Customer Reviews

The Mysterious Mr. Quin

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book contains most, but not all, of the adventures of Mr. Satterthwaite and Mr. Quin. (See my listmania list for a complete list). Mr. Satterthwaite is an elderly bachelor whom life has passed by - a spectator in other people's lives - but like Miss Marple, he's grown very perceptive.

Mr. Quin - Mr. Harley Quin - is a vaguely supernatural figure, associated with the immortal Harlequin, whose appearance in Satterthwaite's life presages adventure. Generally he appears as an advocate for the dead, and always as a catalyst: Satterthwaite does most of the reasoning, prompted by Quin. His theory is that one is more likely to solve a mystery after enough time has elapsed to put events in perspective. His gift for inspiring Satterthwaite lies in guiding him to ask the right questions.

"The Coming of Mr. Quin" - Mr. Quin appears after midnight on New Year's Eve, speaking of a breakdown that his chauffeur will shortly put right; Satterthwaite is among the guests of the house party who have stayed up. Quin guides the conversation to the mysterious suicide of Derek Capel, which happened 10 years ago in the same house. He contradicts the theory that nobody will ever know why Capel did it.

"The Shadow on the Glass" - If Satterthwaite consents to stay in a new-money household (he's a snob), it's a sign that the cooking is very good, or that something interesting will happen. He's currently staying with the Unkertons, who have bought a house with a romantic ghost story - a haunted window - and who have a genius for inviting trouble. In this case, they've invited a group of empire-builder-type hunters: Iris Staverton, Richard Scott and his new bride, and Scott's best-friend, who's been second fiddle all his life. Tactless, since Iris and Richard once had a very public relationship.

"At the Bells and Motley" - When the 3rd flat tire of the day strands Satterthwaite and his chauffeur 40 miles from their destination, the chauffeur soothes his employer's ruffled temper by suggesting that he go to the nearby inn - the Bells and Motley - to telephone his host, get something to eat, and maybe stay the night. Satterthwaite cheers up considerably to find Quin as a fellow-guest, and to be reminded that this little town was recently the scene of a nine-days wonder: a newlywed man, with a rich, lovely young wife, who mysteriously vanished.

"The Sign in the Sky" - Satterthwaite, having just seen young Martin Wylde convicted of the murder of Vivien Barnaby (a married woman he was leaving upon his engagement), and suspecting that he's innocent, seeks out a favourite restaurant, catering to jaded gourmets: the Arlecchino. Where, of course, he joins Mr. Quin at table to discuss the case.

"The Soul of the Croupier" - Satterthwaite, on his annual trip to Monte Carlo, notes that few of the glamourous nobility attend anymore - except the Countess Czarnova, and even she is seen less with great men these days than the nouveau riche.

"The World's End" - Satterthwaite's snobbery works against him here: the Duchess of Leith (one of those wealthy people who still clip coupons), complaining about her hotel bill, persuades him to accompany her to Corsica rather than the comforts of the Riviera.

"The Voice in the Dark" - Lady Stranleigh represents the triumph of Art over Nature - she's been married four times, has a grown daughter, and is a contemporary of Satterthwaite's, but maintains the illusion of a youthful appearance. Her daughter Margery is almost a cuckoo's egg - very practical and conventional. Then Lady Stranleigh seems to show signs of occasional bouts of 'food poisoning'...who is acting a part for whom?

"The Face of Helen" - Satterthwaite encounters a woman with the calamitous magic of the great beauties of history - but the outlook of a respectable middle-class girl. (Christie has employed variations on this kind of character several times: Elsie Holland in _The Moving Finger_ and Mrs. Liedner in _Murder in Mesopotamia_, to name two extremes.)

"The Dead Harlequin" - Satterthwaite sees a beautiful painting at an exhibition of a young artist's work, in which a dead Harlequin lies on the floor of the Terrace at Charnley, which Satterthwaite knows well, and a living one looks in at the window. He buys it and invites the painter to dinner - and not only does the talk turn to a mysterious suicide that occurred at Charnley years ago, but two women ring up, asking to buy the painting from Satterthwaite.

