A Deadly Affair: The new gripping short story collection

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Finessing the King- Tommy & Tuppence in a mystery that was a bit flat for me even though the impetus and the solution of the mystery is clues in a newspaper.

There’s an inherent danger of disappointment in revisiting things you once loved – by the same logic that tells us we can never stand in the same river again, certain experiences can’t be expected to remain the same. We change, our ideas, standards and preferences change. Is it fair to expect books/an author who delighted us once to continue to do so throughout time? They all feature a clever crime or a mystery, of course, but the focus is more towards the human condition of love with themes of infidelity, unrequited love, love as a patriarchal tool, love gone stale, and possessive love, to name a few. A stand alone short story, that steals the show. Very old fashioned, but satisfactory in conclusion. His wife and her lover should be the obvious suspects but after they both clumsily confess to the murder in what looks like an effort of each to protect the other, the police begin to think that there may be someone else running around with a motive to kill.But it turns out that Charlie may have been sleeping with his wife's friend Susan, who is married to Trevor. In a moment of weakness, Mary kisses Trevor, then regrets her actions. But Trevor becomes obsessive over Mary, and begins to stalk Mary. Susan is an attorney, who offers to represent Mary. But is Susan to be trusted? The collection opens with “The King of Clubs,” a terrific story featuring Inspector Hercule Poirot, who is immediately thrust into investigating the murder of impresario Henry Reedburn. Of course, Poirot trusts the instincts of his “little grey cells” that point him in the direction of the actual guilty party.

This time it's Miss Marple knowing who did the murder but not having the evidence, which is left to Sir Henry Cithering, a retired Commissioner of Scotland Yard. The reader doesn't know who Miss Marple suspects but has fun watching (reading) Sir Henry workout the hows and whys of who Miss Marple told him. Christies short story collections continue to be a mixed bag for me— Some of the stories stand out, while others I could have done with out. I do think all of these were fun, and in general this is a better short story collection than Poirot Investigates and even better than a Midwinter Murder

Death by Drowning- Jane Marple solves the case when an unmarried pregnant woman is drowned by a bridge. A poor but jilted lover is suspected and has a tidy alibi but Jane susses out who did the deed and why. An appearance of the Bantrys is here also. Dolly's gardening is mentioned. LOL Seems pretty cut and dry once they find out who Bingo is, but neither Inspector Marriot nor our adorable detectives feel good about it and Tuppence proceeds to continue her investigation. The Double Clue- In which Poirot susses out a jewel theft. This is his first meeting with the Russian Countess. A good beginning.