While the Light Lasts
By Agatha Christie

     Modern crime fiction has changed so much in the past few years that it become easy to be cynical about Agatha Christie’s cozy style, comparing it to some more bloody and pacey tale. But actually reading one of her novels, or a set of short stories like this one, it is easy to see why she became known as “The Queen of Crime,” no mean feat at a time known today as the classic era of crime fiction.

      The tales in this collection are some of her early work and range from two typically good-humored Poirot stories to some darker tales of love and death, featuring triangles of lovers in particular, as well as murder, the supernatural and an ever-present sense of doom. There is a sweet love story and an extraordinary mystery story written for a treasure hunt on the Isle of Man as part of a scheme to boost tourism. It is true that some elements of all her fiction has dated, but this is inevitable and does not tend to detract from the timeless appeal of a well-plotted tale.