Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners.

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These readers have been carefully adapted using the Collins COBUILD grading scheme to ensure that the language is at the correct level for an intermediate learner. This book is Level 5 in the Collins ELT Readers series. Level 5 is equivalent to CEF level B2+ with a word count of 22,000 – 30,000 words.

Each book includes:
• Full reading of the adapted version available for free online
• Helpful notes on characters
• Cultural and historical notes relevant to the plot
• A glossary of the more difficult words
• Free online resources for students and teachers

The plot:
Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious light in the school Sports Pavilion. Among the tennis racquets and lacrosse sticks, they find the body of the unpopular games mistress – shot through the heart. Schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much, and begins to worry that she might be the next victim. Can detective Hercule Poirot find the killer before the ‘cat’ strikes again?

Each level is carefully graded to ensure that the learner both enjoys and benefits from their reading experience.

This old-fashioned London hotel may not be quite as reputable as it makes out!

When Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she's looking for at Bertram's: traditional décor and impeccable service. But she senses an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric hotel guest makes his way to the airport one day late!

Librarian's note: this entry is for the novel, "At Bertram's Hotel." Collections and other Miss Marple stories are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The series includes 12 novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."

A man is shot at in a juvenile reform home – but someone else dies…

Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in a Victorian mansion which doubles as a rehabilitation centre for delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when a youth fires a revolver at the administrator, Lewis Serrocold. Neither is injured. But a mysterious visitor, Mr Gulbrandsen, is less fortunate – shot dead simultaneously in another part of the building.

Pure coincidence? Miss Marple thinks not, and vows to discover the real reason for Mr Gulbrandsen’s visit.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the novel, "They Do It with Mirrors." Collections and other Miss Marple stories are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The series includes 12 novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."

Sheila Webb, typist-for-hire, has arrived at 19 Wilbraham Crescent in the seaside town of Crowdean to accept a new job. What she finds is a well-dressed corpse surrounded by six clocks. Mrs. Pebmarsh, the blind owner of No. 19, denies all knowledge of ringing Sheila's secretarial agency and asking for her by name -- yet someone did. Nor does she own that many clocks. And neither woman seems to know the victim. Colin Lamb, a young intelligence specialist working a case of his own at the nearby naval yard, happens to be on the scene at the time of Sheila Webb's ghastly discovery. Lamb knows of only one man who can properly investigate a crime as bizarre and baffling as what happened inside No. 19 -- his friend and mentor, Hercule Poirot.

,,Miért nem szóltak Evansnak?" - ezt kérdezi a haldokló, akit Bobby Jones talál a népszerű golfpálya alatt, a völgyben. Bobby először is arra lenne kíváncsi, ki zuhant a szakadékba, és halt meg a szeme láttára, azonosító iratot ugyanis nem találnak a férfinál. Csak egy gyönyörű fiatal nő fényképét... Bobby nyomozni kezd, és hamarosan kiderül, hogy a végzetes baleset nem véletlen történt: ez bizony gyilkosság volt, mégpedig igen rejtélyes gyilkosság. Szerencsére Bobbynak merész segítőtársa is akad Lady Frances Derwent személyében. Frankie, ahogy az ifjú arisztokrata lányt mindenki nevezi, hatalmas lelkesedéssel veti bele magát a rejtélybe. Az sem riasztja vissza, hogy Bobbyt is, őt is megpróbálják eltenni láb alól. A meglepetésekben és kalandokban bővelkedő könyv végére kiderül, kicsoda Evans, miért nem szóltak neki, és hogy egy lelkész negyedik fia és egy arisztokrata lánya csak nyomozóként alkot-e nyerő párost.

An outbreak of kleptomania at a student hostel was not normally the sort of crime that aroused Hercule Poirot’s interest.

But when he saw the list of stolen and vandalized items – including a stethoscope, some old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a slashed rucksack and a diamond ring found in a bowl of soup – he congratulated the warden, Mrs. Hubbard, on a "unique and beautiful problem". The list made absolutely no sense at all. But, reasoned Poirot, if this was merely a petty thief at work, why was everyone at the hostel so frightened?