"The Bird with the Broken Wing" - One of Satterthwaite's fellow guests at the house party at Laidell is Mabelle Annesley - who was born a Clydesley, noted as being a family that disaster has struck again and again: one sibling committed suicide, another drowned, and still another died in an earthquake. Is someone trying to make a clean sweep?

"The Man from the Sea" - Satterthwaite, visiting a new place rather than the Riviera, meets a man who seems young, to him: Anthony Cosdon, approaching 50, a bachelor who has lived a careless but contented life - and whose doctor has delivered his death sentence. But Satterthwaite and Quin aren't inclined to let him take his own life, because, of course, there's something Cosdon hasn't thought of...

"Harlequin's Lane" - Satterthwaite stays with the Denmans every now and again, even though they seem to be very dull Philistines, because nevertheless something about them puzzles him very much. Then Satterthwaite finds that Quin is a fellow guest...

I would recommend this book to both Christie fans as well as those readers picking up her work for the first time. The stories are all unique but have one common theme - a supernatural element running through them that is somehow connected with the mysterious appearances and disappearances of that enigmatic creature, Mr. Harley Quin. Unlike the character of Mr. Satterthwaite whose thoughts and reactions are transparent to the reader, Mr. Quin remains shrouded in darkness (a little like Holmes and Watson). We are always excited by his appearance because that is the indication that a mystery is about to appear on the horizon. Unlike Sherlock Holmes however, Mr. Quin does not play any active role in solving the puzzles; rather he throws out hints and suggestions to Mr. Satterthwaite who is usually quick-witted enough to pick up the thread of thought and so stumble upon the truth. Yet Mr. Quin is not a selfish being; in fact his appearance is frequently just in time to prevent a tragedy or a miscarriage of justice that may result in the wrong person being accused. Rather, he is content to stay out of the spotlight and maintain his anonymity; we observe in the stories that while he seems to know a lot of people, none of the characters have ever actually met him. Yet everyone accepts his presence and word unquestioningly. The stories are tinged with a romantic streak yet remain absorbing mysteries and studies of human nature. Highly recommended!

While reading this book, I kept forgetting that the same mind that created lovably conceited Poirot and lovably fussy Jane Marple also created the mysterious Quin. These stories are fun and deep all at the same time. However, the last story, "Harlequin's Lane" is really disturbing and I found myself,like Mr. Satterthwaite, scared of Mr. Quin, and wondering about his motives in all his other stories, because his behavior in this one was so out of character for him. I was very upset that this is how his relationship with Mr. Satterthwaite was going to end. But then I found out about the publication of the final Quin story, "The Harlequin Tea Set" in the book of the same name. In that story, everything seems back to normal, with the two men even talking lightly of the incidents in "Harleqin's Lane". So, if you can get past the utter weirdness and uneasy feeling that story gives, the other Quin stories are very good.

There's something different in this book from all the other A. Christie murder novels I've read, and I think it's the quality of mystery around the characters, not the murders (or would-be murders in this book's case). I'm writing about the strangely uncanny, rather incomprehensible Mr. Quin. In all the stories, Mr. Quin seems to knows the ways of human nature so well, that he can pinpoint the people who are maybe on the verge of death. But strangely enough, it's not he who tries to save the would-be victims; it's his solid, predictable "friend", Mr. Satterthwaite who always happens to be in the right place at the right time. Using Mr. Quin's little hints, Mr. Satterthewaite uses his brain to piece together the puzzles, and he always arrives just in the nick of time to save the victims. I strongly recommend The Mysterious Mr. Quin.

Harley Quin shines in the world of aristocratic evil and blue-blooded criminality. His mission is always to see that justice is done. Whether it be a young wife with a shocking secret from her past, a great actress playing her most daring role not on stage but in real life, or a handsome bridegroom whose wedding night turns into a wake, Harley Quin always arrives at precisely the right moment. His unorthodox methods will always be able to target the guilty party.

This book is notable for the appearance of Mr. Satterthwaite, the means by which Mr. Quin makes his riveting revelations. They are reminiscent of other famous duos like Holmes and Watson or Poirot and Hastings as they work together and solve crimes with an uncanny accuracy.

