Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Short Story Wednesday: The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie

A few months ago I read several short stories by Agatha Christie, two featuring Hercule Poirot and three Miss Marple stories. This week I turned to short stories from The Mysterious Mr. Quin. The short stories in this book all center around Mr. Satterthwaite and his friend Mr. Quin, who usually runs into Mr. Satterthwaite unexpectedly when there is a mystery to be solved. 


A description of Mr. Satterthwaite from the first story, "The Coming of Mr. Quin":

Mr. Satterthwaite was sixty-two–a little bent, dried-up man with a peering face oddly elflike, and an intense and inordinate interest in other people's lives. All his life, so to speak, he had sat in the front row of the stalls watching various dramas of human nature unfold before him. His role had always been that of the onlooker. Only now, with old age holding him in its clutch, he found himself increasingly critical of the drama submitted to him. He demanded now something a little out of the common. 

Mr. Quin has an enigmatic personality. He seems to be able to see how a mystery could be solved, and sometimes walks in just when a crime has taken place. He and Mr. Satterthwaite work together synergistically to solve problems, whenever they meet. He seems almost magical, on the verge of having supernatural abilities.


I had a paperback copy of this book previously, but at the 2021 Planned Parenthood book sale I found the Dell Mapback edition shown here. It is not in good condition and the pages and covers are fragile, so it is hard to read, but I have managed to get through the first six stories of the twelve in the book. Next week I will talk about those and any others I read in the meantime.


13 comments:

pattinase (abbott) said...

I am not sure I have read any with these characters.

Jerry House said...

Spoiler Alert: There is a gotcha in the final story.

George said...

I love those classic DELL MAPBACK editions! Love the colorful covers. Love the colorful maps! I wish some independent publisher would reprint them!

Rick Robinson said...

Not, by far, my preferred Christe characters, but I think you may enjoy them. I look forward to your post.

TracyK said...

Rick, I agree with you. I have other favorite Christie characters, but I was surprised at enjoying these stories so much.

TracyK said...

Patti, I don't think these characters show up in many other books. Mr Satterthwaite is in one of the Poirot novels (Three Act Tragedy or Murder in Three Acts) and then there are two other short stories about Quin and Satterthwaite in a different short story collection.

TracyK said...

Jerry, I can't wait until I get to that last story now.

TracyK said...

George, I love the Dell mapbacks too. I have collected as many as I can within my budget. I even have two old Westerns by Walker A. Tompkins in mapback editions.

George said...

Tracy, like you I picked up DELL MAPBACKS whenever I found them. But, with used bookstores pretty much gone, and the prices on the Internet through the roof for MAPBACKS, I'm content with the couple dozen DELL MAPBACKS I do have.

You might enjoy Lyles, William H (1983). Putting Dell on the Map: A History of the Dell Paperbacks. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press if you can find a copy.

TracyK said...

George, thanks for pointing that book out to me. I will definitely look into finding a copy. I thought I must have heard of that book, and I found that Rick had posted a photo of some of his mystery reference books, and that was one of them.

col2910 said...

Very attractive and eye-catching cover. I'm keeping up with my short story a day reading this month!

Susan D said...

Oh lucky you, a Dell Mapback. Thanks for sharing.

I like Mr. Satterthwaite and his appearances. Too bad Christie seems to make 62 sound like 87 (!)

TracyK said...

I was very lucky to find a Dell mapback at the book sale, no matter the condition.

I am enjoying the stories in the book. I was taken back by the description of Mr. Satterthwaite at 62, especially since I am well past 62 myself.