The Last Séance
""...a spellbinding collection... ""
Synopsis:
For lovers of the supernatural and the macabre comes this collection of ghostly and chilling tales from Agatha Christie. Acknowledged the world over as the undisputed Queen of Crime, in fact she dabbled in her early writing career with mysteries of a more unearthly kind – stories featuring fantastic psychic visions, spectres looming in the shadows, encounters with deities, eerie messages from the Other Side, even a man who switches bodies with a cat…
This haunting compendium gathers together all of Christie's spookiest and most macabre short stories, some featuring her timeless detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
Purchase the book from Amazon.
Review:
Many of us Christie lovers all have our preference whether it be for Poirot, the cases of Jane Marple or her standalones. Personally, I believe Christie excelled at the macabre, and if you don't believe me then read 'Endless Night'. Here, for the first time, are collected stories that have raised goosebumps on her reader's arms for decades. Many times I have gone back to two short story collections I feel are Christie at her best, 'The Mysterious Mr Quin' and 'The Hound of Death'. Some of the stories presented here are from the latter. I felt it a missed opportunity that Mr Quin and his protégé, Mr Satterthwaite have not been included here as they too are filled with the supernatural and would have been better placed here than the Marple stories, although 'The Blue Geranium' is one of my favourites and one of the best tales Christie wrote. 'The Hound of Death' is here and with the current demand for Christie adaptations, would be my choice for the TV and one that could be expanded and made even more creepier. 'The Last Séance', after which this collection is named, is one of the most memorable and creepy tales Christie ever wrote. You can taste the atmosphere of impending doom. Other favourites are 'Wireless', 'The Fourth Man' and 'The Red Signal'. I won't go in to them all, but here you have twenty Christie tales to choose from. Christie has always been a victim of the snob brigade and not given her due. Most have only seen the Poirot/Marple TV adaptations, which is unfair as much is either cut from the book or tinkered with by the screenwriter. Christie was a chronicler of her time, especially with her later books with the demise of the large country manor houses. I have given this collection to several people who have not read Christie and they have been pleasantly surprised by her acute observation and writing. 'The Last Séance' is a spellbinding collection that is bound to make you feel that icy breath on the back of your neck as you read these macabre tales.
