather than the comforts of the Riviera.

"The Voice in the Dark" - Lady Stranleigh represents the triumph of Art over Nature - she's been married four times, has a grown daughter, and is a contemporary of Satterthwaite's, but maintains the illusion of a youthful appearance. Her daughter Margery is almost a cuckoo's egg - very practical and conventional. Then Lady Stranleigh seems to show signs of occasional bouts of 'food poisoning'...who is acting a part for whom?

"The Face of Helen" - Satterthwaite encounters a woman with the calamitous magic of the great beauties of history - but the outlook of a respectable middle-class girl. (Christie has employed variations on this kind of character several times: Elsie Holland in _The Moving Finger_ and Mrs. Liedner in _Murder in Mesopotamia_, to name two extremes.)

"The Dead Harlequin" - Satterthwaite sees a beautiful painting at an exhibition of a young artist's work, in which a dead Harlequin lies on the floor of the Terrace at Charnley, which Satterthwaite knows well, and a living one looks in at the window. He buys it and invites the painter to dinner - and not only does the talk turn to a mysterious suicide that occurred at Charnley years ago, but two women ring up, asking to buy the painting from Satterthwaite.

"The Bird with the Broken Wing" - One of Satterthwaite's fellow guests at the house party at Laidell is Mabelle Annesley - who was born a Clydesley, noted as being a family that disaster has struck again and again: one sibling committed suicide, another drowned, and still another died in an earthquake. Is someone trying to make a clean sweep?

"The Man from the Sea" - Satterthwaite, visiting a new place rather than the Riviera, meets a man who seems young, to him: Anthony Cosdon, approaching 50, a bachelor who has lived a careless but contented life - and whose doctor has delivered his death sentence. But Satterthwaite and Quin aren't inclined to let him take his own life, because, of course, there's something Cosdon hasn't thought of...

"Harlequin's Lane" - Satterthwaite stays with the Denmans every now and again, even though they seem to be very dull Philistines, because nevertheless something about them puzzles him very much. Then Satterthwaite finds that Quin is a fellow guest...

Rating:
Summary: A Trip Into the Surreal
Review: This book was wonderful and quite different from anything else by Agatha Christie. It is an extremely surreal collection of stories about a very mysterious stranger who happens to dramatically change the lives of the people that he and his friend, Mr. Satterthwaite, come in contact with. These stories are exquisitely haunting tales, and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Agatha Christie, the surreal side of life, or just a good read!

Rating:
Summary: a very unique read!
Review: While reading this book, I kept forgetting that the same mind that created lovably conceited Poirot and lovably fussy Jane Marple also created the mysterious Quin. These stories are fun and deep all at the same time. However, the last story, "Harlequin's Lane" is really disturbing and I found myself,like Mr. Satterthwaite, scared of Mr. Quin, and wondering about his motives in all his other stories, because his behavior in this one was so out of character for him. I was very upset that this is how his relationship with Mr. Satterthwaite was going to end. But then I found out about the publication of the final Quin story, "The Harlequin Tea Set" in the book of the same name. In that story, everything seems back to normal, with the two men even talking lightly of the incidents in "Harleqin's Lane". So, if you can get past the utter weirdness and uneasy feeling that story gives, the other Quin stories are very good.