Review at my blog: https://paulasimoesblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/08/the-hound-of-death-and-other-st... ( )

A collection of uncanny tales by Agatha Christie. An enjoyable change from her usual work but I had the feeling I've read most of them before, though the book wasn't in my LT collection. Spooky! ( )

Although the cover doesn't indicate it, this is actually a book full of short stories. Agatha Christie is often referred to as a master of crime, however this book doesn't focus on crime the way her others do. Most of them are of murder. The short stories in this book mainly focus on mysterious events, usually focusing on the occult. There is quite a mixture. Several feature mediums, while others talk of the exchange of souls. Some have a good explanation, while others leave you wondering exactly what happened.

I have a harder time reading short stories, mainly because in general, I find that there really isn't a plot to be drawn into and their isn't enough of the writing to be drawn to the characters. These weren't too bad though. The focus on the occult and unexplainable kept my focus away from the actual plot and characters. Overall I liked this book. I have yet to find a Christie that I don't. ( )

This is a collection of twelve short stories, stories of unexplained phenomena, in most cases tales of the supernatural rather than detective stories.

Of the twelve stories I think The Witness for the Prosecution is the best. Agatha Christie later wrote a play based on this story which has subsequently been adapted for film and television. It’s the story of Leonard Vole, a young man who has been arrested for the murder of an elderly lady, Miss Emily French. He befriended this rich lonely old woman who left him everything in her will. He protests his innocence and is astounded when Romaine (who lives with him as his wife) refuses to back up his story at the trial. It is up to his lawyer Mr Mayherne to get to the truth.

I also liked the more supernatural stories – those with no explanation and those where the supernatural either have natural, scientific explanations or are plain con tricks. The narrator in The Hound of Death is unsure of how to view the events during the First World War where a Belgian nun, Sister Marie Angelique is said to have caused her convent to explode when it was invaded by German soldiers.

There are stories of premonitions, intuition or a sixth sense, stories of seances, haunted houses, nightmares, amnesia and a very strange tale The Call of Wings in which a millionaire hears a tune, played by man with no legs. ( )

Interesting but patchy collection of short stories about the unexplained. They are thought provoking but I have read scarier. ( )