Last week I featured The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie for Short Story Wednesday. This week I will talk about some of the stories in that book. I had hoped to read all 12 stories by this time, but that did not happen. I have now read a total of 8 stories.
They all have a similar premise. Mr. Satterthwaite meets his friend, Mr. Quin, and together they solve a crime. Usually Mr. Satterthwaite is not even aware that there is a puzzle or a crime, but it appears a bit later in the story, and Mr. Quin is instrumental in some way in finding the solution. How and where this happens is what provides the variety in the stories.
Mr. Satterthwaite is quite well off financially, a bit of a snob, and loves good food and comfort. Mr. Quin is tall and dark and shows up out of the blue and saves the day in some way. It all makes sense, I never found the solutions unrealistic, but sometimes one has to assume he has to have some type of clairovant ability to see the future.
Here are my thoughts or notes on the stories I have read:
"The Coming of Mr. Quin"
I was not especially impressed with this story. One thing I did like is that it was set at a New Year's Eve party at a country house. I will read just about anything set at Christmas or New Year's Eve. Maybe I would like it better on a reread, after getting accustomed to the style of the stories.
"The Shadow on the Glass"
This story has a more conventional murder mystery format, until Mr. Quin arrives. This one has a definite haunted house theme, with a window which always contains the image of "a man's face surmounted by a plumed cavalier's hat," no matter how often the pane is replaced. An impossible crime takes place in the garden, and it is not until Mr. Quin arrives for an unrelated appointment during the investigation that he is able to see a solution that the others could not.
While reading this story, I realized I had read it before but could not remember where or when. It turns out it was included in the book English Country House Murders: Classic Crime Fiction of Britain's Upper Crust, which I read in February 2020.
"At the Bells and Motley"
I particularly enjoyed this one because of the setting at an inn that Mr. Quin sometimes frequents. Mr. Satterthwaite is only there because his car has broken down. Together, while eating their dinner, they figure out how a man disappeared from Ashley Grange.
"The Sign in the Sky"
At this point, Mr. Satterthwaite begins to travel outside of Britain. Mr. Quin shows up uninvited for dinner with Mr. Satterthwaite. They discuss a recent trial, and Mr. Quin suggests that Mr. Satterthwaite go to Canada and search for clues to clear a young man of murder.
"The Soul of the Croupier"
A quote from the story:
Mr. Satterthwaite was enjoying the sunshine on the terrace at Monte Carlo.
Every year regularly on the second Sunday in January, Mr. Satterthwaite left England for the Riviera. He was far more punctual than any swallow. In the month of April he returned to England, May and June he spent in London, and had never been known to miss Ascot. He left town after the Eton and Harrow match, paying a few country house visits before repairing to Deauville or Le Touquet. Shooting parties occupied most of September and October, and he usually spent a couple of months in town to wind up the year.
"The World's End"
Mr. Satterthwaite goes on a trip to Corsica with a penny-pinching duchess. He has to suffer bad accommodations and discomfort on the trip. They meet Naomi, an artist, and go up into the mountains for a picnic. Mr. Quin shows up and solves the puzzle of the theft of a opal.
"The Voice in the Dark"
Mr Satterthwaite is on the French Riviera at Cannes with Lady Stranleigh, who asks him to check on her daughter Margery when he returns to England. She is reporting hearing voices and she wants to marry a vicar, which Lady Stranleigh disapproves of. A very complex story, not my favorite.
"The Face of Helen"
Another one that was too complex for me. A beautiful young woman rejects a young man who loves her. Mr. Quin seems to have foreknowledge that her life with be threatened.
What do I like about these stories? I enjoy the new facts we learn about Mr. Satterthwaite's life in each story. Although the stories all have a similar premise, each story is a bit different, not formulaic. Some are investigations of a crime, some are just puzzles. A supernatural or clairvoyant approach to solving crimes or puzzles isn't usually my cup of tea, but in these stories I did not mind it. Even the ones I like least have good points. Often the characters are very interesting.
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