The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Hugh Fraser, Simon Vance, Isla Blair

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

A grand treasure for fans of the grande dame of mystery, The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories brings together nine rare and brilliant Christie tales of murder and detection that span nearly half a century of her storytelling genius.

In "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest," Hercule Poirot unravels the psychological conundrums that motivate a killer....

In "The Actress," a great star's shady past becomes the plaything of a blackmailer....

In "The Harlequin Tea Set," Mr. Harley Quin helps a man save his loved ones from the greedy hand of murder. These and six other stories of danger and detection complete this truly stellar collection.

©1997 Agatha Christie Limited All Rights Reserved (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Great book!

Loved the stories. Would listen at bed time. Perfect timing to hear full chapter and ready to fall asleep.

A new favorite

I'm delighted to discover these series of short stories - they come across as bey modern, tightly drawn and always leave me pondering something new.

Disappointing

Perhaps these are early stories by Dame Status as they are unworthy of her usual plotting. While read well by the performers, they plod slowly and are boring and depressing, and are easily guessed early on. The book's value in solely in stories 6 and 8. Story 6 is mildly interesting though guessable, I expect in a later rewrite she'd have added her more typical ending plot twist. Story 8 is best, a Poirot story.

Great collection of short stories

Would you listen to The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories again? Why?

Yes. I have enjoyed the mysterious character of Harley Quinn, and I enjoy Mr. Saitherwaite's fussiness.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The work is a set of short stories. You are able to stop after each story, so no.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Mr. Saitherwaite

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I listened to it while I was out walking, so I was motivated to walk each day until I finished. It gave me something to look forward to.

Mixed Bag of Agatha Christie Stories

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I did not Isla Blair. Her voice got on my nerves. The audio book would have been much more enjoyable without her.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have a different mix of short stories. I liked the Lonely God and the title story. I had just listened to the Poirot story in another collection. The Isle of Man story doesn't really make sense.

Did the narrators do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Hugh Fraser is a wonderful narrator. He made Mr. Satterthwaite and Harley Quin come alive. Simon Vance did a credible job as well.

Do you think The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I followed this book with listening to the Mysterious Mr. Quin. I think the Harley Quin stories work best if you listen to them together.

Any additional comments?

Not my favorite of the Agatha Christie short story collections. I would have preferred reading it to using a credit.

wonderful as always

Agatha Christie is always wonderful. highly recommend. a + , e. t. c. .

Not the best

I love Agatha Christie but this is not a great collection. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Short stories with little development

For Christie fans, probably a good set of stories. Alas, the length of the stories prevents character development, although the plots have potential as Christie whodunits. The title story will be familiar to those who have read the Harley Quinn tales, and it serves as a capstone story after many years following the setting of the earlier Quinn dramas. Quinn remains mysterious but gets even a bit more ethereal following the Lovers Lane adventure, and is somewhat unsatisfying in his rather flat presentation. The other stories, including a Poirot mystery are rather tame.

Even so, the performances are acceptable and Fraser again does an admirable job of telling his tale. The other performers, who narrate most of the other stories are competent, but seem to lack the range of intonations to put them over the top.

Three great narrators, nine classic stories

Like many story collections, this one is a bit uneven. Some of the stories are quite original and interesting, but others are a bit predictable. All are old-fashioned and charmingly nostalgic. Overall, a great short listen for Christie fans who enjoy her British way of looking at the world.

Isla Blair, Simon Vance, and Hugh Fraser are always delightful narrators, and this is no exception. I particularly liked Isla Blair, the lovely character actress whose talents are much in evidence with the female voices required in the first stories.

The stories are: The Edge, The Actress, While the Light Lasts, The House of Dreams, The Lonely God, Manx Gold, Within a Wall, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, and The Harlequin Tea Set.

A Revelation

The Harlequin Tea Set, a collection of short mysteries, was a revelation to me. I knew Agatha Christie was a great story teller, but was unprepared for the quality of these short stories.