PS: did you know that Mrs. Hubbard is Miss Lemon's sister? That's how the case came to M. Poirot in the first place!

In Mrs. McGinty’s Dead , one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady.

Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victim’s blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesn’t seem like a murderer.

Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . . .

In this startling historical mystery, unique in the author's canon, Agatha Christie presents the puzzle of a deadly mystery at the heart of a dissonant family in ancient Egypt. Imhotep, wealthy landowner and priest of Thebes, has outraged his sons and daughters by bringing a beautiful concubine into their fold. And the manipulative Nofret has already set about a plan to usurp her rivals' rightful legacies. When her lifeless body is discovered at the foot of a cliff, Imhotep's own flesh and blood become the apparent conspirators in her shocking murder. But vengeance and greed may not be the only motives...

First published in book form in 1947, The Labours of Hercules comprises an even dozen mysteries starring Christie's most popular sleuth, the ever-dignified Hercule Poirot. The introductory chapter of the collection sets up the rest of the book. At a dinner party, another guest compares the labors of Poirot to those of Hercules, and the little Belgian is not amused. He has already decided to retire, but makes up his mind to take on 12 great cases - each somehow reflecting the labors accomplished by Hercules - as a farewell to crime solving. All of the cases are quite different from each other, from searching for a lost poet to hunting down a particularly ferocious murderer, from solving mysterious deaths of religious cult members to saving a young would-be politician from potential blackmailers. Frequent Christie interpreter Hugh Fraser brings stories like The Cretan Bull and The Apples of the Hesperides to dazzling life.

At last - all 20 Miss Marple short stories in a single volume!

Jane Marple is from the village of St Mary Mead and applies her skills of observation and deduction to a wide variety of mysteries. Several of the supporting characters appear in many of these stories, including her nephew Raymond West, Dolly and Arthur Bantry of Gossington Hall, and Sir Henry Clithering formerly of Scotland Yard.

Miss Marple made her first appearance in a book in 1930, and her twelfth and final novel was published shortly after Agatha Christie's death almost 50 years later. In the intervening years Miss Marple also featured in 20 short stories, published in a number of different collections. But never before have they been available together.

In this complete volume, Miss Marple uses her unique insight to deduce the truth about a series of unsolved crimes - cases of a girl framed for theft, some disappearing bloodstains, the cryptic last message of a poisoned man, a woman killed within days of writing her will, a spiritualist who predicts death, a mortally wounded stranger in a church, a Christmas tragedy...

In all 20 ingenious crimes, every one guaranteed to keep you guessing until the turn of the final page.


'The plots are so good that one marvels... most of them would have made a full length thriller'
- Daily Mirror

The twenty stories are:
1. The Tuesday Night Club (1927)
2. The Idol House of Astarte (1928)
3. Ingots of Gold (1928)
4. The Bloodstained Pavement (1928)
5. Motive v. Opportunity (1928)
6. The Thumb Mark of St Peter (1928)
7. The Blue Geranium (1929)
8. The Companion (1930)
9. The Four Suspects (1930)
10. A Christmas Tragedy (1930)
11. The Herb of Death (1930)
12. The Affair at the Bungalow (1930)
13. Death by Drowning (1931)
14. Miss Marple Tells a Story (1935)
15. Strange Jest (1941)
16. Tape-Measure Murder (1941)
17. The Case of the Caretaker (1942)
18. The Case of the Perfect Maid (1942)
19. Sanctuary (1954)
20. Greenshaw's Folly (1956)

Сър Клод Еймъри е откривател на формулата за нов мощен експлозив, която е открадната от дома му.
Като заключва всички свои роднини и гости в библиотеката, сър Клод угася светлината, за да позволи на крадеца да върне формулата.
Когато лампите отново светват, той е мъртъв.
Еркюл Поаро - с помощта на Хейстингс и инспектор Джап - трябва да разнищи възела, заплетен от семейни вражди, стари любовни връзки и подозрителни чужденци, за да открие убиеца.