So if you need a little passion, blackmail, and murder in your life, pick up this volume of fascinating short stories.

Not only some of Christie's best writing, but as well, some of the best short stories ever published. The final 2 pieces are especially provocative and will leave lasting impressions on the reader. As other reviewers have stated, the characters here are bigger mysteries than the plots, which works well to pull you into the stories. Is everything explained by the final paragraph? Or is this just the beginning of more mysteries to come? It's up to you to decide. Overall: thought-provoking, excellent stuff...

I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie and have read many of her books. My favorite is "And Then There Were None," a classic mystery novel. When I purchased this book, I did not know that is was a collection of short stories, but once I dived in to Christie's superior eye for mystery and suspense, I found myself longing to read the book further and further. Mr. Satterthwaite, somewhat reminescent of Hercule Poirot, is a watcher. He has a keen eye and discovers people's inner thoughts and emotions. Harley Quin is a man who still puzzles me and is the reason that this book received 3 stars instead of five. At times in the novel, you long for him to reveal his true identity. Also, the last chapter of the book seemed rather pointless. Christie explained the ballet's plot with such great detail that I found myself skimming over it, and the book lost its luster. If someone wishes to e-mail me explaining the final chapter, please go ahead and do so. For those pondering the book's purchase, I suggest "And Then There Were None," or "Death on the Nile." However, if your penchant is short stories, this one is worth a read.

This book was wonderful and quite different from anything else by Agatha Christie. It is an extremely surreal collection of stories about a very mysterious stranger who happens to dramatically change the lives of the people that he and his friend, Mr. Satterthwaite, come in contact with. These stories are exquisitely haunting tales, and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Agatha Christie, the surreal side of life, or just a good read!

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. QUIN is my favorite Agatha Christie work. It is a collection of short stories in which a dried-up old bachelor, the aristocratic and wealthy Mr. Satterthwaite, is guided subtly by a Mr. Harley Quin to solve various mysteries. The Commedia del Arte character Harlequin seems to have held a certain fascination for Dame Agatha--he is mentioned in at least one Poirot story as well--and in this collection he appears as a semi-supernatural being who is sent by the dead to right wrongs for the living. The stories are atmospheric and poetic. Some are better than others--my favorites are "The Coming of Mr. Quin", in which Quin and Satterthwaite prevent a suicide, and "The Face of Helen", in which they prevent a murder. THE MYSTERIOUS MR. QUIN is not your standard Christie, but it is, in my opinion, her best work.

Early in her career, the prolific Agatha Christie intermittently published short stories that featured two "sleuths," Mr. Satterthwaite and the mysterious Mr. Harley Quin. In the 1950s, Christie and Penguin put out an anthology of the stories with an introduction by Dame Agatha. This edition reprises that volume. It is a terrific assemblage of the writer's most psychologically complex creations. The author's preface adds to the pleasure and should be read first (no spoilers). There is no sense that the stories were written intermittently; in fact the whole flows like a concisely conceived episodic novel.

Mr. Satterthwaite is in his late sixties, a stubby, fastidious man who fears having missed out on life. He is unmarried and affluent enough to not have to work, to finance travel and interests in the arts. This and his amenable personality welcome him into the upper social stratosphere. The stories often find him attending weekend parties at country manors or at European resorts, places rife with romances and other life dramas. He most often comes upon a mystery or crime after its commission and reasons its solution through a Socratic like dialogue with a friend of which he knows almost nothing except that he shows up in the shadows just as Satterthwaite is challenged by a puzzle. That would be the mysterious Mr. Harley Quin. As soon as Satterthwaite is on the right track, Mr. Quin has vanished. As vaguely as Quin is deliberately drawn, Mr. Satterthwaite's psyche and physicality are rendered in detail. Christie demonstrates a shrewd understanding of the psychological science of the early 20th century in her concept of two characters who seem to function together as parts of the same self.

While village manor houses, London and travel destinations form the backdrop of most Christie fiction, I don't recall her other fiction revealing so much about the actual times and zeitgeist as the Satterthwaite stories do. Overall, the Satterthwaite stories reveal the author's intellect and energy at full throttle.