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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
A series of light problems and mysteries brought by dissatisfied or unhappy spouses, bored or desperate individuals to Mr. Parker Pyne, a detective of sorts, who applies psychology, cleverness, and the occasional actor, to solve them. I can’t say that I remember the details of any of the short stories, but I did enjoy this book.
Actually, that’s not entirely true; I was chuffed to encounter the wonderful Ariadne Oliver, and her ever-present bag of apples, crafting narratives for Pyne.
Actually, that’s not entirely true; I was chuffed to encounter the wonderful Ariadne Oliver, and her ever-present bag of apples, crafting narratives for Pyne.
Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective must have been one of Agatha Christie's earlier publications. It is a series of short stories about the cases of Parker Pyne who is not a detective, even the character says he's not a detective. Mr. Pyne worked for an unnamed government office and is no retired and offers to help unhappy people find happiness. His methods are odd and sometimes involve sending people off to strange situations. Some of the ideas for her other better developed novels may be hinted at here. There is a secretary named Miss Lemon, the name of Hercule Poirot's office assistant. One short story is titled Death on the Nile though it is nothing like the later book. It is no surprise that Mr. Parker Pyne is not as well known or beloved as Poirot or Miss Marple. But if one wishes to read everything by Agatha Christie Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective must be read too.
I always enjoy High Fraser reading to me but didn’t enjoy the book itself.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
How neat would it be if you could employ someone to sort your unhappiness in life? These days that would probably fall on the shoulders of mental healthcare experts, but in the olden days? You could leave it to Parker Pyne.
Confident in his ability to help out his clients, Parker Pyne advertised in the papers "Are you unhappy? If not, contact Parker Pyne." Nothing was too extraordinary, big or bizarre for him. After all, everything was as per *statistics*. Pyne believed he could make your problems go away by simply solving them by referring and learning from old cases. He even offered to refund if he was somehow unable to solve your problems.
Though it might seem implausible, I did chuckle at some of the tactics employed by Pyne to work on his clients. His methods might not be conventional, but if he got results at the end, one would be a fool to question him.
Confident in his ability to help out his clients, Parker Pyne advertised in the papers "Are you unhappy? If not, contact Parker Pyne." Nothing was too extraordinary, big or bizarre for him. After all, everything was as per *statistics*. Pyne believed he could make your problems go away by simply solving them by referring and learning from old cases. He even offered to refund if he was somehow unable to solve your problems.
Though it might seem implausible, I did chuckle at some of the tactics employed by Pyne to work on his clients. His methods might not be conventional, but if he got results at the end, one would be a fool to question him.
This book compiled a number of cases Pyne received and demonstrated how he tackled the problems. Many of the problems his clients had, had to do with relationship and marital problems, so like a cupid, he worked his magic and helped save some of them.
Even though relationships are complicated, in the end most of us share our hopes and fears, and logically thinking, they could be categorized, sorted and solved using similar means. The premise reminded me a lot of the discussions in Predictably Irrational, reminding me again how similar many of us are at our core. Well, most of us at least. I can't fathom the few of us who can support a genocide still, but alas, that is another story.
Even though relationships are complicated, in the end most of us share our hopes and fears, and logically thinking, they could be categorized, sorted and solved using similar means. The premise reminded me a lot of the discussions in Predictably Irrational, reminding me again how similar many of us are at our core. Well, most of us at least. I can't fathom the few of us who can support a genocide still, but alas, that is another story.
I loved Agatha Christie when I was young and decided to pull this one out for a reread. A nice light set of short stories; great for when you don't have a lot of contiguous time to sit down and read. Not thought-provoking, but certainly clever.
“I am, if you like to put it that way, a heart specialist.”
Retired from being a civil servant, Parker Pyne decides to start a new career: curing unhappiness. His ad in The Times attracts the desperate and the bored among us: “Are you happy? If not, consult Mr Parker Pyne, 17 Richmond Street.” Ones you do, you’re in for a life changing adventure.
Content:
-The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife
-The Case of the Discontented Soldier
-The Case of the Distressed Lady
-The Case of the Discontented Husband
-The Case of the City Clerk
-The Case of the Rich Woman
-Have You Got Everything You Want?
-The Gate of Baghdad
-The House at Shiraz
-The Pearl of Price
-Death on the Nile
-The Oracle at Delphi
Retired from being a civil servant, Parker Pyne decides to start a new career: curing unhappiness. His ad in The Times attracts the desperate and the bored among us: “Are you happy? If not, consult Mr Parker Pyne, 17 Richmond Street.” Ones you do, you’re in for a life changing adventure.
Content:
-The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife
-The Case of the Discontented Soldier
-The Case of the Distressed Lady
-The Case of the Discontented Husband
-The Case of the City Clerk
-The Case of the Rich Woman
-Have You Got Everything You Want?
-The Gate of Baghdad
-The House at Shiraz
-The Pearl of Price
-Death on the Nile
-The Oracle at Delphi
I didn't think I'd ever give an Agatha Christie work one star, but here we are. I truly abhorred this character. Blatant sexist bs aside, he wasn't interesting in the least. The stories themselves were boring and lacked the usual Christie flair. It's not even the fact that there was only one (possibly two) murder mystery, it was the fact that the reveal doesn't even have a decent pay off. I've read other Christie short stories and I know that she is way better at pacing, even in short form narrative, than this.
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A nice departure from Poirot and Miss Marple that I thoroughly enjoyed. These are essentially short stories that flow one from the other. Perfect for reading one chapter at a time.
3.5 Stars This is a delightful collection of short stories based on Parker Pyne and his second profession of finding happiness for those who are troubled. This mix of stories show Agatha Christie's ability to go beyond just the murder mystery genre but sticking with problem solving.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Parker Pyne is just not for me. Some of these stories were fun but some of them were so silly and not that engaging. Pyne felt strangely blank as a character and although the stories obviously implied he was very clever, I don't feel like I knew enough about him to really believe it. I preferred the stories set during his travels to the ones focused on fixing relationships in London.
I'm glad I've read this because I've been curious about Pyne for years but I'm never going to reread or recommend these stories.
I'm glad I've read this because I've been curious about Pyne for years but I'm never going to reread or recommend these stories.