Throwback Thursday: The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

Author: Agatha Christie
First published in 1939 by Dodd, Mead and Company

A diamond worth several fortunes is stolen as a dinner party trick, and then stolen from the thief...How lucky that Mr. Parker Pyne is also a guest at the party. The incomparable Hercule Poirot proves that a crowd is the best place for a murder. And Miss Marple solves a crime that stumped the police without ever leaving her fireside. This superb collection assembles all of Agatha Christie's top detectives to solve the most challenging cases of their careers.

This short story collection contains the following: The Regatta Mystery, The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, How Does Your Garden Grow?, Problem at Pollensa Bay, Yellow Iris, Miss Marple Tells a Story, The Dream, In a Glass Darkly and Problem At Sea.

Anthologies are always a nice change from novels when you want something quick to read.  After not reading much that has excited me lately, I was looking for a change of pace, The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories is a great set of short mysteries by the queen of mysteries.  

I really enjoyed this set of stories.  There is a mix of novellas featuring each of her three detectives.  I had never read anything with the detective, Parker Pyne.  That was a real treat.  My favorites of the bunch were The Problem at Pollensa Bay and In a Glass Darkly.  Both of them had a nice little twist that I didn't expect. The real interesting part was that neither one of them featured my favorite detective, Hercule Poirot.  If you haven't read this set, I highly recommend it.