Showing results by narrator "Hugh Fraser" in All Categories

An alarming telephone call, in which the phrases “it’s life and death” and “the table with the yellow irises” are whispered, causes Hercule Poirot to rush to the luxuriant restaurant Jardin des Cygnes, desperate to stop an impending murder and find the person behind the voice on the...

Mr. Satterthwaite and Colonel Melrose are comfortably ensconced in the Colonel’s study when the phone suddenly rings. Someone has been murdered, and, as the county chief constable, the Colonel lets Satterthwaite accompany him to the scene of the crime. The two of them have opposing opinions on...

The recently married Alix Martin is obsessed with a recurring dream of her new husband’s murder. Each time she can see the murderer clearly, and it’s the mild-mannered man she had previously been engaged to, taking his revenge. But, what’s worse is that at the end of the dream she thanks...

Hercule Poirot is about to tuck into a very traditional English supper with his old friend Bonnington when a lone diner sparks his interest. Like clockwork, the man has eaten at the restaurant on Thursdays and Tuesdays for the last ten years, but no one on the staff knows his name. When “Old...

An aging, heavily-insured country squire whose estate is in financial ruin is thought to have committed suicide. Hercule Poirot investigates, in the guise of a representative of the victim's insurance company, to uncover the identity of the real murderer...

Movie star Mary Marvell consults with Hercule Poirot after receiving threatening letters that warn her to return her diamond, the famous ""Western Star,"" to its rightful owner. But who does own the diamond, and is it even the genuine article?...

While staying with the Kingston Bruce family, Mrs. Hamilton Betts discovers that her valuable pink pearl is missing. Presuming it to have been stolen by another houseguest, the concerned host contacts the Beresfords for help...

A classic Agatha Christie short story from the collection The Golden Ball and Other Stories Jane Cleveland is in desperate need of a job, and when she sees an ad for a woman of her description needed to impersonate a grand duchess, she cannot believe her luck. The royal retainers tell Jane that...

A young banker is suspected of stealing one million dollars in Liberty Bonds on a transatlantic journey to New York, and appeals to Hercule Poirot to clear his name. Poirot learns the identities of the three people who hold keys to the locked trunk, but it won't be as easy to identify the true...

A classic Agatha Christie short story from the collection The Golden Ball and Other Stories. Sane and sensible Edward Robinson secretly dreams of fast cars, adventurous women, and danger, but his fiancée, Maud, keeps him grounded in reality. When Edward wins money in a newspaper competition, he...

Waiting for his car to be fixed, Mr. Satterthwaite sits in a tea shop called the Harlequin café, thinking of his friend Harley Quin, whom he hasn’t seen in many years. Then, in a burst of sunshine, the very same Mr. Quin walks through the door, along with his diligent dog, Hermes...

Just as World War I is drawing to an end, the prime minister is kidnapped. It is down to Hercule Poirot to locate him before a crucial conference, to avert an international crisis...

Just as boredom is setting in on his long trip by motor coach across the desert to Baghdad, Mr. Parker Pyne reads about the case of the missing Mr. Long, the famous defaulting financier who, as the papers would have it, is in South America. Another member of his party, Captain Smethurst, tells...

At Mr. and Mrs. Unkerton's party in Greenway's House, Mr. Satterthwaite learns of a haunted window: no matter how many times it is replaced, it always contains the image of a gentleman in a plumed hat. When gunshots are heard, Satterthwaite finds that two of the guests have been shot dead, which...

A classic Agatha Christie short story from the collection The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories. Mystery writer Anthony Eastwood is lured to the crime scene of a faked murder, where two individuals masquerading as police officers arrest him and charge him for murder. As the phony...

Maria Packington suspects her husband of having an affair. In an attempt to revitalise her marriage, she responds to an ad from Mr. Parker Pyne – who promises to provide solutions to unhappiness. Maria's life soon undergoes a rapid...

When civilian life proves too dull for Major Wilbrahams, he contacts Parker Pyne to escape his boredom. Pyne's assistant arranges a chance meeting with the beautiful Freda Clegg and the two join forces, but on leaving for Africa they encounter more than they had bargained for...

Mr. Parker Pyne is having trouble trying to get to Beirut, what with his rusty linguistic skills and the less-than-comfortable travelling arrangements. But, with the help of a German pilot, Herr Schlagel, he is soon able to get his bearings. Herr Schlagel confesses that his thoughts are...

A personal advertisement written in code attracts the attention of Tuppence Beresford. When Tuppence suspects that the code involves the Three Arts Ball, she persuades Tommy to attend dressed in costume. Tuppence's suspicions prove to be correct when a murder takes place, but as all of the...

James has found himself at the fashionable resort Kimpton-on-Sea, all due to the persuasion of his girlfriend Grace, who during the last few months of their courtship has become more difficult to deal with. Among the upper echelons of society, including the Rajah of Maraputna, James feels...