"So few writers are producing the pure puzzlenovel, and no one on either side of the Atlantic does it better than Christie."--New York Times
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are just settling into their new home in the resort town of Hollowquay when they come across a collection of children's books hidden away by a previous owner. But the message left in one of them is hardly child's play: Mary Jordan did not die naturally...
"So few writers are producing the pure puzzlenovel, and no one on either side of the Atlantic does it better than Christie."--New York Times
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are just settling into their new home in the resort town of Hollowquay when they come across a collection of children"s books hidden away by a previous owner. But the message left in one of them is hardly child"s play: Mary Jordan did not die naturally. Thanks to the long and colorful memory of the local gossips, the Laurels" former occupant has been kept very much alive--at least in spirit. So have the questions about the woman"s real identity, her strange and powerful secrets, and the warnings that someone in Hollowquay wants to keep Mary Jordan"s mysterious life and death--a secret forever...
BOOK ONE
1. Mainly Concerning Books
2. The Black Arrow
3. Visit to the Cemetery
4. Lots of Parkinsons
5. The White Elephant Sale
6. Problems
7. More Problems
8. Mrs. Griffin
BOOK TWO
9. A Long Time Ago
10. Introduction to Mathilde, Truelove and KK
11. Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast
12. Expedition on Truelove; Oxford and Cambridge
13. Methods of Research
14. Mr. Robinson
BOOK THREE
15. Mary Jordan
16. Research by Tuppence
17. Tommy and Tuppence Compare Notes
18. Possibility of Surgery on Mathilde
19. Interview with Colonel Pikeaway
20. Postern of Fate
21. The Inquest
22. Reminiscences About an Uncle
23. Junior Brigade
24. Attack on Tuppence
25. Hannibal Takes Action
26. Oxford, Cambridge and Lohengrin
27. Visit from Miss Mullins
28. Garden Campaign
29. Hannibal Sees Active Service with Mr. Crispin
30. The Birds Fly South
31. Last Words: Dinner with Mr. Robinson