For some of us, when nothing seems to fit our reading taste, Agatha Christie will work. Midsummer Mysteries: Tales from the Queen of Mystery collects a dozen stories featuring Christie’s sleuths. Of course, there’s Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot to kick off the selections. But, there are stories featuring Tommy and Tuppence, Mr. Parker Pyne, and, my personal favorite, the mysterious Harley Quin.

Since all of these stories have appeared in collections before, I had read several of them. But, I had never read “Jane in Search of a Job’, although the opening scenario reminded me of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Red-Headed League”. Jane Cleveland answers an ad for a woman who meets her physical description and qualifications. From a number of candidates, she gets the job. She’s going to get 3,000 pounds for playing the Grand Duchess of Ostrova because she has had assassination attempts. There’s a little deception, and a little romance in the story.

I’ve always enjoyed Christie’s lesser known sleuths. “The Oracle at Delphi” is one of two stories to feature Mr. Parker Pyne. There’s a clever switch in this story of a wealthy widow whose son is kidnapped.

My favorite story is “Harlequin’s Lane”. Christie describes the mysterious Harley Quin as “a friend of lovers and connected with death”. The collection The Mysterious Mr. Quin is dedicated by the author “To Harlequin the invisible”. No other Christie book is dedicated to a character. I wish she had written more stories about Mr. Satterthwaite and Harley Quin. Satterthwaite is surprised to learn about Harlequin’s Lane, and Mr. Quin tells him it’s his lane. Satterthwaite is surprised because he says Mr. Quin never stops anyplace very long. Quin’s answer? “Only as long as is necessary.” And, that night, Harley Quin and a Russian woman participate in an unforgettable dance.

For readers who prefer Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, there are several stories featuring both of them and a familiar cast of characters, Miss Marple’s relatives and Hastings and Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard in the Poirot stories. The final Poirot, “The Incredible Theft” is set between the wars, and it has a sense of foreboding.

There’s something for every Agatha Christie fan in Midsummer Mysteries.

Midsummer Mysteries: Tales from the Queen of Mystery by Agatha Christie. William Morrow, 2023. ISBN 9780063310957 (paperback), 272p.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, with no promise of a positive review.