THE MYSTERIOUS MR. QUIN
UK publication: 1930 (Collins)
US publication: 1930 (Dodd, Mead)
Detective: Other
Genre: Short stories
Plot
summary and comments: Twelve short stories featuring Mr. Harley Quin,
a possibly supernatural personage who is the "friend of lovers"
and appears when a crime which threatens lovers' happiness is committed.
Usually, he works through his intermediary, the aged, bent and "dried-up"
Mr. Satterthwaite. Satterthwaite meets Quin, seemingly by chance, at a
handful of different (and appropriate) venues, and and travels at Quin's
request to as far away as Banff to assist lovers in need. Quite different
from most Christie stories, these were considered something special by
Christie herself, who refused to write them unless she felt like it. Titles:
- The Coming of Mr. Quin;
- At the 'Bells and Motley';
- The Bird with the Broken Wing;
- The Dead Harlequin;
- The Face of Helen; Harlequin's Lane;
- The Man from the Sea;
- The Shadow on the Glass;
- The Sign in the Sky;
- The Soul of the Croupier;
- The Voice in the Dark;
- The World's End.
::READERS REVIEWS::
"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."
"I
would recommend this book to both Christie fans as well as those readers
picking up her work for the first time. The stories are all unique but
have one common theme - a supernatural element running through them that
is somehow connected with the mysterious appearances and disappearances
of that enigmatic creature, Mr. Harley Quin. Unlike the character of Mr.
Satterthwaite whose thoughts and reactions are transparent to the reader,
Mr. Quin remains shrouded in darkness (a little like Holmes and Watson).
We are always excited by his appearance because that is the indication
that a mystery is about to appear on the horizon. Unlike Sherlock Holmes
however, Mr. Quin does not play any active role in solving the puzzles;
rather he throws out hints and suggestions to Mr. Satterthwaite who is
usually quick-witted enough to pick up the thread of thought and so stumble
upon the truth. Yet Mr. Quin is not a selfish being; in fact his appearance
is frequently just in time to prevent a tragedy or a miscarriage of justice
that may result in the wrong person being accused. Rather, he is content
to stay out of the spotlight and maintain his anonymity; we observe in
the stories that while he seems to know a lot of people, none of the characters
have ever actually met him. Yet everyone accepts his presence and word
unquestioningly. The stories are tinged with a romantic streak yet remain
absorbing mysteries and studies of human nature. Highly recommended!"
"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."
"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!"
::YOUR OPINION::