Miss Politt has been waiting and waiting for Mrs. Spenlow outside Laburnum Cottage where Mrs. Spenlow lives. But to no avail. She nervously acquires the help of the next-door neighbour, whose gumption and persistence eventually reveal that Mrs. Spenlow is dead inside on the hearthrug. The whole of St. Mary Mead is convinced the murderer is Mr. Spenlow, who shows no emotion upon his wife’s sudden death. With characteristic diligence, Miss Marple reveals that it is perhaps not that simple.

Librarian's note #1: the original name of the short story above does not have the word "The" in the title. And it has a dash. With or without either, it's the same great story!

Librarian's note #2: this entry relates to the short story, "Tape-Measure Murder." Collections and the other stories by the author are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The Miss Marple series includes twelve novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."

Мистър Морли, зъболекарят на Еркюл Поаро е убит малко след като той напуска кабинета му. Дали убиеца е загадъчен грък, или младият американец с вид на престъпник, или богат банкер, или бивша артистка?

Librarian's note: this entry is for the collection of four short stories by the author. Entries for each of the stories, including the title one, can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.

Are you ready for a question about each of the stories? How did a woman holding a pistol in her right hand manage to shoot herself in the left temple? What was the link between a ghost sighting and the disappearance of top secret military plans? How did the bullet that killed Sir Gervase shatter a mirror in another part of the room? And who destroyed the "eternal triangle" of love involving renowned beauty, Valentine Chantry?

Hercule Poirot is faced with four mystifying cases: 1. Murder in the Mews, 2. The Incredible Theft, 3. Dead Man's Mirror, and 4. Triangle at Rhodes. Each of them is a miniature classic of characterization, incident, and suspense.

Listening length: 4 hrs. 26 mins.

Седмици преди да се ожени за млада овдовяла актриса, богатият бизнесмен Гордън Клоуд загива при експлозия на газ в апартамента си. Инцидентът отнема живота на няколко съседи, но не и на двайсет и три годишната му годеница, оцеляла като по чудо, защото била в избата и избирала вино. Семейство Клоуд обаче не вярват, че се е спасила случайно, и наемат Еркюл Поаро.

Whilst organising a mock murder hunt for the village fete hosted by Sir George and Lady Stubbs, a feeling of dread settles on the famous crime novelist Adriane Oliver. Call it instinct, but it's a feeling she just can't explain...or get away from.
In desperation she summons her old friend, Hercule Poirot -- and her instincts are soon proved correct when the 'pretend' murder victim is discovered playing the scene for real, a rope wrapped tightly around her neck.
But it's the great detective who first discovers that in murder hunts, whether mock or real, everyone is playing a part.

Мис Ан Бедингфийлд държи в ръцете си ключа към загадката - обир на диаманти, смърт при странни обстоятелства и убийство в усамотена вила. Тя решава да разкрие всичко, с което напрежението нараства с всяка нейна стъпка.

Празненството по повод Вси светии в аристократичния дом на мисис Оливър е помрачено от умело планирано убийство. Ужасена от злодеянието, мисис Оливър моли Поаро да се заеме със случая, потресъл гражданите на Удли Комън. Макар че е решил да се наслади на спокойствие и тишина в лондонския си апартамент, детективът с готовност поема случая, без да знае колко трудно ще се окаже разследването.

Във вторник вечер в къщата на госпожица Марпъл са поканени гости и разговорът се насочва към неразрешени престъпления.

Случаят с изчезващите петна от кръв; крадецът, който извършва своето престъпление два пъти; загадъчното послание на отровения мъж; невидимо завещание; екстрасенс, който предупреждава, че синият здравец означава смърт... И това са само част от невероятните загадки в тази колекция разкази.

A brand-new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Mystery’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors.

This collection of a dozen original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery.

Naomi Alderman
Leigh Bardugo
Alyssa Cole
Lucy Foley
Elly Griffiths
Natalie Haynes
Jean Kwok
Val McDermid
Karen M. McManus
Dreda Say Mitchell
Kate Mosse
Ruth Ware

Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Agatha Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.