I have written a number of posts here about Agatha Christie's many marvelous short stories. In her lifetime, Christie turned out more than 160 short stories. Poirot, Miss Marple, Harley Quin and the others make excellent bedside companions, and there are times when a short story may provide as much satisfaction as a full-length novel.
For such times, I am delighted to be able to recommend an excellent guide to all those stories. Elena Santangelo has compiled a book called "Dame Agatha's Shorts," which sorts out all of Christie's short stories, including her forays into the supernatural and even some romances. Santangelo manages to provide brief critiques and information about each story without giving away any spoilers. She indicates which stories are in which anthologies, too, which can be very valuable in trying to determine whether you already have read all the stories in a particular volume.
"Dame Agatha's Shorts" won the Agatha award for the best non-fiction work at this year's Malice Domestic conference. It has been nominated for an Anthony at this fall's Bouchercon conference. If you enjoy Christie and want a reliable and readable guide to her short stories, this book is exactly what you need.
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